Tag: “Math Paper Press”

Joint Letter About BooksActually from Math Paper Press Authors

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

All my thoughts are already articulated in this statement I have co-signed. There is absolutely no place for sexual harassment or exploitation in Singapore’s literary community or anywhere else.

As members of the literary community, we were angry and disheartened to read about the accounts of past employees at BooksActually. We do not condone any behaviour that is non-consensual or exploitative in any way. We acknowledge their hurt, and honour the courage of these people for speaking up. The bookstore has provided space for a diversity of writers for more than a decade. As authors who have been published by Math Paper Press, the publishing arm of BooksActually, we acknowledge the contributions that BooksActually has made to our literary scene.  Nonetheless, we believe that any wrong must be righted and perpetrators must be held accountable for their actions. We also acknowledge that our writing community should do better, and that scarce resources should never be an excuse for unacceptable behaviour. We commit to creating a transparent and safe community where no one should have to suffer in silence; we’ll actively work to welcome all into the conversation.

We urge BooksActually and its present owner, Kenny Leck, to account for past mistakes and work on guaranteeing a safe and healthy environment for its employees. We welcome the decision to transfer Kenny’s ownership of the bookstore to the team, and await to see how the transfer of ownership will transpire within the bookstore. If BooksActually wishes to receive the support of our writing environment, we need them to fulfil their promises of outlining and enforcing better procedures and policies, including an anti-harassment policy.

We hope that BooksActually emerges from this controversy and becomes a bookstore we can depend on and love.

Signed:

Alfian Sa’at
Ally Chua
Amanda Chong
Ang Shuang
Ann Ang
Ashley Ho
Audrey Chin
Christine Chia
Cyril Wong
Daryl Qilin Yam
David Wong
Felix Cheong
Jee Leong Koh
Jennifer Anne Champion
Jerrold Yam
Jon Gresham
Krishna Udayasankar
Loh Guan Liang
Mahita Vas
Mani Rao
Marc Nair
Meihan Boey
Ng Yi-Sheng
Nurul Amillin Hussain
O Thiam Chin
Qamar Firdaus Saini
Rodrigo Dela Peña Jr.
Sanjay C Kuttan
Shelly Bryant
Stephanie Chan
Tania De Rozario
Topaz Winters
Verena Tay
Victor Fernando R. Ocampo

On behalf of themselves and 6 other MPP authors.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=110865048023181&id=110848271358192

Another Late Post: TILAOS review at Singlitstation

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Thank you to #Singlitstation and #AJLow (the enigmatic duo behind the famous Sherlock Sam series) for their awesome write-up of my short story collection The Infinite Library And Other Stories. You can check out the original Instagram post here.

AJ LOW TILAOS Review

You can get your own copy of The Infinite Library and Other Stories (Math Paper Press, 2017) at #BooksActually‘s online store. They ship internationally! Check them out here.

The Infinite Library and Other Stories available again at BooksActuallyShop.com

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

Support local bookstores this pandemic quarantine period. They are a treasure to local communities and they need your help more than ever.

Iconic Singapore bookshop Bookactually‘s physical store may be temporarily closed, but let’s continue to support them and their three crazy feline deities online.

Things are not looking very bright for the world right now. The daily cycle of bad news and the challenges of being locked away wear out both our bodies and souls. It is precisely at this time that we need to remember that books can offer a great degree of comfort through the welcome distraction of entertainment, and more importantly, through their accumulated knowledge and wisdom.

Moreover, they also offer hope through dark days. Hope that whatever problems facing us in life, there is a book somewhere that will help deal with it. Until the world reaches a new normal, let’s all ride out this difficult period with a book in hand (or two, or ten).

On that note I am pleased to announce that Math Paper Press has made a second impression of my first collection of short stories, The Infinite Library and Other Stories.

Copies of the first printing ran out shortly before the 2019 Singapore Writers Festival and the few paperbacks floating around were going for an astonishing USD$35 (SGD$49) each. I am happy to note that you can now buy a brand new copy at the BooksActuallyShop for much less, at only USD$13.35 (SGD$19). If you buy 3 other books, the three cats who run the store, Cake, Pico and Lemon (and their human assistant Kenny Leck) will provide free shipping in Singapore.

Shortlisted for both the United Kingdom’s 2018 International Rubery Book Award for the best books by independent writers, self-published authors, and books published by independent presses, and by the Asian Books Blog for the 2017 Book of the Lunar Year Award.

“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, book review in the Singapore Straits Times.

“Fundamentally, The Infinite Library and Other Stories is a book about possibility, limitation, and the boundary between them. In imagining alternative possibilities and stretching them to the point of snapping, Victor Fernando Ocampo engages in an act of profound political importance, aesthetic significance, and philosophical rigor that is a serious pleasure to ingest.” – Deven Philbrick, prose editor for the Seattle Review writing for Singapore Unbound

“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.” – Elaine Chew, interview at the Asian Books Blog

LONTAR Volume 10: Saying Goodbye To A Southeast Asian Institution

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

The first volume of LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction came out in 2013. Named after “Lontar” (“Rontal” in Filipino), an Indonesian word for a bound palm-leaf manuscript from the fifth century BCE , it was meant to showcase Speculative Fiction writing in its myriad forms from all across Southeast Asia.

I was too late to contribute to its maiden issue, but my story “Entanglement” appeared in Volume 2. Two further works “Brother to Space, Sister to Time” and “Father is the Blood, Mother is the Wine” appeared in Volumes 6 and 9 respectively. Both ended up as the cover stories.

It’s really sad to see LONTAR go. There really isn’t any publication of it’s scope and breadth focused exclusively on Southeast Asia anywhere in the world.

It’s tenth and final issue is double-sized wonder featuring work by Dean Alfar, Vida Cruz, Drewscape,  Joses Ho, Patricia Karuningan, Gabriela Lee, Manish Melwani, Wayne Ree, Lakan Umali, Eliza Victoria, Topaz Winters, Cyril Wong, Kevin Martens Wong, and many others. Founding Editor Jason Erik Lundberg wanted to include the artwork made by award-winning artist Sonny Liew for the my book The Infinite Library and Other Stories.  I wrote a flash fiction piece called “To See Infinity In The Pages Of A Book” to accompany it.

Thank you to Jason, Poetry Editor Kristine Ong Muslim, Comics Editor Adan Jimenez, and publishers Epigram and Math Paper Press (Volumes 1 and 2) for all the hard work.

Let’s hope it won’t be too long before another publication picks up LONTAR’s legacy.

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The Official Book Launch of “The Infinite Library And Other Stories”

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

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.

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Exceedingly Late Post: The 2017 Singapore Writer’s Festival Wrap-up

Victor Fernando R. OcampoLeave a comment

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.

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