("Surprise" by Filippo Spinelli for Aotearotica.)
​Laura Borrowdale, editor of Aotearotica, New Zealand's journal of erotica, wrote about our recent reading/performance of erotic fiction and graphic art at Wellington's Litcrawl. Featured in her article are the graphic novelists Dylan Horrocks and Sarah Laing, who also performed at the reading, as well as yours truly. This is what Laura wrote about my own performance, a reading from the story, "Nina":

Monica Macansantos read an explicit description of a threesome that dealt with race, power dynamics and the difference between what can feel good physically and what can feel good emotionally. She shook before she stood up to read, but her voice was clear and loud in a room so silent, you could hear people breathe. It was electrifying. And it felt like the start, the start of a conversation. A conversation that more people should be having, sitting around their kitchen tables or on social media or in performance spaces. Because it’s hard, hilarious, poignant, and necessary.

You can read the full article here. Aotearotica is currently accepting work for their next issue, and you can send them your best and steamiest writing and art by May 15. Please check their website for guidelines on how to submit. 

"The Gift of Connection", my essay about tango and longing, and how a fellow Filipino immigrant taught me how to dance and let go, is in the latest issue of Takahe Magazine. It's my love letter to tango, New Zealand, and the city of Auckland. You can read the full essay here, and the issue in which it appears here. You can buy the print issue in good bookshops throughout New Zealand or from their website. 

Two poems I wrote about the grief of bereaved mothers, "Christmas House, Vallejo, California", and "Homing In", have finally found a beautiful home in Willow, an arts and literature magazine published in Canada. These poems appear in the "Home" issue of the magazine, and were inspired by two different stories told to me about two Filipina mothers in America grieving the untimely deaths of their children. Both poems examine grief within the context of the American Dream. The issue is available for purchase here--it's worth every penny, in my opinion, since the magazine is so beautifully put together and is truly a work of art.