Whenever I am required to introduce myself, I usually say that I’m a novelist (technically, I am one, but as to whether I am a Novelist—it really depends on who you ask 😝), a short story writer (a bit more confident with this one because I cut my teeth on short fiction), and a translator. This last title is what I want to focus on for this newsletter, because it’s Buwan ng Wika, and I realized that I have barely featured my translation work in this newsletter. And the personal (or perhaps the real?) reason for this post is that my friend, former boss, and one of my favorite writers, Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo aka Ma’am Jing, has just stepped down as the Director of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS), and it seems like a good occasion to look back on our collaborations, and so this newsletter.

If we are mutuals on social media (IG: berrypascual01), you are probably familiar with Ma’am Jing, because I post photos of us together on my stories. I have known of her since college, when I first read Catch a Falling Star, arguably her most popular book, and later I received A Book of Dreams as a graduation gift. But I first met her in 2005, when I was a fellow of the UP National Writers’ Workshop. That year, we had breakout group discussions, and, as an incorrigible fanboy, I took the chance to tell her that I loved “The Magic Glasses,” the first story in Catch a Falling Star. (I don’t remember how I worked it into the conversation, I probably just blurted it out of context. Good thing that Ma’am Jing took it well and even indulged me and my groupmates with an anecdote about her experience of writing that story.)

I met her again in 2012, during the UST Summer Writers’ Workshop, where I was one of the fellows. By this time, she was back in UST and was already the Director of the CCWLS. (This workshop was exclusive to Thomasian teachers. The first UST Writing Workshop I attended was in 2003.) A month later, I received a text from her asking for my CV, because she wanted to recommend me as a Resident Fellow of the Center. I remember replying to it while inside a cramped FX on my way to Novaliches, and Ma’am Jing must have felt my excessive enthusiasm because she immediately followed up with “No promises, ha.” (I was enthusiastic because I was not yet tenured at the time, and was teaching 24 to 30 units per semester. Being a Resident Fellow meant being deloaded by 6 units—just being considered for the position was good news to me.) And so I became a Resident Fellow and worked closely with her until I approached her with the idea of translating her work into Filipino.

I worked on these books for three years as my official research projects for the UST Research Center for Culture, Arts, and Humanities. The only one that I did on my own time, i.e., I had to squeeze it into my teaching and other duties as a Resident Fellow and Faculty Researcher, was Kundiman ng Panahong Naiwan. It was also the most difficult to work on due to its writing style, and the one I had to convince Ma’am Jing to let me translate, since she felt the pieces in it were less likely to resonate with today’s readers. The Kundiman stories left the deepest imprint on me, though. I especially liked “The Outsider” and “Vida” for their complex female characters. I enjoyed translating the tales in Mga Kuwentong Bayan para sa Gabing Maulan and Sa Bayan ng Nagngangalit na Buwan, but Kundiman made me realize how much I actually enjoy realist stories, and, thinking about it now, translating Kundiman was one of the reasons for my attempts to return to realist fiction.

As for Catch a Falling Star, it’s my sentimental favorite because it’s my first encounter with Ma’am Jing’s work, and I find the characters quite memorable. My favorites are the stories where Patricia encounters outsider characters, such as “Ang Mangkukulam,” “The Pink Parasol,” and “Purita,” and the stories where she herself is an outsider, such as “Patriciang Payatot” and “The Magic Glasses.” The dedication she wrote in my copy of the 20th-anniversary edition is also quite special to me. I consider it an acknowledgment of our collaboration and rather unlikely friendship. I’m not really sure whether I will be able to pursue translation work again after these (I have another coming out soon that’s been years in the making, which I did with a group), but even if I don’t, I’m happy to have chosen Ma’am Jing’s books to translate and share with new readers.

The books of tales are available via UST Publishing House, Catch a Falling Star is available via Lampara Publishing House, and you can find the necessary links on my website. We also launched these translations during the pandemic, and we talk about them a bit in this video and this video. If you want to familiarize yourself with Ma’am Jing’s work, you may want to read “Ang Manunulat Bilang Tagapag-ingat ng mga Alaala,” an essay I wrote about her fiction, which is included in Ang Labis na Mahalaga, a monograph published in Unitas, an open-access journal.

Last June, I was part of the teaching panel for this year’s UST National Writing Fellowship, and I was required to give a craft lecture on writing fiction. I called it “notes from the field,” and framed novel-writing as an act of trying to solve a problem of form. (A formal problem?) Preparing the lecture made me reflect even more on my unresolved thoughts about novel-writing. 😅 (I’ll probably just give a lecture on literary history next time, so I will feel better afterward.)

I was also part of the panel “Biglang-Liko: when the book took an unexpected turn into a different medium” last June 26. This was part of the event Sabwatan held at The Stacks in One Ayala, a collaboration between Packing Sheets and Avenida Books. I had a great time discussing adaptation with Eros Atalia, Julius Villanueva, and our moderator, Miss Nida Ramirez of Avenida Books. Sir Eros talked about his works that were adapted into movies, such as Intoy Syokoy ng Kalye Marino, Ligo na U Lapit na Me, Julius spoke about Ella Arcangel, which will come out soon in collaboration with GMA 7, and I shared my experience of having Ang Nawawala adapted into an audio series by Serye FM.

Some of my books were part of the Aesop Queer Library, which debuted in Southeast Asia last June. The Library, located at SM Aura, was open to the general public from June 26 to 28. Much thanks to Ace Agustin and Thirdy Fajardo of Aesop, and Alexine Parreño of Pumplepie Books and Happiness for including copies of The Vanished, The Gathering Bees, and the Maramihan anthologies in the Library. And of course, thank you to everyone who lined up to get copies of the books.

In July, I attended the 7th IP Boost Camp, which is part of the overall IP Education and Awareness Program of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). This year, they partnered with the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office (AIPO), and it was held on the Ateneo Campus. I was part of the panel “Creative Frontiers: IP and Perspectives from the Philippine Creative Industry.” Alvin Yapan, novelist and filmmaker, and Sedfrey Santiago, artist and lawyer, were my co-panelists. I enjoyed the discussion, and the audience seemed engaged and asked thoughtful questions, even if we were a bit gloomy with our answers. Haha.

Early this month, I watched the play Tagay Para sa Ex, written and directed by Dudz Teraña, and a production of BoxStage Manila presented by the Far Eastern University through the FEU Center for the Arts. It’s about modern relationships and how precarity, especially in the city, affects the way we perceive romance. Shows will run on August 8, 13, 15, 22 & September 5, at 3:00 P.M. & 7:00 P.M. Tickets are available via these links:

🎟Students: https://forms.gle/LTeFpainX9QFFexq5
🎟 VIP & Regular atTicket2Me.Net: https://ticket2me.net/event/22957
🎟Trauma Bonding Package: https://forms.gle/P1Yk4qPf2A1ZTUWe6

This coming Sunday, I will be a guest on Bigkas Pilipinas, a radio show hosted by Kooky Tuason and Marty Tengco. I will be reading an excerpt from one of my books. I have yet to decide what to read, haha. So if you’re bored and have nothing better to do on Sunday evening, please tune in to Jam 88.3 at 7 PM and listen to Bigkas Pilipinas Radio. Here are their FB page and Jam 88.3’s Twitch page.

Lastly, the MIBF news. If things go well, the next newsletter will be an announcement about two things: something old that has become new again, and hopefully, something new that is a result of something old. (A year old, to be exact.) 😉

Thanks for reading, and hope to see you in September!

The Philippine Book Festival is happening again next week, from March 12 to 15, at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall. I will have book signings for 19th Avenida (booth KO07-KO08) and UST Publishing House (booth AA05) on March 14 and 15. Like last year, I will have a few freebies for those who drop by the booths. (Bookmarks and stickers this time around! Hoping the stickers will make it on time!🤞) Please come and say hello if you’re in the area. ☺️

The books you bring or buy do not have to be published by 19th Avenida or USTPH. If you bring or buy them, I will sign them. (I will sign anything you want me to sign, even if it's not my book 😝.)

Of course, books published by 19th Avenida (The Vanished, Ang Nawawalang Barangay, and Daddy) and USTPH (Mga Bubuyog na Nagkumpulan, The Gathering Bees, Ang Tagalabas sa Panitikan, and my translations) are most welcome. 🐝🐝🐝

Last February 24, Mga Bubuyog na Nagkumpulan and The Gathering Bees were launched at the UST Miguel de Benavides Library Auditorium. The launch was part of the UST Authors Series, a program of the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies that showcases the works of the Center’s Resident Fellows. This year, it was presented in collaboration with the UST Research Center for Culture, Arts, and Humanities.

This launch was quite meaningful to me because Bubuyog is the tenth-anniversary edition of Kumpisal. It also marks the ninth time that my work has been part of the series since becoming a Resident Fellow in 2013. (We persisted with the book launches even during the pandemic, when everything migrated online. Here’s the 2022 UST Authors edition, directed by Jose Mojica, if you’re interested.) I am incredibly grateful to the Creative Writing Center for its unwavering support of my work and, of course, to the University of Santo Tomas.

During the launch, I talked a bit about the short story cycle, the critical rationale behind the Gab and Ali stories, and the personal and professional journey I went through, as well as the many collaborations that had to happen before the books came to be. The event was hosted and moderated by Joselito Delos Reyes, and I had a great time with John Jack Wigley and Ralph Semino Galan (the translator of The Gathering Bees) as co-panelists.

P.S.

I recently watched Bangaw, the FEU Theater Guild’s adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Written by Gold Villar-Lim, with music arranged by Vince Lim, and directed by PETA Senior Artist-Teacher and FTG Artistic Director Dudz Teraña, the production explores survival, leadership, and identity through a distinctly Filipino lens. Bangaw runs until April. Full schedule and tickets here.

I hope the new year has been treating you well. I’m just glad that January’s over. And even though February has just started… when I look at my calendar and to-do list, I can’t wait for it to be over as well. Hehe.

Ang Nawawala audio series 🎧🎙

January was a bit rough, but something fun happened that made it bearable: Ang Nawawala, which originally came out in 2017, has just been adapted into an audio series by Serye FM! Ang Nawawala has been out of print for years now, and I have received many questions about when it will be reprinted. My standard answer has been: the English translation, The Vanished, is currently available, and it’s up to Avenida Books as to when it will be reprinted. So this audio adaptation is a good way to introduce the book to those who are interested in the Filipino edition.

You can listen to the first four episodes for free on Spotify. And if you want to listen to the whole series, you can visit the Serye FM website and subscribe. It’s pretty affordable (only P90!), you can listen on the streaming platform of your choice (available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube Music), and you can pay via GCash. The whole audio production is excellent, and the voice actors are great. It’s like listening to a radio drama rather than a typical audiobook, which makes it even more enjoyable.

My favorite episodes are Episode 4, “Ang Mga Nawawalang Kutsilyo,” and Episode 5, “Ang Nawawalang Singsing.” I especially loved how they rendered the ending of “Kutsilyo.” (This is the most divisive piece in the collection. Readers who talked to me either hated it or loved it. Some were just baffled and thought I knew nothing about writing endings. Some days I think they’re right.) And as for “Singsing,” it’s always been my personal favorite because I enjoyed writing it the most, and it’s the story that best showcases Bree as both a detective figure and a femme fatale with a heart of gold. (Femme fatale with a heart of gold?!)

To promote the audio adaptation, I went live on Instagram last January 22 with JoJo, the Community and Partnerships Manager of Serye FM, and Serena Magiliw, the actress who voiced Bree, the protagonist of Ang Nawawala.

Many thanks to Serye FM, JoJo, Serena, Sir Borj, and everyone who was involved in the production of the Ang Nawawala audio series. And of course, to Miss Nida Ramirez of Avenida Books, who made it possible.

Recent publications 📚📝

Last November, the latest installment of Agos Journal, the literary journal of the Sentro ng Wikang Filipino-UP Diliman, was launched. I worked on it as Issue Editor, along with Eugene Evasco, my co-Issue Editor, and Lari Sabangan, our very patient and hardworking Managing Editor. Will Ortiz, the new director of SWF-UPD, served as Editor-in-Chief. Gerome Nicolas dela Peña was the language editor, and Jordan Ignacio did the beautiful cover and layout. You can download it for free here.

The latest issue of Santelmo Journal, a special issue on translation edited by Edgar Calabia Samar, was also launched last November. It includes “Ang Sining ng Pagiging Banayad,” my Filipino translation of Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo’s award-winning short story “The Art of Understatement.” The journal is published by San Anselmo Press, and you can contact them on Facebook to get a copy.

My short story “Sigbin” was translated into English by John Bengan and included in Signos: A Fiction Anthology of Filipino Supernatural. The anthology was edited by Tilde Acuña, John Bengan, Daryll Delgado, Amado Anthony G. Mendoza III, and Kristine Ong Muslim. It is available on the Radix Press website. Another translation of this story, this time by Ralph Semino Galán, is included in The Gathering Bees.

“Kuwentong Katawan,” an essay about my experience contracting COVID, was included in the anthology Sakit, Pasakit, Malasakit: Pagkatha ng Pandemya sa Pilipinas, edited by Rolando B. Tolentino and Rommel B. Rodriguez. This anthology is a finalist in the Best Anthology in Filipino category in this year’s National Book Awards. It is available through the UP Press website and Shopee.

I also have works included in the following anthologies, which all came out in 2023: “Nakaw” in Anti-Katha: Agos sa Experimental na Kuwento sa Pilipinas, an erasure of my short story “Magnanakaw” originally published in Kumpisal; “Sasaeng” in Biolente: Mga Bagong Katha sa Danas ng Dahas at Banwa, a story about a young gay man’s hookup gone wrong; and “Ang Bangkay ng Bakla sa Pelikula: Pagbasa sa Zombadings: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington at Die Beautiful,” a scholarly essay about queerness, death, and zombies in movies featured in Ang Mahaba’t Kagyat na Buhay ng Indie Sinema.

All are available from the UP Press website, Lazada, and Shopee. These anthologies were edited by Rolando Tolentino, along with Rommel B. Rodriguez, German Villanueva Gervacio, Januar Yap, and Aristotle Atienza.

My utmost gratitude to all the editors and publishers of these journals and anthologies, and to everyone involved in their production.

My 2016 entry 😝😝

Lastly, here’s my entry to the 2016 meme. My second book, Pagpasok sa Eksena: Ang Sinehan sa Panitikan at Pag-aaral ng Piling Sinehan sa Recto, came out in November 2016. It was based on my MA thesis, a study that combines ethnography and literary criticism. This is the promotional video we shot at the UP Press office. I was only 35 years old then, a bit lighter, still high from finishing my PhD the previous year, and quite excited about having my second book out. Please forgive my attempts at being funny. (If you’re interested, you may read Christian Go’s review on the Harvard-Yenching Institute website and Glenn Diaz’s review in Plaridel Journal.)

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading, and I hope you will check out these journals and anthologies. Here’s to a smooth February for all of us!

Quick links list:

Ang Nawawala audio series

The Vanished

Agos Journal

Santelmo Journal

Signos: A Fiction Anthology of Filipino Supernatural

The Gathering Bees

Sakit, Pasakit, Malasakit: Pagkatha ng Pandemya sa Pilipinas

Anti-Katha: Agos sa Experimental na Kuwento sa Pilipinas

Biolente: Mga Bagong Katha sa Danas ng Dahas at Banwa

Ang Mahaba’t Kagyat na Buhay ng Indie Sinema

Pagpasok sa Eksena: Ang Sinehan sa Panitikan at Pag-aaral ng Piling Sinehan sa Recto

To celebrate the New Year, to thank you for subscribing to Berry Shorts, and to mark Ang Nawawalang Barangay’s being named one of the finalists for the Best Filipino Novel category at the 43rd National Book Awards, I am making “Ocha Ocha,” an unreleased chapter from the novel, available for free download. As one of the novel’s few standalone chapters (along with “Baby Gerl” and “Donnie,” an unreleased dream chapter), it can be read by anyone, even if you have not read the book yet.

Even though the novel came out in 2024, it’s the first novel that I have written. I started the first draft in May 2018 and finished it in November 2019. After that, I gave the first draft—all 87k words of it, warts and all—to my friends U and Tyron and my cousin Czher for beta reading. I met up with them in January and February, gathered and processed their comments before working on the revisions in March 2020. I finished the second draft in May, largely because of the lockdown—my schedule was freed up because the rest of the semester was rendered asynchronous and there was no need to commute to and from work. (I now live closer to UST but the commute and travel time are still terrible.)

I continued tweaking the manuscript until August 2024 (which included writing an epilogue that I decided to pull out at the last minute), a few weeks before the Manila International Book Fair where it was launched, but the major revisions had already been made in the second draft. Most notably, I cut around 30k words from the first draft and also cut the EJK and drug war subplot involving Ocha and Mayor Corriente. Ocha still ended up in the final draft, but as a minor plot point, and Mayor Corriente… well, he vanished. I decided to do away with the EJK and drug war subplot because I felt, and U suggested, that both were already part of the novel’s subtext, along with the forced disappearances. To include them would only crowd the narrative. By mid-2020, I was continuing work on Bayan ng mga Bangkay, which took a more explicit stance on the drug war.

Ang Nawawalang Barangay was originally conceived as the final chapter of Ang Nawawala, but after “Ang Nawawalang Payong,” I thought it deserved a longer form. And so here we are. It was my first effort and I know it’s imperfect. I can see where I need to improve it, which is the case for most of my works, but I also know I did the best I could with what I had at the time, which is also the case for most of my works. I just try to console myself with the thought that with each new project, I can only fail better.

This novel is also my last adventure with Bree. I’m not sure if I will return to Barangay Talong Punay. And this newsletter feels like a fitting way to say goodbye to Bree and her barangay.

Thanks for reading, and until the next newsletter. I wish us all a peaceful and fruitful 2026.

Download the chapter here.

You can get Ang Nawawalang Barangay here, and here.

The Filipino version of Ang Nawawala is still out of print, but you can get The Vanished, translated by Ned Parfan, here, and here.

Available na sa UST Bookstore, Shopee, at Lazada ang Mga Bubuyog na Nagkumpulan at ang salin sa Ingles ni Ralph Semino Galán na The Gathering Bees! Ito ang bago at rebisadong edisyon ng Kumpisal at naglalaman ng kumpletong story cycle nina Gabriel at Alejandro. Kasama ang Bubuyog at Bees sa mga librong ilulunsad sa Sinag 2025: The UST Publishing House Grand Book Launch. Gaganapin ito sa November 25, Martes, sa Grand Ballroom ng BGPOP Building, UST campus.

Ang kuwento sa likod ng Kumpisal

Produkto ng disertasyon ko ang Kumpisal: mga kuwento. 2014 ko in-assemble ang koleksiyon at ipinasa sa USTPH, and I felt (I said I felt, huwag n’yo akong i-bash, please) na nilalaman nito ang “greatest hits” aka mga published na kuwento ko. (Ang B-sides ay nasa “mixtape” na Hindi Barbra Ang Ngalan Ko na unang lumabas noong 2011. Oo, in another life, Chucki XCX ang tawag nila sa akin.) 2005 hanggang 2015 ang sakop na taon ng publikasyon ng mga kuwento dahil ilang buwan pagkatapos ang release ng libro noong September 2015, lumabas sa Likhaan Journal 9 ang “Sigbin.” (Kailan lang, isinalin ito sa Ingles ni John Bengan at naging bahagi ng antolohiyang Signos: A Fiction Anthology of Filipino Supernatural.) Ang Tagalabas sa Panitikan ang poetika/kritikal na katambal ng Kumpisal. Lumabas ito noong 2018, mula rin sa USTPH.

Mga transpormasyon, permutasyon, at iba pang -asyon

Malayo na rin ang nilakbay ng Kumpisal at lagi itong nagbabagong-anyo. Una, ang plano ko talagang disertasyon ay nobela. Kaya nobela ang ginawan ko ng proposal at poetika para sa unang klase ko sa PhD Malikhaing Pagsulat noong 2009. Gusto kong mag-experiment sa nobelang may footnotes, tapos multi-POV.

Binaril sa klase ang paggamit ko ng footnotes. Naiwan ang multi-POV format. Nakasulat ako ng apat na chapters, hanggang sa ako na mismo ang sumuko. Unang beses kong sumubok sa pagsulat ng nobela noon, at hindi ko alam na counterproductive pala ang paulit-ulit na rebisyon ng bawat chapter. Kaya pala ang bagal-bagal kong umusad.

Nagdesisyon akong gawing koleksiyon ng maikling kuwento ang disertasyon. Mas gamay ko ang form, at tulad nga ng madalas nilang sabihin tuwing main challenge sa Drag Race: hindi ito ang panahon para magtangka sa bago. Du’n na muna ako sa alam ko. Kung susulat ako ng nobela, doon na lang sa panahong hindi ako kailangang bigyan ng grade. (At kailangan kong makatapos ng PhD sa lalong madaling panahon dahil isang taon lang ang study leave ko.)

Noong 2012, inilimbag ng The Youth and Beauty Brigade ang chapbook na 5ex. Kasama dito ang apat na kuwento mula sa Gabriel at Alejandro story cycle. Sa pagitan ng mga kuwento, may mga sanaysay tungkol sa aking Madonna worship at may serye ng mga larawan ng isang baklang naka-Madonna drag na palibot-libot kung saan-saan: sa Luneta, simbahan, motel, etc. (Hulaan n’yo na lang kung sino ang baklang iyon.)

Kaya noong 2013, sa UP National Writers’ Workshop, iyong pang-“mid-career,” ito ang inilagay ko sa poetics o “Why I Write the Way I Write”:

Kung ilalarawan ko kung anong klase akong manunulat, para akong si Madonna. Puno ako ng ambisyon. Ang tingin ko sa mga kuwento ko, komplikado, malalim, at talaga namang ikatutuwa ni Barthes ang pagiging writerly. Pero hindi mapalis ang katotohanan na hindi naman ako ganoon kahusay (o katiyaga, kung magiging politically correct.) Limitado lang ang kakayahan ko. Ito na nga rin yata ang ipinagpapalagay kong dahilan kung bakit hindi ako makasulat ng sustenidong naratibo, gaya ng nobela.

Noong 2020, dahil alam kong ubos na ang kopya ng Kumpisal at dahil walang nakakaalam kung kailan matatapos ang pandemya, ipinasa ko ang PDF copy ng libro sa Panitikan.ph para maging bahagi ng Freelipiniana. Nasa Freelipiniana ang mga librong puwedeng i-download nang libre. Ginawa ito ng UP Institute of Creative Writing para matugunan ang kakulangan ng reading materials para sa mga estudyante noong panahong iyon. Gusto kong makatulong kahit paano, at masaya na akong naubos ang 500 kopya ng Kumpisal. Hindi ko rin talaga inasahan. (May mga unaccounted-for na kopya diyan, siyempre. At ako ang bumili ng 300 copies. Hayaan n’yo na lang ang aking French vanilla fantasy.)

Ang bagong titulo at ang bagong libro 🐝🐝🐝

Para sa bagong edisyon, bumalik ako sa orihinal na plano: isang buong story cycle na ang laman ng libro. Ito rin naman talaga ang nasa 2013 poetics essay ko sa UP Workshop. Pero sa edisyong ito, may additional na tatlong kuwento mula sa Hindi Ito Romansa. Katulad ng Kumpisal ang structure nito: individual stories at isang cycle (“Mga Kuwento nina Gabriel at Clyde”), at nag-transform si Clyde bilang Alejandro dito sa Bubuyog/Bees. (Ginawa ko ito dahil halos iisang libro ang Romansa at Kumpisal. Kumbaga, Kill Bill 1 and 2. Naks LOL)

Sa introduksiyon din ng bagong edisyon, ipinasok ko ang matagal nang kinikimkim na inspirasyon sa mga kuwento nina Gabriel at Alejandro: ang The Lovers ni Remedios Varo. (Natuklasan ko si Varo sa music video ng “Bedtime Story” ni Madonna.)

Ibang libro na ito kung tutuusin, kaya ginawa kong Mga Bubuyog na Nagkumpulan ang titulo ng koleksiyon. Galing sa “Kapre” ang pariralang ito. Sa kuwentong ito, pinapanood ni Gabriel na maglaro si Alejandro ng basketball. Sa gitna ng laban, may lumitaw na kapre. Sumali sa laro ang kapre at tinalo silang lahat. Joke lang. Basahin mo na lang para malaman mo kung ano ang susunod na nangyari. (Feeling Garcia Marquez at Ricky Lee sa “Huwag! Huwag Mong Kukuwentuhan ang Batang si Wei-Fung!” ang mga pangungusap sa kuwentong iyan. Read at your own peril.)

(Depensa, este, digression lang: nakapanayam ako ng Tomasino Web kailan lang tungkol sa “horror writing,” at inilarawan ko ang ilang kuwento sa Bubuyog bilang “horror stories” kasi nga may supernatural beings, may patayan, etc. Nakalimutan kong linawin sa kanila na oo, mga kuwentong horror ito, pero sarili kong take sa horror, i.e. baka hindi “horrific” para sa lahat. Ganito rin ang Bayan ng mga Bangkay at mga nobelang Mars. Puwede silang maging nakakatakot pero hindi sila horror, pero hindi rin naman sila hindi-horror. Alam mo yon, parang pagiging dancer ni Violet Chachki.)

Dagdag na pagbabago sa edisyong ito ang pagkakaroon ng salin sa Ingles. Malaki ang pasasalamat ko kay Ralph Semino Galán, kaibigan at kasamahan ko sa UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies, dahil pumayag siyang isalin ang mga kuwento. Sumulat din siya ng sanaysay tungkol sa naging proseso niya ng pagsasalin, ang “Translation as the Monster in the Mirror.” Puwede itong mabasa sa latest issue ng HaloHalo Review.

Pasasalamat din para kay Delan Robillos at sa The Artery Manila dahil sila ang naging tulay para maging collaborator sa proyektong ito ang Iloilo-based painter na si Kristoffer Brasileño. Si Kristoffer ang gumawa ng cover art ng dalawang libro at ng illustration para sa bawat kuwento. Narito ang artwork para sa “Pusong,” isang adaptasyon ng “Numskull Tales” o trickster tales, na ginawa kong kuwento ng isang serial killer (una kong pinost sa “Daddy’s Here!”), at ang artwork para sa “Kapre.”

Ang world premiere 😝

Heto na ang ang book trailer para sa Mga Bubuyog na Nagkumpulan at The Gathering Bees. Pasasalamat kay Lorenzo de Castro at sa Dream Films Productions.

Maraming salamat sa pagbabasa. Hanggang sa susunod na newsletter!

MGA BUBUYOG NA NAGKUMPULAN

Shopee

Lazada

THE GATHERING BEES

Shopee

Lazada

English translation:

Mga Bubuyog na Nagkumpulan and The Gathering Bees, the English translation by Ralph Semino Galán, are now available at the UST Bookstore, Shopee, and Lazada! These are the new and revised editions of Kumpisal/Confession and contain the complete story cycle of Gabriel and Alejandro. Bubuyog and Bees are among the books set to be launched at Sinag 2025: The UST Publishing House Grand Book Launch. This will take place on Tuesday, November 25, at the Grand Ballroom of the BGPOP Building, UST campus.

The story behind Confession

Confession: stories was the product of my dissertation. I assembled the collection and submitted it to USTPH in 2014, and I felt (I said I felt, please don’t bash me) that it contained my “greatest hits,” aka my previously published stories. (The B-sides are in the “mixtape” titled My Name is Not Barbra, which first came out in 2011. Yes, in another life, they call me Chucki XCX.) The publication years covered are 2005-2015, as a few months after the book’s release in September 2015, “Sigbin” was published in Likhaan Journal 9. (More recently, this story was translated into English by John Bengan and is now part of the anthology Signos: A Fiction Anthology of Filipino Supernatural.) The Outsider in Literature is the poetics/critical companion to Confession. It came out in 2018, also from USTPH.

Transformations, permutations, and other -ations

Confession has traveled a long way and is constantly changing form. Initially, my plan for my dissertation was to write a novel. That’s why I prepared a proposal and poetics essay for a novel for my first PhD Creative Writing class in 2009. I wanted to experiment with a novel that employed footnotes and a multi-POV format.

The use of footnotes was nixed in class. The multi-POV format was all that remained. I finished four chapters before I gave up. That was the first time I attempted to write a novel, and I didn’t realize that revising a chapter over and over was counterproductive. That’s why the process was very slow.

I decided to change my dissertation into a collection of short stories. I was more familiar with the form, I thought, and as they say during main challenges on Drag Race: it wasn’t the time to attempt something new. I decided to stick to what I knew. If I were to write a novel, it would be at a time when I did not need to worry about receiving a grade. (And I had to finish my PhD as soon as possible because my study leave lasted for only a year.)

In 2012, The Youth and Beauty Brigade published the chapbook 5ex. It included four stories from the Gabriel and Alejandro cycle. In between the stories were essays about my Madonna worship and a series of photos depicting a gay man in Madonna drag roaming around various places: Luneta, a church, a motel, etc. (Guess who that gay man is.)

So in 2013, at the UP National Writers’ Workshop, the one for “mid-career” writers, this is what I put in my poetics or “Why I Write the Way I Write”:

If I were to describe what kind of writer I am, I would say I am like Madonna. I am full of ambition. I see my stories as complicated, profound, and definitely possessing a “writerly” quality that Barthes would enjoy. But the truth remains that I am not that skilled (or diligent, to be politically correct.) My abilities are limited. I suppose this is also the reason why I cannot write a sustained narrative, like a novel.

In 2020, because I knew that there were no remaining copies of Confession and because no one knew when the pandemic would end, I submitted the PDF copy of the book to Panitikan.ph to be part of Freelipiniana. Freelipiniana contains books that can be downloaded for free. This was undertaken by the UP Institute of Creative Writing to address the lack of reading materials available to students at that time. I wanted to help somehow, and I was already happy that all 500 copies of Confession had sold out. I truly hadn’t expected it. (There are unaccounted-for copies of the book, of course. And I bought 300 copies myself. Just let me live in my French vanilla fantasy.)

The new title and the new book 🐝🐝🐝

For the new edition, I reverted to my original plan: the book now contains one complete story cycle. This was also in my 2013 poetics essay at the UP Workshop. But in this edition, there are three additional stories from This is Not Romance. Romance had a structure similar to Confession: individual stories and a cycle (“The Stories of Gabriel and Clyde”), and Clyde is transformed into Alejandro here in Bubuyog/Bees. (I did this because Romance and Confession are essentially one book. Think Kill Bill 1 and 2. Naks LOL)

Also, in the introduction to this edition, I incorporated my long-held inspiration for the stories of Gabriel and Alejandro: The Lovers by Remedios Varo. (I discovered Varo through Madonna’s “Bedtime Story” music video.)

This has evolved into a different book, so I changed the title of the collection to The Gathering Bees. This phrase comes from “Kapre.” In this story, Gabriel watches Alejandro play basketball. In the middle of the game, a kapre appears. The kapre joins the game and beats all of them. Just kidding. Just read the story to find out what actually happens next. (The sentences in this story attempt to sound like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Ricky Lee in “Don’t! Don’t Tell A Story To That Wei-fung Kid!” Read at your own peril.)

(A defense, er, digression: I was recently interviewed by Tomasino Web about “horror writing,” and I described some stories in Bubuyog as “horror stories” because they feature supernatural beings, killings, etc. I forgot to clarify that yes, these are horror stories, but they are my own take on horror, i.e., they might not be “horrific” for everyone. This is also the case for A Country of Corpses and the Mars novels. They can be scary, but they are not horror, nor are they not not-horror. You know, like Violet Chachki as a dancer.)

An additional change in this edition is the English translation. I am grateful to Ralph Semino Galán, my friend and colleague at the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies, for agreeing to translate the stories. He also wrote an essay about his process, “Translation as the Monster in the Mirror,” which can be read in the latest issue of HaloHalo Review.

Many thanks to Delan Robillos and The Artery Manila for connecting us with Iloilo-based painter Kristoffer Brasileño, who became our collaborator on this project. Kristoffer created the cover art for both books and the illustration for each story. Here is the art for “Pusong,” an adaptation of “Numskull Tales” or trickster tales, which I turned into a story about a serial killer (I first posted it on “Daddy’s Here!”) and the artwork for “Kapre.”

The world premiere 😝

Here is the book trailer for Mga Bubuyog na Nagkumpulan and The Gathering Bees. Special thanks to Lorenzo de Castro and Dream Films Productions.

Thank you for reading. Until the next newsletter!

MGA BUBUYOG NA NAGKUMPULAN

Shopee

Lazada

THE GATHERING BEES

Shopee

Lazada

Hi, everyone! Maraming salamat ulit sa pag-subscribe sa Berry Shorts newsletter :)

Lumabas na this month ang Daddy, sakto sa Manila International Book Fair (MIBF). Under ito ng Eskinita imprint ng 19th Avenida Publishing. Mas experimental ang mga akdang inilalabas sa imprint na ito at maiigsi. Ang unang Eskinita title ay ang Oral Hystery ni Siege Malvar na lumabas noong March, sa Philippine Book Festival.

Kung friends tayo sa social media (puno na ang Facebook friends list ko; sa Instagram mo na lang ako i-follow kung gusto mo, nagpa-follow back ako du’n), malamang nakita mo na ang posts ko tungkol sa Daddy. (O baka nga nauumay ka na. 😅) Kung isa ka sa mga umay, pasensiya na agad. Kung hindi naman, congratulations dahil magkukuwento ako nang konti. 😊

Ang Daddy ang unang novella na isinulat ko at ini-release bilang standalone volume. Kung tutuusin, baka “novelette” o “nobeleta” ang mas akmang termino para dito dahil 12k words lamang ito, at may naisulat na rin akong ilang akdang puwedeng ituring na novella/novelette pero kasama sila sa isang koleksiyon: ang “Matandang Binata” (10k words) at “Lockdown” (15k words) na parehong nasa Bayan ng mga Bangkay.

Isinulat ko ang Daddy sa panahong hindi ko na maitanggi ang pananakit ng mga tuhod at paa kapag nasosobrahan ng paglalakad at sa panahong umiinom na ako ng mga gamot na nagtatapos sa -sartan at -statin ang pangalan. Gusto ko ring bumalik sa pagsulat ng akdang realista, at ito nga ang naging bunga: kuwento ng isang 44 year old na bading.

Medyo risqué (risqué?!) din ang akdang ito, dahil mas prangka sa usaping sexual kumpara sa mga huli kong librong Ang Nawawalang Barangay at ang mga nobelang Mars. Iniisip ko na lang na pagbabalik rin ito sa mga erotikang isinulat ko noon, partikular iyong mga kuwentong naging bahagi ng Kuliti at Kuliti 2: Pagtatanggol sa Pag-ibig. (2007 at 2008 lumabas ang mga self-published na antolohiyang ito, kasama sina U Z. Eliserio, Maynard Manansala, Robert Buado, at Bernadette Villanueva Neri. Nagkaroon din ng ibang contributors ang Kuliti 2: sina Zig Dulay, Pink Jean Concepcion, Aga Posadas, Mary Anne Umali, Ian Reyno, at Romer Gonzales. Pero hindi na ito nasundan pa.) Lumabas rin naman eventually sa ibang libro at antolohiya ang mga kuwentong nasa Kuliti. Nasa Hindi Ito Romansa ang “Ritwal,” “Kyawtibel,” at “Walang Puso ang Tunay na Lalaki.” (May isang wala sa Romansa o kahit na anong antolohiya dahil hindi ko na yata kayang panindigan ang kuwentong iyon.)

Pagtatangka ko rin ang Daddy na sumulat tungkol sa middle age, at sa cruising o hookup culture. Alay ko ito sa mga taong nakakaalam pa kung ano ang MIRC at ang mga “tamang” channel dito, sa mga alam ang ibig sabihin ng EB at SEB. Sa mga hindi nakakaalam ng mga ito, alay ko ito sa kanila bilang araling pangkasaysayan. 😝

Available ang Daddy sa Manila International Book Fair, sa 19th Avenida Booth, Komiks Kalye Function Room 1, 2nd Floor ng SMX Convention Center. Magiging available ito sa Avenida website at sa Shopee pagkatapos ng MIBF.

Maraming-maraming salamat sa mga nag-pre-order ng novella! Sana magustuhan ninyo ang kuwento ni Ryan. Kung sakaling pupunta kayo sa MIBF, kitakits tayo. May libreng Daddy stickers at Mars, May Zombie! at Mars, Maraming Zombie! pins para sa mga dadaan. 🥰

At heto po ang teaser para sa susunod kong libro: isang artwork na gawa ni Kristoffer Brasileño, isang figurative painter mula sa Iloilo City. Siya ang lumikha ng artwork para sa cover, at ginawan niya rin ng illustration ang lahat ng kuwento sa koleksiyon.

Ito lang muna, hanggang sa susunod na newsletter. Maraming salamat sa pagbabasa!

English translation

Hi, everyone! Thanks again for subscribing to the Berry Shorts newsletter :)

Daddy is out this month, just in time for the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF). It's under the Eskinita imprint of 19th Avenida Publishing. This imprint releases more experimental and shorter works. The first Eskinita title was Oral Hystery by Siege Malvar, which came out in March at the Philippine Book Festival.

If we're friends on social media (my Facebook friends list is full; you can follow me on Instagram if you like, I do follow back), you've probably already seen my posts about Daddy. (Or maybe you're tired of them. 😅) If you're one of those who are tired of them, I apologize in advance. If not, congratulations, because I'm going to share a little bit about it. 😊

Daddy is the first novella I've written and released as a standalone volume. Now that I think about it, "novelette" might be a more accurate term for this piece since it's only 12k words. I have also written a few works that could be considered novellas/novelettes, but they were part of a collection: "Old Bachelor" (10k words) and "Lockdown" (15k words), both of which are in A Country of Corpses.

I wrote Daddy at a time when I could no longer deny the pain in my knees and feet after too much walking, and around the time I started taking medications whose suffixes are -sartan and -statin. I also wanted to return to writing realist fiction, and this was the result: the story of a 44-year-old gay man.

This work is also a bit risqué (risqué?!), as it's more sexually frank compared to my last books, The Vanishing Village and the Mars novels. It is a return of sorts to erotica writing, which I did back then, particularly the stories that were part of Stye and Stye 2: In Defense of Love (these self-published anthologies came out in 2007 and 2008, along with stories by U Z. Eliserio, Maynard Manansala, Robert Buado, and Bernadette Villanueva Neri. Kuliti 2 also had other contributors: Zig Dulay, Pink Jean Concepcion, Aga Posadas, Mary Anne Umali, Ian Reyno, and Romer Gonzales. But we did not follow up with another edition.) The stories from Stye eventually appeared in my solo book and other anthologies. "Ritual," "Kyawtibel," and "A Real Man is Heartless” are in This is Not Romance. (There is one story that is not in Romance or any other anthology because I don't think I can stand by that story anymore.)

Daddy is also my attempt to write about middle age and cruising or hookup culture. I dedicate this to those who still know what MIRC is and its "(im)proper" channels, to those who know what EB and SEB mean. For those who don't know these terms, I offer this as a history lesson. 😝

Daddy is available at the Manila International Book Fair, at the 19th Avenida Booth, Komiks Kalye Function Room 1, 2nd Floor of the SMX Convention Center. It will be available on the Avenida website and Shopee after the MIBF.

Thank you so much to those who pre-ordered the novella! I hope you enjoy Ryan's story. If you plan to go to the MIBF, I hope to see you there. There are free Daddy stickers and Mars, Zombies are Coming! and Mars, More Zombies are Coming! pins for those who will stop by. 🥰

And here is a teaser for my next book: an artwork by Kristoffer Brasileño, a figurative painter from Iloilo City. He created the artwork for the cover, and he also provided the illustrations for all the stories in the collection.

That's all for now, until the next newsletter. Thank you for reading!

The artist who made this is Iñigo Fadul. Check out his other artworks at IG: @ilyfuego_

If you’re seeing this, it means you are subscribed to my newsletter. You must have received a free copy of “Green” by now. (If you haven’t yet, please send me an email at cjpascual@ust.edu.ph.)

I’ve been working on a few projects since last year, and I want to share one of them with you: I have a story collection coming out this year, and it’s an English translation and (sort of) a new edition of a previous collection. Will share more in the coming months.

That’s all for now. Thank you!