RANCHO PALOS VERDES, California—To celebrate the printed and spoken words and to launch ten new works by Filipino American authors, Philippine Expressions Bookshop will host its annual event called Filipino American Authors Night in order to present new authors and new works to the community. Traditionally, Authors Night is held on the eve of the LA Times Festival of Books when authors gather in Los Angeles for the Festival. This year, Authors Night will be held on Friday, April 20 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm at the Community Hall of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center which is located at 1145 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA. Please visit https://www.apalc.org/ for the map site. The event is free and open to the public but RSVP is requested. Email or call (310) 514-9139. Parking is available for a fee at a parking structure next door. Featured authors at this year’s Authors Night include Ofelia V. Dirige, Aurora S. Cudal, Cecilia Gaerlan, Theodore S. Gonzalves, Greceila Jota, Paulino Lim, Jr., Carina Monica Montoya, Donna Miscolta, Ruben Nepales, Quirico S. Samonte, and a guest author, Susan Vance. They will talk, read from their books, and sign them. For more details, including photos of authors and their books, visit https://philippineexpressionsbookshop.wordpress.com/category/events/authors-night-events/
Every year, the small literary community within the big Filipino American community of Southern CA awaits the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Philippine Expressions Bookshop has participated in the Festival since 1997. The Bookshop started with just a couple of Fil Am authors and this year, a total of fifteen authors will be booksigning at their Booth. The authors come from different parts of the US – Ann Arbor in Michigan, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Tucson in Arizona, Washington DC. And one is coming all the way from Australia! Filipino writers in the diaspora are blooming, especially where the soil is hospitable!
Owner, Linda Nietes is “glad to be part of the cultural scene of the City of Los Angeles all these years. And we are happy to fulfill our Bookshop’s vision to provide a home for Philippine writings in North America. In 1972, when martial law was declared in the Philippines, we provided a home for Philippine writings when we opened Casalinda Bookshop in San Antonio Plaza, Forbes Park, Makati.” Casalinda Bookshop was closed in 1984 when Nietes decided to migrate to the US. She settled in Westwood Village close to UCLA and reopened her business as Philippine Expressions Bookshop. And forty years later, of which 28 years were on American soil, the mail order bookshop which specializes in Filipiniana is still going strong.
She further added, “we continue to seek the support of the community as we present new programs that make a difference in the cultural life of Filipinos in the diaspora. Please support Filipino American authors as they try to find their place in the literary map of mainstream America! Inspire our authors with your presence and have a book autographed for your private library when you visit us at the Festival. Do come and bring your family and friends.” The booth of Philippine Expressions Bookshop is Booth # 024, T1 Section, Trousdale Parkway, along Exposition Boulevard at USC Campus, Los Angeles. For details on the Festival, visit: https://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/ For maps and direction of USC Campus, visit https://visit.usc.edu/ For more info, including photos of authors and their books, visit “Literally Yours,” the bookshop’s blog: https://philippineexpressionsbookshop.wordpress.com/category/events/authors-night-events/
The Booksigning Schedule which indicates the authors names, their books and time is as follows: Saturday, April 21, 2012. 11:00am – 12:00noon. Ofelia V. Dirige and Aurora S. Cudal, co-authors, Global Filipino Cuisine: Healthy Recipes. 12:00 noon – 1:00pm. Greceila Jota, The Deliverer: A Novel; Paulino Lim, Jr., Death of the English Zen Professor: A Novel; Quirico S. Samonte, Panagani (Harvest Time): A Short Story written in English; and Theodore S. Gonzalves, whose books include Stage Presence: Conversations with Filipino American Performing Artists, The Day the Dancers Stayed: Performing in the Filipino American Diaspora, Filipinos in Hawai’i (part of the Images of America Series and co-authored with Roderick N. Labrador), Carlos Villa and the Integrity of Spaces: Essays on Villa’s Art and Life. 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Donna Miscolta, When the De la Cruz Family Danced: A Novel; Greceila Jota; Paulino Lim, Jr. and Theodore S. Gonzalves. 2:00pm – 3:00pm. Cecilia Gaerlan, In Her Mother’s Image: A Novel on WWII in the Philippines; Jay Wertz, The Pacific. Volume 1. Pearl Harbor to Guadalcanal. War Stories: WWII Firsthand; Donna Miscolta and Quirico S. Samonte. 3:00pm – 4:00pm. Carina Monica Montoya (aka Carina Forsythe), Filipinos in Hollywood (part of the Images of America Series ), Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown (part of the Images of America Series), Let’s Cook Adobo: a juvenile cookbook; guest author , Susan Vance, Tropic Born War Torn: Untold Tales of WWII in the Philippines; Cecilia Gaerlan and Jay Wertz. 4:00pm – 5:00pm. Albert J. Mortiz, Discover the Philippines Cookbook; Jay Wertz ; Susan Vance and Carina Monica Montoya.
Sunday, April 22. 2012. 12:00 noon – 1:00pm. Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Forty Years of Writing in America; Myrna Mulhern, Abadeha, The Philippine Cinderella ; and Jay Wertz. 1:00pm – 2:00pm. Greceila Jota; Donna Miscolta; Quirico S. Samonte and Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko. 2:00pm – 3:00pm. Ruben Nepales, My Filipino Connection: The Philippines in Hollywood; Greceila Jota; Donna Miscolta and Ruben Nepales. 3:00pm – 4:00pm. Quirico S. Samonte ; Jay Wertz; Myrna Mulhern and Ruben Nepales.
If you will be unable to attend Authors Night or the Festival, the Bookshop accepts orders for autographed copies of the titles mentioned above. Just email: orders@philippineexpressionsbookshop.com.
Both events are part of the ongoing program sponsored by the Rancho Palos Verdes-based mail order bookshop to reach out to the Filipino American community. PO Box 2401, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274. www.philippineexpressionsbookshop.com. The Bookshop also has a Volunteers Program that allows members of the community of all ages to know Fil Am authors on a personal basis by volunteering during special events such as these two. For additional information, call (310) 310-514-9139 or email linda@philippineexpressionsbookshop.com