“Father is the Blood, Mother is the Wine” appeared recently in the Philippines Graphic. You can also read it online at the Business Mirror. Thank you to Literary Editor Alma Anonas-Carpio and Editor-in-Chief Joel Pablo Salud.
The Straits Times: Debut collection crammed with ideas
“Lovingly spun and told with a keen eye on familial relationships, as well as the inexorable desires of humankind, these stories signal that Ocampo may well be becoming the gold standard in South-east Asian speculative fiction.” – Clara Chow
So my little book The Infinite Library and Other Stories got a really great review from the Straits Times. You can read it online here.
This represents one of the major milestones of my writing journey. My very first post on this blog was “I never thought that I would ever get anything published.’ Now I have somehow managed to produce two books — and one of them has been reviewed favorably on Singapore’s major broadsheet.
Thank you to fellow author Clara Chow and the editors of the Straits Times.
“My Father Is Made of Light” in Steampunk Universe
My proto “Anito-Punk” story “My Father Is Made Of Light” was recently published in the anthology Steampunk Universe edited by Sarah Hans. This is an older story which was the seed for a longer, later work called “Father is the Blood, Mother is the Wine” which originally came out in Lontar Volume 9. The anthology also features works by Maurice Broaddus, Ken Liu, Malon Edwards, Suna Dasi, Emily Cataneo, Matthew Bright, Pip Ballantine, Jody Lynn Nye, and Lucy Snyder.
Dune Panel Discussion @ Kult Kafe
Studio and Art Gallery and Kult Kafe invited Comic Book writer Kelly Bender, visual artist Howie Kim, and myself to discuss our process for conceiving and building science fiction universes over pizza and beer. This panel discussion was one of the companion events to Dune: A Sci-Fi Art Show which featured paintings, prints, virtual reality and projection mapping multi-media works inspired by Frank Herbert’s seminal novel Dune. You can watch a video of the panel Dune.
Flash Fiction Workshop
Another late post;
I ran a flash fiction workshop late last year which turned out to be a most interesting experience. There were about 12 participants who ranged in age from 12 to 71. Most had not done any serious writing previously. It was great teaching them the fundamentals of story structure and how to provide a complete prose narrative in a very concise and compact format. What I enjoyed the most was discovering the reasons why people wanted to write:
“I have so many stories inside me” – a 71-year old retiree
“I want to be able to communicate better in English.” – a Japanese expat’s housewife
“I want to surprise my girlfriend.” – a college student
“It will help me do my work.” – a business manager
“I want people to know who I am.” – a 12 year old girl.
SWF WRITER FOCUS: Elaine Chiew interviews Singapore-based Filipino writer Victor Fernando Ocampo
Award-winning writer and editor Elaine Chiew interviewed me last year for her Contemporary Voices column at the Asian Book Blog:
“For every writer, once in a rare while, a book comes along and really shakes you up, where (instead of that height/ceiling metaphor) I’d like to say instead, the floor drops on which you thought the legs of fiction stood. Victor Fernando Ocampo’s The Infinite Library and Other Stories did that for me. The ideas that power this collection are not just incredibly imaginative, they also weave a hybrid crossing through magical realism, allegory and science fiction, that ‘synchronicity’ Ocampo mentions in one of his stories. Rendered in prose that bears a unique voice, and also dark subtle humour in surprising turns of phrases, this collection is an invitation to a labyrinth for thought.”
You can read the whole interview over at the Asian Books Blog.
“The Infinite Library and Other Stories” was also shortlisted for the Asian Book’s literary award: the Asian Books Blog Book of the Lunar Year. This award highlights books of particular interest in, or especially relevant to, Asia, excluding the Near West / the Middle East.
Thank you to Elaine and to editor Rosie Milne!
Carrie and the Infinite Library
So apparently, English singer, songwriter, actress, author and vlogger Carrie Hope Fletcher got a copy of my book, The Infinite Library and Other Stories while she was in Singapore playing Wednesday Adams in the Addams Family musical.
I hope you like my book Carrie! I love your music.
The Official Book Launch of “The Infinite Library And Other Stories”
Another very late post.
The Infinite Library And Other Stories (Math Paper Press 2017) was launched last 7 November, 2017, 8:30 PM at the Gallery II of the ArtsHouse during the Singapore Writer’s Festival.
A second launch event for the general public was held at 4:00 PM, last 12 December 2017 at Neo Kinokuniya in Singapore. Thank you to Math Paper Press publisher Kenny Leck for hosting the programme.
Thank you to everyone who attended! “The Infinite Library and Other Stories” is available from BooksActually at 9 Yong Siak St, Singapore 168645 and the Neo Kinokuniya store at Ngee Ann City 391 Orchard Rd, 04-20/20B/20C/20E, Singapore 238872.
Exceedingly Late Post: The 2017 Singapore Writer’s Festival Wrap-up
It’s almost time for the 2018 Writer’s Festival and I realize that I had never posted my pictures from last year’s run.
Top to bottom, left to right: (1) SWF Opening, (2) Outside the festival grounds, (3) Watching a panels while seated on LKY’s chair, (4) With Junot Diaz, (5) “Writing between Genre Lines” panel with Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé (moderator), Aliette de Bodard, Jason Erik Lundberg and O Thiam Chin, (6) With Dean Alfar, (7) With Lavie Tidhar, (8) Crab dinner with Aliette, Jason, Nikki, Pat and Dean, (9) Peranakan lunch with Ken Liu, and (10) birthday dinner with Aliette.
Here are some pictures from my panels:
- The Real Science in Science Fiction – with Shelly Bryant, Kevin Martens Wong, and Dave Chua moderating
5 Nov, Sun 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
The Arts House, Living Room
- A Brave New World: Speculative Fiction in Singapore – with Jon Gresham, Christina Sng , and Gene Tan moderating
6 Nov, Mon 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
The Arts House, Chamber
Lastly, check out the special packaging for my book The Infinite Library and Other Stories which was only available at the festival venue.
“Father is the Blood, Mother is the Wine” in LONTAR #9
“Father is the Blood, Mother is the Wine”, my “Anito-punk” tale set in an alternate pre-Hispanic Philippines, is the cover story in Volume 9 of LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction. Check out the beautiful cover art by Lydia Wong.
The story revolves around a precocious young woman who worships Balatik, the ancient Filipino deity of hunting, journeys and slash-and-burn agriculture. Her father teaches her how to read their ancient language and she uses this knowledge to unlock secrets hidden inside a family Anito (Household God) that once belonged to the first Lakan of Tundon.
Incidentally, the constellation of Balatik is now more popularly known as the “Tres Marias” (The Three Marias) in Tagalog, “Magbangal” in Bukidnon, and “Seretar” in Teduray, the constellation of Balatik is composed of the three almost evenly spaced stars which act as the “belt” of the constellation of Orion the Hunter. It appears in the night sky between the months of October to May. Once directly overhead, it marks the start of the swiddens, the burning season for many Filipino tribes.
I opted to leave this story out of my collection, The Infinite Library and Other Stories, because at that time I felt like I could develop it into a longer story. Perhaps someday…
The Infinite Library and Other Stories 