Booktalk, 2006 June 12 : Graphic Novels

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

A month before this, when we first discussed the idea of focusing on graphic novels in the next Booktalk, I must confess that I was enthusiastic but nervous. I have always thought of myself as a person who loves words but who is, shall we say, challenged in the field of visuals. You can tell by looking at my room, my desk, even the way I dress. Making things pretty or expressing myself through drawings or something visual just has never been my thing.

After much thought and some introspection, I convinced myself that (a) because of my exposure to three or four graphic novels, (b) my basic ability to be opinionated about anything, (c) the fact that I possessed one of the very best written graphic novels of all time and loved it, (d) a book is a book is a book… I decided that I would brave the session.

Here is what happened.

There were nine people who took part in the Booktalk that evening.

Beaulah, the indefatigable Regional Advisor of our SCBWI chapter, started things off with a brief introduction about the SCBWI, a short description of what the Booktalk is like and what we hope to achieve, and a short mention of the writing workshop that we have scheduled for July. A teacher at heart, Beaulah also made it a point to set a working definition of “graphic novel” for the evening: a novel with sequential printed images, all dealing with a single story or moving towards a single ending. She emphasized “sequential art,” and both Ani and Addison across the table nodded vigorously.

Three Incestuous Sisters

First to talk about the book she brought was Ani Almario – children’s book publisher, teacher and owner of a brand new pre-school, girl about town who seems to have a finger in so many many pies. The book that she brought was “Three Incestuous Sisters” by Audrey Niffeneger. While she was not quite sure if it was a graphic novel or simply a story with many illustrations, she nevertheless shared it with us because she enjoyed it so much. It’s about three sisters whose incestuous relationship was actually not sexual; rather, it referred to their extreme closeness. For Ani, not only is the book very unique, it’s also good for young adults 16 years old and above. Naturally, the question about the proper age for certain books was pointed out by Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, recently retired from her 30 plus years of service at International School Manila.

An Urban Fairy Tale

After Ani, we had Bleps – a very young, very shy, very quiet illustrator, and a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang InK). She shared Lawrence Marvit’s “An Urban Fairy Tale.” It’s about a typical girl, typically longing for her prince charming to come and sweep her off her feet. Her prince charming, when he did show up, was a…….robot! This piece of information alone is actually enough to send me running to buy this particular book.

Jam

Karen Kunawicz, a writer whose columns my husband and I used to read, followed. She introduced us to “Jam” – a series of magazines/comic books for tween girls that she and her all female group produced. Dealing with Pinay Power, Jam has four different storylines about four different heroines, written by four different women. In the course of our conversation, we learned that the series is sold directly to schools as well as in National Bookstore, and that it is the direct competitor of “Witch,” another graphic/comics magazine for girls.

The Life of Gree the Wanderer

Yvette Tan, a writer and a member of GMA 7’s webteam had “The Life of Gree the Wanderer” – a very cheerfully illustrated book by Sergio Aragones. She has had this particular tome since she was in high school, many years ago in 1995. Apart from the illustrations – which reminded all of us of Asterix – she thought the whole book was very well written.

Goodbye Chunky Rice

After Yvette, we heard from Neni Sta. Romana Cruz. Neni has worked for the longest time at the media center of International School Manila. No, she is not a librarian, she says; she just worked with books. This lovely gentlelady (if there is gentleman, there MUST be an equivalent title for women, I insist) shared Craig’s Thompson’s “Goodbye Chunky Rice” – a rather poignant story of loss and friendship. Taking her responsibilities as a part of the Booktalk very seriously, Neni actually marked certain pages and read from them. Neni is strange – she said she didn’t understand the graphic novel at all but as she spoke about the graphic novel that she brought, she nearly cried over it. It seemed, to me at least, that she actually understood it very well.

“Blankets,” also by Craig Thompson was mentioned at this point. Beaulah had brought a copy that was lent to her by a friend, and it was passed around, examined, and commented on. Both Neni and Beaulah said they would have wanted to talk about “Blankets” too, if there was time and people were allowed to talk about more than one book.

Monkey Vs. Robot

Throughout the entire Booktalk, I was privileged to sit beside Addison, a former member of InK and now a freelance artist. Privileged, because Addison was literally a living, breathing encyclopedia of knowledge of all things pertaining to graphic novels and comic books. He knew everything – from copyright ownership to which writer was the protege of whom. As he sat beside me, he kept muttering bits and pieces of comics and graphic novels trivia. So if there is anything missing in my notes here, it’s your fault Addison! I was so busy listening to your fascinating trivia I’m sure I must have missed a word or two or three. But Addison DID know his stuff.

Anyway, Addison shared with us a book with no words at all: “Monkey Vs. Robot” by James Cacharca. Very simply, it was the story of how monkeys fought against robots over the possession of a hill. In the initial edition, everyone died, monkey and robot alike. In later editions, a monkey survived.

The Watchmen

After Addison, it was my turn. I had Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s “The Watchmen.” I love this book. It was given to me nearly 20 years ago by an old boyfriend. When we broke up, I returned many of his gifts but I kept this book. When he first gave it to me, I was a bit skeptical about whether I would like it or not since I was never a fan of Batman or anyone in a cape. I ended up reading it till I finished at 2 am. Wonderful book, fantastic writing. It speaks about vigilantism and alternative futures. It had a story within a story within a story.

I do not know if this or any of the other novels shared that evening would be good for children. I only know that my daughter shocks me with her choice of reading material and with the stuff she chooses to watch on TV. I guess if I see my Ruth reading this, the best I can do is make myself available in case she has questions about the rather dark material.

And God Cried Too

Next was Ria, obviously a book lover. She arrived, together with her boyfriend Drix who was happy to be dragged along, and between the two of them they had one book: “And God Cried Too” by Rabbi Marc Gellman. Not a graphic novel, but one for young people nevertheless, this book was written in reaction to the events following 9/11. In this book, the Rabbi encouraged children to ask question which would stump even God. At the end of each chapter, there was a section on things to think about.

The Upturned Stone

Last, Beaulah shared one of the three graphic novels that she brought for the evening – “The Upturned Stone” by Scott Hampton, a story that she first found in Heavy Metal Magazine. Beaulah said that the first time she saw this story, she was spellbound by the illustrations. The whole story was a breathtaking series of paintings, all done in a soft, watercolor style. But dark – like the story itself. When Beaulah mentioned that Hampton is regarded as the creator of the first continuing painted comic, there was Addison again, nodding vigorously across the table in complete and happy agreement.

Beaulah said she did not even read the story the first time; she simply gazed at the illustrations, frame by frame from beginning to end. She felt that the pictures by themselves already told the story quite well. Of course, when she took the trouble to actually read the text, the story revealed more of itself. And for her, it’s quintessentially Young Adult. For one, the protagonists are a group of ten-year old boys. Another detail that Beaulah mentioned is that among notable graphic novels, “The Upturned Stone” is an example of a creator-owned project. Meaning, Hampton himself owns the rights to the work. Recent news has it that it was being optioned for film production.

Of course, this is not all that happened at the Booktalk. We were continously reaching across the table to get hold of each other’s books, opening them, caressing the pages, scrutinizing the paper, and actually reading them as if we had the time to finish before the coffee shop closed for the night. And, we were busy making friends, learning of each other’s other businesses. From Addision, we learned so much. I wish I had had the time to record all of his “Ma’am, kaunting trivia lang po….” And I was personally happy to meet Karen, a person whose work I had read and admired long ago.

What are the words that I would use to describe how I feel about this Booktalk? Satisfying, enjoyable, a great learning experience.

See you on July 10, at the next Booktalk!

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Booktalk, 2006 Aug 14 : Sheryll, Dave, etc.

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

As I look back at my past blog entries I realized that “fun” is among my most overused words.
 
It is true, I have yet to attend a gathering, meeting, booktalk, workshop of our SCBWI chapter that was solemn, sad or very “official” in its tone. There are always smiles, very often laughter and on some occassions even giggles. Lest you mistake us for a social club of people who just happen to love the creation of children’s and young adults books, let me assure you that this is not so. We are in fact a group of professionals and students who share a common passion for young people’s literature. Many of us have taken this passion one step further and have actually created children’s books. The others, myself included, are climbing up the path which will hopefully, eventually lead to publication.
 
Having said that….
 
The Booktalk last Monday, August 14 was held at Figaro in Makati. Four of us attended.
 
I spoke first. For the first time since I joined SCBWI I acknowledged myself as a writer. I stated that these days I generally prepare scripts for various events but in past, when I worked for a public relations firm, I actually had a few articles published in the newspapers and magazines. This is the gift of SCBWI to me – the ability to publicly recognize myself as a writer. Just, at the moment, not as a published children’s book writer.

Nikki and Charlotte’s Web
 
Anyway…I shared the classic Charlotte’s Web, written by EB White and illustrated by Garth Williams. I read this book when I was about nine years old. At that age, I clearly remember I just enjoyed the story. As I was looking through the book again in preparation for the Booktalk, other elements of the book struck me. The first were the illustrations. There was one in particular on pages 6, where the little girl Fern cradled Wilbur the pig. Most children have dogs and cats as pets and it was good to have a more unconventional pet for the little girl in the story.
 
A lullaby which Charlotte the spider sung to her adopted son, Wilbur the pig, also struck me as rather poignant. It reminded me of all the lullabies that all the mothers all over the world sing to their babies.
 
Finally as an adult reviewing the book, I was struck by how easily humans and in particular adults could be indoctrinated. Just put a “TERRIFIC” sign on a web on top of the pig and everyone believes that the pig is indeed “terrific.”

Sheryll and Charlotte’s Web
 
Normally I would write about the next person who shared his thoughts with us – this would have been David Larkin. This time though, for the first time, two people brought the same book: Charlotte’s Web. So let me skip a person for now and go straight to Sheryll Cordero.
 
A very soft spoken young lady, Sheryll has been receiving our Booktalk notices for the past few months. Finally, she attended. A former teacher at the Assumption College and currently an engineering student at the MAPUA, she was open it seemed to expanding her world. After the Booktalk, she stayed a bit and tried to find out how we could connect with her book lover friends and schoolmates.
 
Sheryll said that when she was still teaching she shared Charlotte’s Web with her Grade 3 students. They appreciated the book, enjoyed the story, and liked the cover – especially the picture of the young girl hugging a pig! In fact, our group noted later that nearly all the editions of Charlotte’s Web have the same cover illustrations. Sheryll made special mention of the fact that the creatures who eventually helped Wilbur the Pig were the ones who did not at first like him – these were the spider Charlotte and Templeton, the rat.
 
In the discussion, we noted that Charlotte’s Web was a Newberry Award Winner. We also discussed its possible similarity to Orwell’s Animal Farm. Some of us felt that while the literary device (personification) was the same, the treatment was much lighter and unlike Orwell, it was not really a social statement. We all agreed that children’s books have to be apealing as well to the parents, teachers and librarians who actually buy them. Many adults who buy books actually wish they had bought these books as children. And great books, like great art, “keep talking to you.” We also noted that young girls read more; it’s boys who really go for graphic novels more.  All in all, children are vey visual and good illustrations help.
 
There were some questions that were asked but not quite answered by our little group. Could it be possible that Filipinos in particular like Charlotte’s Web because of the idea of “miracles” or the hand of God helping a little creature? Do girls like this story especially because of the theme of self empowerment and girl power?
 
Isn’t it amazing how much discussion this sweet little story evoked? This was the very first time two people shared brought the same book to our Booktalk and I must say that the differences in point of view made our discussion much livelier.

Dave Larkin and Flickr
 
David Larkin, or Dave, is our other new Booktalk friend. He is a member of SCBWI New England, and he did not bring a book with him, having only recently learned about our Booktalk from the SCBWI network. We made up for that by asking him questions about himself and his work – questions that he most willingly answered. I must say that inasmuch as he didn’t bring a book himself, David did jump into the discussion and shared a lot. His opinions were stated quite clearly and he threw in one or two queries which got us to thinking.
 
Dave is an illustrator and a writer. For his bread and butter, he works as a publisher of The Modern Teacher, a Philippine magazine geared for teachers. This was founded by his grandparents, both of whom were heads of the College of Education of major universities.
 
When he told us that his works are online at www.flickr.com, this sparked a discussion of self publishing and print on demand (POD). Beaulah mentioned Xlibris, a company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvnia that is well known for its services geared towards self-publishers. Recently, it opened its first non-US branch in the Philippines, in Cebu. She pointed out however that while some self-published books printed by POD companies are quite good, and that some even become best sellers, there are those who do not think highly of them. The thinking is that self published writers do not pass the scrutiny of an editorial board or the judgement of anyone else but themselves. Both Beaulah and Dave also mentioned that self-published books are rarely reviewed by established and well-respected book reviewers.

The Wolves in the Walls
 
Finally Beaulah spoke. She shared a beautiful book: The Wolves in the Walls, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave Mckean. Gaiman is famous for his graphic novels, including the Sandman series; McKean is Gaiman’s long-time graphic novel collaborator, illustrator of Sandman covers among many other works. Beaulah loved the book so much that she bought four copies – 2 hardbond and 2 soft bound! Some to keep, she said; the others to give, just in case.
 
First, Beaulah emphasized that while she herself is an illustrator, she really loves to read, and she loves books for the words as well. In the case of Wolves therefore, she appreciated the fact that if Gaiman’s words were separated from the pictures, the story would still stand alone. In fact, when she read it, she actually read it aloud to herself. She agrees with someone who said that “if you have to write, write for people who move their lips when they read.” Readers are really lovers of words, she said; they love to savor words. Reading silently, she believes, is more for the convenience of teachers who want a quiet and orderly classroom.
 
Dave nodded in agreement when Beaulah said that she thought the Wolves illustrations look like they were planned like a storyboard. She also made special mention of the excellent book design, which almost choreographs the story: the points where the page should be turned – or not yet. She also noted McKean’s use of many techniques – scanned photos used as is, digitally created and manipulated art, text set in different styles – including “scratched” lines for words in balloons. The book is truly a demonstration of a very succesful collaboration between writer and illustrator. Beaulah said that this kind of book that is visually sophisticated and clever appeals to a wide range of people, from adults who simply appreciate good design all the way to young children who are exposed to modern graphics.
 
The end.
 
Or rather, this ended the Booktalk of Monday, August 14. Thank you, Sheryll and David, our new friends – we’re looking forward to seeing you in our future events!

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Booktalk, 2006 Jul 10 : Chris, Neni, Hannah, etc.

2nd of 5 Installments
By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)
 
Author’s Note: These are my personal impressions about the writing seminar with Chris Eboch, which was sponsored by the Philippine chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) in Manila on July 15 and 16, 2006. Chris is the Regional Advisor for SCBWI New Mexico, and the author of several books including The Well of Sacrifice, a young adult historical fiction set in 9th century Guatemala. – Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)
 
In the previous installment of this mini-saga, I shared all that happened on the course of conceptualizing and planning for the trip of Chris Eboch. I spoke about the first few characters whom we had the privilege to meet and the different tasks we had to accomplish.
 
In this entry, I go on to the Booktalk, our chapter’s most regular activity, now made more interesting with the participation of our very special guest, Chris Eboch.
 
As soon as Chris’ flight from Tokyo landed in Manila, Beaulah whisked her off to the hotel where I was waiting. After giving Chris a couple of hours to rest, we escorted her to her first “official” activity. This was our monthly Booktalk, hosted every second Monday by SCBWIphilasia – the Philippine chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. Since the start of the year, we’ve been having these monthly meetings where we bring our favorite books for children and young adults and discuss them: do we love them, do we hate them, why did we choose them, do we want to write or illustrate books like these, etc. As the discussion continues we do have the tendency to talk about many, many other things, sometimes related to the talk, sometimes not. According to Chris, it sounded like a typical SCBWI schmooze: an informal gathering of members and friends. 
 
In consideration of Chris who travelled thousands of miles from New Mexico to Tokyo to Manila to be our seminar speaker, we decided to make an exception and hold our Booktalk near Orchid Garden Suites, the hotel where Chris was staying. So off we went to Figaro, a coffeeshop located in the CCP Complex less than ten minutes away. We had another reason not to tarry: we had to be at Figaro one hour early because Chris had a press interview.
 
Interview with Chris

A week or so earlier, I received a message from a certain Myla of the Varsitarian, the school paper of the University of Santo Tomas. Initially they wanted to do a report on the writing workshop and were hoping we had some free slots to give away. We couldn’t give them that, so they settled on attending the booktalk instead and interviewing Chris. How did they hear of our event? Well, they heard of it through their adviser, Lito Zulueta who heard of it from me who sent an email to him so he could have a press release out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Nice work Lito, I am really glad you had your students join us. Talking to young(er) people is always such a pleasure.
 
When we got to Figaro, the student reporters arrived shortly after. They conducted their interview with very earnest expressions, took copius notes, and shot many, many photograhs of Chris and of us. They were, as I have found all the students from their school to be, extremely polite. In Chris’ words “I have never been called Ma’am as often.” We listened in and during breaks in the conversation, started interviewing (grilling?) the kids ourselves. So we learned that Myla wanted to be a writer but her parents made her take Nursing. And that the photographer Kevin read a lot of Chinese novels. In any case, we look forward to receiving copies of The Varsitarian in September when the articles appear.
 
Ever the teacher, Chris assured Myla that as a nurse who could write, she could find a very special niche – perhaps she could write for the hospital newsletter or perhaps she could write about the million and one stories found in every hospital.

I think they liked what they heard and saw because both young people stayed for the booktalk. Feeling like a rather protective mother, I kept an eye on both of them and noticed that they were listening very intently, taking notes and many, many photographs. I would like to think that they went there as part of their assignment and stayed for their own satisfaction.
 
At 6 p.m. people started trickling in for the Booktalk and at 6:30 we started. As always, Beaulah started with an introduction of the activity, SCBWI and this time, of Chris.

The Well of Sacrifice
 
As our very special guest, Chris was the first to share. Naturally, she spoke of her book The Well of Sacrifice. It is a story set in 9th Century Guatemala, the height of the Mayan civilization. Published in 1999, it still brings in a check every year. At the moment it is used in schools for 4th graders who study the Mayan civilization.

Guess Who My Favorite Person Is

Neni followed with Guess Who My Favorite Person Is, written by Byrd Baylor and illustrated by Andrew Parker. As always with Neni the many years a teacher, the book was very neatly marked and she knew just what pages to show us and what passeges to read. She enjoyed the book because of all the detail in the text. Again, the teacher in Neni surfaced and she identified this tome as one that could be used as a fun way to teach children to pay attention to detail.

As an added point of interest, she mentioned that the author was a rather eccentric character who left her family to live on her own in Arizona.

The Diary of Anne Frank

Hannah, a surprise attendee, followed. A teacher a Brent school, she is also an actress for Trumpets, a fairly well known theater group that does a lot of musical theater productions for young people. She shared two books: The Diary of Anne Frank and CS Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Both were favorites from her childhood. She fell further in love with them when she took part in plays adapted from these books.
 
She spoke of how she used to search through wardrobes for Narnia when she was a child. She shared with us the time she spent as a young girl, reading the thoughts of another young girl. Now, as a teacher in Brent, she is able to sing all the songs of the Narnia musical to her pupils and thus is able to get them to see how alive the words could be.
 
Hannah – a lady close to my heart as we share our twin loves of theater and literature.
 
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

After Hannah, it was my turn. I had actually planned to share A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, but before discussing this book, I brought out Anne Frank’s Tales of the Secret Annex. These were the short stories written by Anne Frank, whose ambition was to be a writer. I noted that most of these stories were for children. In my mind was the thought (fantasy) that if Anne had lived, she could very well have become a SCBWI member herself!
 
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a book for young adults, very close to my heart since it dealt with a young girl who managed to bloom in spite of adversity and the misfortune of growing up poor in a bad environment. It was also the story of a family with strong women, who survived many trials – kinda like my own family.
 
The Selfish Giant

Finally, Beaulah shared a Vietnamese translation of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant. Clearly, Beaulah thinks of a book not simply as a story but also as a product. She mentioned that she bought it in Hanoi’s Temple of Literature, which existed as early as 1,000 years ago. Going into the temple was like going on a journey through learning. She also noted that just 25 years after the end of the Vietnam war, the country was already confident enough to publish books by foreign authors and did not just confine themselves to tomes on local culture. She admired people who were brave enough to have books translated. Ever the illustrator and production manager, she noted that the production quality of the book looked like it was just a cut above silkscreen and probably involved tedious color stripping by hand.
 
She also had a second book from the same publisher which dealt with the story of an ancient Vietnamese king. This was more similar to some of our publications on Philippine history, myths and legends.
 
After some discussion on how English is taught – whether as a second language or as a language of equal importance to one’s own – the booktalk ended. Neni very kindly offered to drop Chris off at the hotel. In keeping with the practice around here, we gave her very specific instructions: just go “straight down the road.”

I will always enjoy these Booktalks/Schmoozes because beyond what they teach us about books, writing and illustration, the conversation always reflects so much about the personalities present. I could sit quietly in one corner, just listening and end up with character sketches. Okay, I promise not to turn the booktalks into a venue for me to hone my skills with writing execrcises! But I could – character sketches, descriptions, focusing on each person’s concerns, all can be found in this one little once a month talk around little coffee tables!
 
As tired as she must have been, I do hope Chris’ first introduction to SCBWI Philippines was enoyable.

Thus ended Chris’ first day in Manila.

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Joy Flies in the Philippines!

JOY FLIES IN THE PHILIPPINES!
A writing workshop with Alice McLerran
Hosted by the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI)

9 am to 5 pm, Saturday November 11, 2006
Filipinas Heritage Library (formerly Nielsen Tower)
Ayala corner Makati Avenue, Makati City, Philippines
 
Here’s your chance to have your manuscript critiqued while spending a day with Alice McLerran, children’s book author from Long Island, New York. Know what it takes to write not only for children but also how to keep on writing and honing your craft. Share your own writing—bring your work, participate in a manuscript critique and learn how to give and receive constructive feedback.
 
On Saturday November 11, 2006 Alice McLerran will be in Manila for an all-day writing workshop sponsored by the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). The workshop is for adults who write or want to write for children and young people—amateurs and professionals, published and unpublished authors, freelance writers, college students, teachers, parents, educators, and others who have a keen interest in children’s literature. We hope to give all the participants an intimate glimpse into what Alice describes as “the kind of rewriting that is such an important part of the writing process for me.” The workshop is also helpful for illustrator-writers, visual artists who are interested in the writing process, and those who are eager to know more about the kind of creative collaborations that can take place between authors and illustrators.

Alice McLerran was brought up in a way that let her know she lived in the whole world rather than in one place. Her family made homes in locations ranging from Hawaii to Germany to Ecuador, and in states across the U.S. As an adult, she now travels even more widely with her physicist husband. When not traveling together they divide their time between homes in New York and Oregon. She earned her PhD in anthropology from the University of California in Berkeley in 1969 once her three children were in school, and later an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Although always a writer, she only began to publish professionally in 1985. Her books include ROXABOXEN, THE GHOST DANCE, THE YEAR OF THE RANCH, and the twin books HUGS and KISSES. Her first book, THE MOUNTAIN THAT LOVED A BIRD, still published in the U.S. and Japan with its original illustrations by Eric Carle, has been reillustrated by artists in Russia, Pakistan, and India for newer editions. Its Philippine editions are now about to be released in English, Filipino, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Ilokano and Kiniray-a, using totally new art drawn from the landscapes of the Phillipines. To know more about Alice, please visit http://www.AliceMcLerran.com

Pre-registration is required and is now going on. The fee includes handouts and lunch, and is non-refundable but transferrable: P1500 until Monday September 18, P1750 until Monday October 16, P2000 until Friday November 3. There’s a P200 discount for current SCBWI members, and a small rebate on the day of the event for every person who contributes a manuscript for the group critique session. Please provide 2 copies of your manuscript, prefaced with a title page that contains only this statement: “I hereby declare that I am the author of the attached manuscript” followed by the title, your signature above your printed name, mailing address, landline and cellphone number, e-mail address, and an indication whether the manuscript is being submitted for individual critiquing only, for group critiquing only, or may be used for either or both. Manuscripts must be 5 pages maximum, typed 12 points double space on 8.5 x 11 inch paper with a 1-inch margin all around, and submitted upon pre-registration or on Friday, November 3, at the latest. Only those manuscripts submitted in advance will be used for either form of critiquing.

If you’ve never participated in a critique session and hesitate to submit your work to other eyes, you may regret such hesitation once you experience the useful insights and support a group of fellow-writers can provide! Offer a manuscript you’ve carried as far as you know how, and with any luck you can come away with ideas on how to do yet more with it.

For more information, contact Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo at beaulah.taguiwalo@yahoo.com or 0917-787-4956, or Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki) at nikkigarde@yahoo.com or 0917-667-1267.
 
PROGRAM
 
9:00 am to 10:30 am – MY JOURNEY AS AN AUTHOR: FROM CHILDHOOD SELF-PUBLISHING TO BOOKS WITHOUT BORDERS. Aided by projected images, Alice shows as well as tells how she grew into being an author and how she learned to share her stories around the globe—initially through the traditional route of translated editions arranged between publishers, but increasingly though much more direct and personal involvement in the process. There’ll be time for questions and interactive discussion.
 
10:30 am to 11:30 am – THE WRITING PROCESS: IS THERE AN EASY FORMULA? Some classroom teachers seem to think so, but Alice has her doubts. She does, however, have some beliefs about where the best story-ideas are found, and how to develop them into stories that work.

11:30 am to 12:00 noon – BREAK FOR INFORMAL SCHMOOZING

12:00 noon to 1:30 pm – LUNCH. Alice hopes to do some table-hopping as lunch progresses. As informal conversation continues, Alice will try to meet with as many as possible of those who have requested individual critiques.

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm – SHARING OUR STORIES. We’ll stay grouped around tables for the afternoon. After discussing the multiple advantages critique groups offer, basic guidelines that keep them painfree and helpful, and some tips on how to structure a group of your own so that it will function well, we’ll begin actually experiencing the process of group critiquing. If there’s time at the end, Alice can offer for input by all assembled a manuscript she herself has been polishing “far too long”—to see if our insights can help her see certain spots with new eyes!

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm – JOY FLIES IN THE PHILIPPINES! Together, Alice and Beaulah tell how the idea of special Philippine editions of THE MOUNTAIN THAT LOVED A BIRD came to be born. The bird in the story is named Joy, and the release of this new book is indeed a joyous moment for Alice, the author, and Beaulah, the illustrator. We hope it will be ready for launching on November 11, and that their joint presentation can be followed by the first public appearance of the book itself—with a rare chance to purchase copies signed by both author and artist.

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Touring with Chris : Batangas

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

Author’s Note: These are my personal impressions about the writing seminar with Chris Eboch, which was sponsored by the Philippine chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) in Manila on July 15 and 16, 2006. Chris is the Regional Advisor for SCBWI New Mexico, and the author several of books including The Well of Sacrifice, a young adult historical fiction set in 9th century Guatemala. – Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

Batangas
2006 July 12, Wednesday

On Wednesday the 12th, the Nazareth school very kindly arranged for one of Lipa’s tourist officers to tour us around the city after Chris’ school visit. The name of the tour guide is Aylene and wonder of wonders, she and I have met before. Really, this world is very small.
 
First she took us to the ancestral home of Segunda Katigback, purportedly the first love of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal. It was a lovely old Spanish style house with a beautiful azotea (balcony). Most of the original furniture was there and family pictures, past and present were prominently displayed. We were toured by her descendant, a sweet old lady who gladly told us ALL about her family. She kept talking and talking and talking – it was obviously a topic very close to her heart.
 
Following this, we visited the Carmelite convent where petals were supposed to have rained down on a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary. The place had become a shrine for Marian devotees from all over the country.
 
Our final stop was the Lipa Cathedral, a huge church in the center of town. We had to run from the car to the church and were still nearly drenched as the rain came pouring down. It was a big cavernous place with lots of paintings on the wall and with a really beautiful if rather dimly lit altar.
 
This ended our Batangas trip. As we drove home, the rain came pouring down and it truly felt like a typhoon in full swing. Conversation centered on possible floods and consequences for our next day’s trip. 

Booktalk, 2006 May 8 : Zarah, Astrid, Chris, etc.

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

For a while, I thought the May 8th booktalk would be the second one in a row with just four people – myself, Beaulah, my partner ARA Ani Almario and Christy Hayes – a mother, aspiring writer and SCBWI member. However, about an hour and a half into the booktalk, we were joined by Zarah Gagatiga, librarian par excellance and Astrid Tobias, outgoing President of Kuting, an association of children’s book writers.

Naughty Naughy Kiefer

AniAnyway… Ani, my fellow ARA and a publisher of children’s books brought “Naughty Naughty Kiefer” by Wendy Gardner. She was first attracted to this book because a friend, Pepper Roxas, worked with the author. Second, the author who is also a toymaker has a line of books about her pets, and many of the characters in this book have been turned into toys. In fact, Pepper gifted Ani with a keychain made by the author Wendy. The book has a very “graphic illustrationy” look to it. The colors are very bright and the illustrator played with the font type and size. Very basic colors were used. It dealt with what is normally a taboo topic – dealing with the poop that your pets leave behind. In this case, the pet was a cat named Keifer.

Beaulah noted that for books such as this, it was very important that the printer is really very careful. She noted that in Singapore, quality control is such that only “good” copies are sent out. Sadly it is not this way for many Philippine presses.

Going from books to toys or toys to books also brought the issue of merchandising to the fore. While Wendy herself wrote very good books with great illustrations, there is a whole new genre of children’s and young adult books which were spawned by TV or movie hits. Among these would be Star Wars and Dawson’s Creek. Admittedly there are also children and young people who would never have picked up Harry Potter and Tolkien if not for the success of the movies.

Nancy Drew

I spoke next. I brought book number 2 of the Nancy Drew series. Again, the mother in me made me bring the book my daughter was currently in love with. While neither Nancy Drew nor Hardy Boys is the best written or illustrated of books, they have been read by several generations of young people, including everyone at the booktalk.

Ani admitted to having read all 60 books of Nancy Drew. When she was younger, she actually tried to be as investigative as Nancy! As for Beaulah, she said that she used to save her allowance to buy each new Nancy Drew book as soon as it came out, and was deeply disappointed when she learned that Carolyn Keene was not a person a but a group of people writing under the pseudonym.

The Thief

Christy’s book was “The Thief” by Megan Whalen Turner. Although she has never heard of either the author or the book itself, she bought it on one of her many sorties into the bookstore. It was a decision she did not regret; she loved the story, and will now buy any book by the same writer. Christy pointed out that the writing style was very sparse and contained no cliches. The story was crafted very well and the cover photograph captured the imagination.

Eloise

The last to speak was Beaulah. She is an Eloise fan, and she brought several books – an original Eloise book, and a spin-off of that particular book. Beaulah ventured that while the Eloise books are very well written, she is not sure if Eloise, the book’s main character, is a child that teachers would like their students to emulate. Sadly, she said, not all teachers, parents, or other adult caregivers for children are amused by children who are naughty, mischievous, and strong minded. I myself was shocked to learn that for this reason, some libraries or homes might actually not want to have copies of Eloise books lying around. Thankfully, all of us who were gathered around the table that evening find children like Eloise adorable.

Since neither Sarah not Astrid had brought books, we went into a discussion – a never ending one – on censorship. Why such classics as Eloise and “The Catcher in the Rye” are not put on library shelves because of the “morals” which they espouse. Why classification should perhaps be according to topic and not age (children develop at different speeds, and read different tomes at different times). Naturally, this discussion, while it lasted for quite a bit, did not end with a solution. Except perhaps for the six of us who were gathered that evening; we all vowed to continue giving those children and young people that we interact with a rich and broad exposure to literature.

Till the next Booktalk!

Booktalk, 2006 Apr 10 : Russell, Katrina, etc.

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

The Booktalk on April 10 was a lot of a fun. There were just four of us, Nikki the mother, Beaulah the illustrator, Katrina the budding librarian and Russell who seems to do everything (and do it well).

As always, we commandeered a couple of tables at Figaro in Greenbelt 3 and stayed to talk from 6 to 9 pm. As always, if not for other appointments, I am sure we would have stayed to close the coffee shop.

As we introduced ourselves we learned that: Katrina and Nikki had worked together at the CCP. Beaulah and Nikki had also worked together in Makati. Russell had won the Salangga award first for his illustrations, then for his stories. He was also a Palanca award winning writer and a recipient of the CCP Gawad Award. We never did ask for his age, but I would say he was definitiely under 30. Katrina was in the process of putting up a public library in her hometown of Cabuyao, Laguna, coincidentally, Nikki’s husband’s hometown.

Beaulah and I have, through the course of many booktalks and through this blog shared our thoughts and selves with you, so forgive me if this intro focuses on the two newcomers to the booktalk, Russell and Katrina.

Anyway….

I shared the Grade 5 HEKASI text book of my daughter, Ruth. HEKASI stands for Heograpiya, Kasaysayan at Sibika – Geograpy, History and Civics. For the first time since the start of the SCBWI Booktalks, the book shared was chosen because the person ( I,Nikki ) really didn’t like it. The text was boring, the paper used was below par and the illustrations were not pretty.

In the discussion that followed, it was pointed out that in comparison with textbooks used in public schools, this one was of better quality – the paper was better, the illustrations clearer. Private schools do have a big advantage over public schools in that they have abit more freedom in choosing the textbooks and other learning materials for their students.

While textbooks are a major market in terms of writing and illustrating for children, it is very difficult for writers and illstrators to “have their way” so to speak in how the books are presented. The bureaucracy of textbook publishing in the Philippines is such that by the time the book is printed, too many different fingers would have stuck themselves in the pie and edited it, added to or deleted parts of the material to the point of being unrecognizble from the original. Sigh…

In the end, with no false humility, I had to admit that not matter how ugly the textbook, as a parent, it was stil up to me to monitor every single aspect of my daughetr’s education – and I do.

Next up was my old buddy Katrina. As a personal note I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised to see this girl here. I knew her as a restauratuer, a terrific conversationalist and the woman all the guys drooled over. In the year that we worked together under very high pressure, the year she saw me cry over work. For some strange reason, we never once spoke about our mutual devotion to books. Very strange. And now here we were, Nikki as ARA of the SCBWI and Katrina the founder of a soon to be opened children’s library in Nikki’s husband’s hometown. Eensy weensy world.

Anyway, Kat shared Lloyd Alexander’s “The High King.” This was a book she loved and continues to read over and over again to this date. She said that it was “not as preachy as Narnia” that it was the last of five books in a series. The language was “beautiful” perhaps because it was set in Wales. Kat discovered the series when she was a 13-year old nerd inhabiting the International School library. She said that the hero reminded her of Luke Skywalker and while there were great lessons in the novel, she said again “it was not preachy.”

The word “preachy” spawned an entire discussion about how books can and should be read for fun and not necessarily to learn. All of the four of us present at this particular booktalk had in fact fallen in love with reading because of the stories and illustrations inside each tome – not the lessons.

Russell, the man of many awards, spoke next.

His book was Tomie de Paola’s “Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs.”

Russell started by saying that his monthly personal budget includes a sum for buying books. While this particular book was a bit more expensive than usual, he liked it so much that he bought it regardless of his budget. The title intrigued him, as did the very vivid illustrations.

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs was a semi-autobiograhical children’s book which dealt with the death of a beloved grandparent. It was written and illustrated by Tomie de Paola, a SCBWI Board member.

Aside from discussing the books, the four of us ended up talking about how topics such as death are dealt with in literature for children.

Finally, Beaulah took her turn. Ever the SCBWI Regional Advisor, she first gave Russell and Katrina a brief background on SCBWI before discussing the book she brought: “Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra” – a brightly illustrated book on the great Duke Ellington, written and illustrated by the husband and wife team by Andrea Davis Pinkney (author) and Brian Pinkney (illustrator).

The book with its illustrations showed that music is like painting. All the senses are involved. Indeed, as we each turned the pages of the book, we could each feel the spirit of jazz flowing out of the pictures, no matter that we did not actually hear the music. This book sounded like it was meant to be read aloud, the words had that sort of rhythm in them.

Beaulah pointed out that the book is a Caldecott Honor book, and that it was published in 1998, the centennial of Ellington’s birth. Sometimes, dates such as these are important in terms of marketing. It brings a whole new angle in terms of selling the material.

Thus ended our April 10 booktalk.

While I always enjoy a booktalk with a lot of people, the intimacy of having just four attend was unique. We each handled the books we brought, and in the case of Beaulah and Russell’s books, I believe we each managed to read them as well. In the end, it is amazing to find like minded people and to realize again and again that inasmuch as we all had been reading for most of our lives, there remains much to be learned from other lovers of the genre.

School Visit : Chris Eboch at PHSA

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

Author’s Note: These are my personal impressions about the writing seminar with Chris Eboch, which was sponsored by the Philippine chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) in Manila on July 15 and 16, 2006. Chris is the Regional Advisor for SCBWI New Mexico, and the author several of books including The Well of Sacrifice, a young adult historical fiction set in 9th century Guatemala. – Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)
 
The Philippine High School for the Arts
2006 July 17, Monday

After St. Scho, off we went to Mount Makiling and the Philippine High School for the Arts. I personally was looking forward to this particular trip because I had worked many, many times with the school and had never had any problems. I trusted their staff and was sure that the young people would not be found wanting in talent.
 
I had forgotten that it had been over two years since I had worked directly with them.
 
After a traffic filled trip we finally reached our destination. We were expecting two 1-hour sessions with 13-16 year old students, a mixture of creative writing majors, and students from other disciplines. Instead, we found that we were expected to conduct two 2-hour sessions for 8 creative writing majors and 12 teachers.
 
Obviously, it’s all a matter of miscommunication. Happily, we managed to arrange things and all the details were ironed out to everyone’s satisfaction and relief. After this, all went well.
 
With 8 creative writing majors left, the session went much, much faster. This time Chris had the time to ask all of them to read their works out loud and to give them bits of advice. She pretty much covered the same ground, only much faster and slightly more advanced. She also added lessons on description – similar to the lessons she had given the adults just a day earlier.
 
After a short break we continued. Considering that this time, Chris had the same students for both sessions, a bit more depth and rapport was established with the young ladies (yes, for some reason, all the Creative Writing Majors of the school were female!).
 
In the evening, we had an outdoor dinner by the pool, near the ruins of the school’s caffeteria which had burned in 2001. The setting with the dim lights and the music felt like prom night. On the lamp posts, the works of the young ladies were displayed. Providing additional lights were overhead projectors. They had actually attempted (and unfortunately failed) to project their works on the pool. Dinner was good and we had the chance right before that to interact a bit more with the students. After dinner, we were serenaded with somgs and instrumental pieces from the music majors and poetry read by the creative writing ladies. It ended with a few surprise words of thanks from Chris. (Even she was surprised!)
 
While this trip did not start out as well as the others, the young people with their talent and enthusiasm did more than save the day. I am reminded again and again about why I do love returning to this mystic mountain and working with its young students.
 

School Visit : Chris Eboch at St. Scholastica’s

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

Author’s Note: These are my personal impressions about the writing seminar with Chris Eboch, which was sponsored by the Philippine chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) in Manila on July 15 and 16, 2006. Chris is the Regional Advisor for SCBWI New Mexico, and the author several of books including The Well of Sacrifice, a young adult historical fiction set in 9th century Guatemala. – Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

Grade School, St. Scholastica’s College
2006 July 17, Monday
 
At 7 am on July 17th, we headed off for St. Scholastica’s College. We warned Chris that this would be a slightly different experience since it was known to be a conservative Catholic school. And it was.
 
After getting into the campus, it took us just a few minutes to find the elementary school. We knew we were expected by the huge sign on a portable blackboard, written with multi-colored chalk saying “Welcome Chris Eboch.” We were met by the principal, Didi Villegas. After a short stay at the conference room we were then escorted to the Library where the workshop was held.
 
A word about this library – it was wonderful! It was big, it was well lit and the children had a little raised platform with pillows and mattresses where they could lie down and read in comfort. Turtles and hamsters were available for borrowing along with the usual books.
 
The first session was for grades 3 and 4, the second for grades 5 and 6. Between sessions we had a truly delicious snack of backed macaroni, coffee, tea, softdrinks and pastry. Lunch was similarly heavy.
 
As we went up the stairs to the library, we learned a little bit about the school. We saw the huge tree, where, when a class picture was taken, ghosts were seen in the final print. And we learned that it being a girls’ school, the only boys bathroom was on the 4th floor. Poor Ikoy!
 
As with Nazareth, the talk of Chris was followed the same format. This time, she did not go into the “questions” but asked them to relate times when they were scared. This time, one or two children were able to read what they wrote.
 
An interesting note about our team was that none of us were practicing Catholics. So being in an intensely Roman Catholic school was a new and truly novel experience for all of us. The prayers before the start of the session complete with a little bow was an amusing practice, particularly for myself, a person who grew up in a rather secular school.
 
This time the young ladies sat on the floor. There was a powerpoint presentation that served as a very good introduction of Chris: who she is, where she is from, the books she has written. Questions were asked again, and this time the children were a little bit more discreet. Instead of asking if she had a boyfriend, they instead asked her to “tell us more about yourself.” But the autograph signing was the same, as was appreciation we felt from all of them. Lucky old Chris came away from the experience with a gift of books and a jacket. Again, Chris donated a copy of her book to their already large library.
 
Again, my goofy smile must have been plastered on my face all morning because again, I was amused, touched and satisfied with the students and their teachers.

Right: They say this tree is so old, and so much a part of St. Scholastica’s 100-year history that once, a group had their picture taken here and when the photo was developed one could see . . . .
 

School Visit : Chris Eboch in Lipa, Batangas

By Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki)

 

Author’s Note: These are my personal impressions about the writing seminar with Chris Eboch, which was sponsored by the Philippine chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) in Manila on July 15 and 16, 2006. Chris is the Regional Advisor for SCBWI New Mexico, and the author several of books including The Well of Sacrifice, a young adult historical fiction set in 9th century Guatemala. – Dominique Garde Torres (Nikki) 

The Nazareth School

2006 July 12, Wednesday

We refused to believe native Lipeno Dennis Marasigan when he told us that it would take only an hour and half to get from Manila to Batangas. And as I told Chris, she was stuck with two people who are both a bit fanatic about time. I take pride in being late very rarely, on those occassions that I am, I turn slightly frantic. Beaulah would rather be two hours early than ten minutes late. So we got to the city about an hour and half early and a full hour in advance of our appointment at the school.  

Having been unable to download the map which I had nagged Nazareth into e-mailing me, we were able to get to Lipa quite easily but had absolutely no idea where the school was. Fortunately, a couple of young people eating at MacDonald’s (where we also had breakfast) knew where it is and ten minutes later, we were at the school.  

The school was a small school – or a big house, depending on how you want to see it. We were met by Jo Ann Reyes, their very amiable school directress. This woman was all eagerness and warmth, and very, very accommodating. Her English, I noticed, was excellent. In consideration of our early arrival, she immediately made sure that the first batch of students were ready 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  

As we went down the hallways of the school, we were barraged with the images of the children’s works pinned all over the walls. We learned from Jo-Ann that instead of relying on English and Filipino textbooks, the teachers use reading lists that they provided to the students. In the classroom, we found that instead of individual chairs with desks, the children sat in tables together. All over the walls of the rooms, more samples of their work were proudly displayed.  

The first session with the grades 3 and 4 students started at 8:30 and ended at 9:00. I hesitate to go into details about how and what Chris taught since I suspect this is copyrighted under her name. Suffice it to say that she started by asking the children what their favorite books were and continued with guidelines or rather guide questions in putting together a story. After a brief talk on the questions, she allowed them a few minutes to write. This was pretty much the system she followed: lecture, discuss, write. Lecture, discuss, write. Finally, to illustrate her point, she discussed her book and showed them illustrations from it. The second session, which was from 9:30 to 10:30, was pretty much the same.  

Chris did allot a certain amount of time for questions and answers. Here the children amused the adults with their wit and with the directness of their queries. One little boy actually asked Chris outright how much money she made. Another wanted to know if she had a boyfriend. There were questions about how much time she took to write the 200 pages of the book. When they learned that it took her six months, there was collective gasp of “Oh No!’ And there were many, many questions on how her story ended. So much so that she ended up donating the book to their library!  

After both sessions, the children very sweetly (and agressively and insistently) asked Chris for her autograph.  

In between sessions we had a really delicious merienda of chocolate-e and bibingka and for lunch we had caldereta, fish and chicken. Delicious, and for Chris a really good introduction to Filipino food. They sent us off with requests for many more activities of this kind as well as gifts of suman and coffee, and for Chris a huge candle.  

It was on a very personal level, a very satisfying experience. Watching the faces of the children, their eagerness to learn made me feel so good that I had a rather goofy smile plastered on my face for most of the time. This was also the first time that the four of us – Beaulah, Nikki, Chris and Ikoy – worked as a team and it was, even if I do say so myself, a pretty good team. Beaulah was the team leader, Ikoy was the photographer/driver, Nikki was the coordinator and Chris was of course, the teacher.

Left: 7 a.m. at McDonald’s Lipa found Chris, Nikki and Beaulah having breakfast before the school visit. (Thanks to Nazareth School Director Jo-Ann Reyes for allowing us to use these photos here. Photos copyright 2006 by Mark Taguiwalo).The Nazareth School