Sawaga River Press Shines in September
Hello, SRP Family and Friends!
We say goodbye for now to Summer…and welcome Fall with wide open arms and hearts.
We have several wonderful news to share.
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Innovative Voices Program- Top 20 Finalist, September 2023
IBPA recognizes our efforts and “commitment to publishing excellence while telling the stories of their communities” by choosing us as one of the top 20 independent publisher finalists in their Innovative Voices Program. This program, sponsored by IngramSpark, provides guidance and support to five indie publishers from “marginalized backgrounds” to help them elevate their publishing programs. (I air quoted because I personally do not like the term. As far as I’m concerned, we are the center of our work.) I would like to emphasize that I share this with pride, not because IBPA is recognizing us- though it certainly is nice to be recognized- but because we feel empowered to take up our space and be the publishing press that tells the beautiful stories of our community. This is about us collaborating with our Fil-Am community so we can all heal, thrive, and shine as our glorious and authentic selves. We may not be chosen as the top five but I’m already considering this a win. It took a lot of love and belief and support from the Fil-Am community and our allies to get us to this point. We already feel so honored and grateful to be here, with our without IBPA’s rewards. There’s a whole lot of storytelling to do and Sawaga River Press is rising up to this joyful and life-affirming challenge! Thank you for weaving and swirling with us!
Here is the link to find out who the top 20 finalists are and the amazing programming we are all doing. The top 5 will be chosen next week, September 25, 2023. Wish us luck!
Kaglambaga and Bulosan Center for Filipinx Studies Talk Shows with Prof. Dinlayan, September 2023
What a joy it was to engage in a conversation with Professor Loreta Sol Dinlayan, not just once but twice! Prof. Dinlayan directs the Bukidnon Studies Center (BSC), one of our major collaborators in the making of the Jack & Agyu book. She invited us to be a guest of the BSC’s Kaglambaga radio show to talk about the beginnings of the Sawaga River Press and the inspiration of Jack & Agyu book. We also talked about publishing and storytelling as our way of healing ourselves from the wounds of colonization and reclaiming our whole selves.
A couple of weeks after, it was our turn to invite Prof. Dinlayan to continue our conversation as part of the Bulosan Center for Filipinx Studies’ Affiliates Summer Talk Series. Sawaga River Press is affiliated with the Bulosan Center. We shared our love for the Bukidnon culture and our efforts to share that love with the rest of the world. We talked about SRP’s future projects as well as the Bukidnon Studies Center’s.
We have yet to receive the Bulosan Center’s recording but we will definitely share it as soon as we get it.
Filipino American Educators Association of California Conference Workshop , September 29-October 1, 2023, San Jose, California
On September 29-October 1, 2023, FAEAC will be hosting its conference in San Jose, California with the theme “FAEAC at 35: Decolonizing Education”. We are super excited to be facilitating an interactive workshop on How to Develop Community Publishing (as a Decolonial Practice) to Address our Community’s Needs on Friday, September 29, 2023, 3:00 P.M. We will also be vending our Jack & Agyu books and pre-selling our Mungan book.
Here’s the link if you’re interested in registering for what we are sure is going to be a very enlightening and inspiring conference.
NVM Gonzalez)and Narita Manuel Gonzalez Writers’ Workshop, September 30, 2023, San Francisco Asian Art Museum
This September 30, 2023 , we will be co-facilitating the NVM in Translation: Challenges of the Vernacular in English Fiction Writing hosted by The NVM & Narita Gonzalez Writers’ Workshop. Founded in honor of Philippine National Artist in Literature N.V.M. Gonzalez (Nestor Vicente Madali Gonzalez) , the workshop’s mission is to encourage people of all ages, gender and ethnicity to discover writing as an expression of self and of others.We are deeply honored to be co-facilitating along with author Lisa Suguitan-Melnick, poet and fictionist Joi Barrios, PhD, and workshop founder Michael Gonzalez, EdD.
Call for Submissions
Lastly, we have a call for submissions for our next book projects, Know History, Know Self, based on Dr. Jose Rizal’s quote, “ Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa kanyang pinanggalingan, hindi makakarating sa kanyang paroroonan.” We are looking for first-person narratives by Fil-Ams of all ages, especially by young kids, on self-identity, her/history, immigration stories, hopes for the future, and other topics. We would love to hear your stories! See the flyer below for more info on how to participate. Go to the google form here to write and submit your stories by September 30, 2023.
Mungan Update
This post won’t be complete without an update about our Mungan and her Lola project. It’s coming alive, page by page, spread by spread! Ray is churning out the pages and Adrienne is researching options for our typography. We have so many plans to make this book as beautiful as possible! Last time we shared our final cover. Today we share our Narrator, inspired by design elements from the Filipino diaspora in California and our Bukidnon roots. Let us know what you think!
Coming Up: October as Filipino American History Month
October is around the corner and it’s SRP’s’ favorite month because it’s Filipino American History Month! This year’s theme is 1898: Recognizing 125 Years of Philippine-American History. We are already slated to represent the Fil-Am community in Davis at the City Council’s proclamation of October as Filipino American History Month. We will give an update in the beginning of October as we will be participating in a few community festivals and celebrations.
Thank You! Daghang Salamat!
It has been a great month, so far. Until the next post, Friends and Fam! You keep us going. Thank you. Daghang Salamat. Salamat Tungkay!
