Philippine Genre Stories: A Noteworthy Venue for Filipino Writers
One of the very very very few things I’ve learned in my Creative Writing class last year was how to read, not as reader, but mainly as a writer. Maybe I’ve never really taken the advise to heart because I (and half of the class, I’m compelled to say) got a tumataginting na kwatro in the course because, according to the professor, our “grammar sucks” in the 500-word short stories we submitted. Surprising, especially because other than the few cheesy lines, my story has been well-received by the whole class.
Even by the professor, actually. So okay, then 20-year-old Sands Reyes was born after a few minutes of “brainstorming.” I finished the story in only a few hours before the deadline. It wasn’t technically perfect, but it certainly passed the standard. The prof only strongly suggested that I stop reading those damn corny romance novels by Mills & Boons and the like. But he said that my language wasn’t as bad as in the previous stories we critiqued. A sigh of relief that time. One of my closest friends in class, Mark (the rumored boyfriend last year by the duffus, haha), even consulted his story with professional writers and still got a 4. We still got a frigging 4. What a big blow.
An Invitation to Write
So when Kenneth Yu, creator and publisher of a new startup short-story magazine called The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories, asked me to write for the mag, I was helluva lot apprehensive. Still sporting a bruised ego from my CW course, I think it would be quite understandable for me to turn down the offer. After all, I’m no J.K. Rowling. Dammit, I shouldn’t compare myself with a renowned writer. I mean, I’m no Dean Alfar. Hmmm…I shouldn’t compare myself with a Palanca awardee, too, eh? Uhm, I’m not my former CW prof?
But that’s beside the point.
I’ve decided to accept the challenge not only because I want to prove to myself and others that I can write, but also because I want to contribute to what PGS stands for. And I think I’ve come to love writing just as much as I love reading. I blog, right?
I suppose it wouldn’t hurt much if a lot of people would send me emails telling me that my story sucks (besides, I’m not big on big words most Filipino story-tellers use, if you know what I mean) and that I should die. If there’s one thing I know about writers, it’s that they have fans and critics alike. And both play a big part in making them better writers in the long run. So, I thought, why not? Why not give it a try? More importantly, why not give myself another chance?
The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories
So what’s this PGS thingie all about anyway? It is, first and foremost, a laudable and most welcome effort to create a venue for local writers to showcase their talent in writing genre stories. Genre stories include those that fall under mystery, science fiction, fantasy, the supernatural, etc., or what we’ll simply call specialized categories. These stories haven’t been highlighted much in the Philippines (lately, because if I remember correctly, they used to be mainstream) mainly because we Filipinos seem to be more partial towards stories of social realism (for one reason or another, soap operas come to mind) and those of the “highbrow” kind. PGS is the first of its kind, and I say, it’s about time!
Kenneth Yu said that PGS was merely an idea for years. He was inspired by “US based genre magazines Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Mag, Asimov’s Scifi mag, and the like.” Reading genre stories written by Filipinos is like reading a local version of the well-loved Harry Potter books: captivating, fantastic, orgasmic.
It’s also amusing that one of the most remarkable goals of PGS can be summed up in this graphic:
If you guess that it’s to increase English literacy among the youth in the country, then you guessed it right! 
Heck, I’ve long ago admitted that my English “skills” are deteriorating. Truth be told, I’ve had a wider vocabulary when I was in high school. Only, I still suck when it comes to prepositions. Anyway!
Everyone is encouraged and invited to write for the quarterly magazine. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been a published writer before. If you have a well-written and quality story to share, then I suggest reading this entry that details how you can submit your story to PGS.
I’ve seen a copy of the second digest of PGS. The cover art is amazing (honestly, it’s more than amazing). A short blurb is written by the editor before each story, while at the end is a brief biography of the author. An email address and a blog (if there’s one) are provided as a medium for feedbacks more than anything else. There’s also an image inspiration writing contest every release where readers are asked to submit a story based on an image provided in the mag. The winner gets the next issue of PGS for free, and P100 (should be enough for a cup of coffee, as they repeatedly state).
A copy of PGS is only P100 (roughly $2.20). What’s best is that you get to read 5 or so different stories at a relatively cheap price. The third digest is set to come out this July, so watch out for that. Excerpts from the stories are provided in the PGS blog. You can secure your copies in one of the following bookstores:
- Fully Booked (Rockwell Center, Promenade Greenhills, Gateway Mall Cubao, SM North Edsa, SM Mall Of Asia)
- Bibliarch (Glorietta 3)
- Comic Quest (SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, Festival Mall Alabang)
- Books For Less (Roces Ave., Pearl Drive Pasig, Commonwealth Ave., SM Mall of Asia, Valero Makati, Starmall)
- Booktopia (Intrepid Plaza near the entrance to Eastwood along C-5)
- mag:net (Katipunan, ABS-CBN, Shangrila Mall Edsa, SM North Edsa, Greenbelt 2, Glorietta 4, Gateway, Paseo de Roxas Makati, SM Centerpoint)
- Popular Bookstore (305 T. Morato St., Q.C., popular@philonline.com)
- Loyola Schools Bookstore (at Ateneo de Manila in Katipunan)
- Filipinas Heritage Library (Ayala Triangle, Makati Avenue)
- Ayala Museum (Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street)
- A Different Bookstore (Eastwood, Libis; Virra Mall, Greenhills; Serendra, Fort Bonifacio; Glorietta, Makati)
For more details, please visit philippinegenrestories.blogspot.com. Everything you need to know is there. And please, please, please support this initiative of Kenneth Yu to acknowledge not only local genre stories in general, but also Filipino writers whose passion for writing is simply admirable.
I have written a few stories myself (dunno if you’ve read any), but I wanna try submitting. :D:D:D
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@Keysi - I gather from your blog that you’re a writer, of course (you’ve once mentioned something about your editor). I haven’t read any of your stories though. Gimme a copy, eh?
Thanks. Do submit a story at PGS!
I haven’t done “creative writing” since university… My blog doesn’t count — I don’t “write”… I just stream what’s in my head in a conversational manner (grammar and spelling be damned). The moment I actually care about “structure” and “style” is the moment that blogging becomes “work” for me. Bleah.
These days, writing means: business plans, project plans, project proposals, software use manuals, software defect reports… the words of the corporate world.
… day in, day out… that’s what I do. Although, I suppose it’s creative to spit out “slick” project proposals (complete with oooh lovely pie charts) that fool my boss or prospective client in thinking that I actually know what I’m doing, LOL.
Razzle dazzle = money. (The graphics always fools them.)
talk about grammar: my grammar sucks like hell. as in SUPER hell na talagang kailangang ipagiba ang utak ko para tumino sa grammar.
anyway, before demoralizing myself (nako may CW class din ako! creeepy)..
i really love those stories from youngblood. and i think i’m gonna buy that philippine genre stories.
who knows, it might develop my grammar aaand my style [let's assume i have one]!? 
the ever “challenging” grammar… =| glitches do come but at least we know the basics of using the language :).
learn from the past enjoy the way ahead… congratulations on your new writing venture!
Ah, it sounds great … ;D
Will definitely check out the PGS blog.
I am terrible with propositions too when it comes to my grammar. We don’t have a creative writing subject in college but we have copywriting, a concise version of CW. Still, I do my best with my grammar, we learn from errors anyway.
That PGS stint sounds interesting. I guess I can come up with one, only sexual.
I’m into linguistics (language studies) and it’s common that we, Filipinos, have problems with prepositions. Why? Because in our native language, we only have one preposition, “SA.”
But guess what? Philippine English (our local English, not a substandard type of English) does make room for prepositional “confusions.”
Interesting. I feel like Philippine fiction is often too stuck on the family secrets and dark pasts and stuff (not that they’re not good, it’s just that most pieces are done that way), and only a few actually stick to a genre (like Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan). I’ll definitely follow this one.
And maybe submit something of my own too.
Also, I don’t trust my own grammar skills. And my vocabulary badly needs to be improved. :P
Good luck on this endeavor.
I’ll drop by Booktopia or A Different Bookstores one of these days to get a copy. 
Wow, congrats! That’s good that you took the ‘challenge’ and I’m sure writing isn’t a challenge for you at all! You’re a natural! Just have fun doing it, that’s the whole point! And with the prof you had in CW, ha, screw him! LOL
Miss you shari!!
I learned the same thing as well when I was working as a lifestyle writer. My executive editor usually gives us different exercises to do so to broaden our horizons as writers. And that experience alone helps me when it comes to writing a movie script.
I was taught that writing is really all about ‘re-writing,’ honing your skills as a ‘wordsmith’ until the words actually sing! Writing, like painting, is such a painful art because you leave yourself open to judgment, acceptance or rejection. But if no one before us took risks, then we would be reading caveman drawings still. And we are the future — so write, write, rewrite!
hmm… what I learned from someone though… she was finished in her course (Effective speech) is that even how much you try to make your speech or grammar perfect… you can’t. Because God did not create humans with a perfect ability. No one is perfect ika nga. I am a writer but I do accept and admit my grammar is not really good. ^_^;;
I want to write a short story but I don’t have the balls.
Hey can I snag that graphic? Hehe!
I can’t use verb tenses properly! Bwahaha!
On the other hand, one of things I have learned from being an A-Level English Literature student, is to read as a ‘reader’, but with a critical mind and a thorough understanding of a certain text. It’s been so long since I last decided to put grammar as my first priority, because in Literature, we are assessed more in the field of understanding (includes criticising and analysing a text’s language, form and structure) and the ability to refer back to contextual influences. And so you can say that these days, my eagerness to correct my grammar as much as I could is not as strong back in high school.
But I do write. I love writing and yet I was never fond of writing in such long complex sentences, because I always have an interest for something shallow, which, once shaped into a series of repetitions and a rhythmic pattern of three, carries an immense and poignant effect. Sometimes. Nee, Ate Shari, am I being too narcissistic here?
…But I was never good at writing. But you are an entirely different specie who has a knack for writing. I strongly hope that PGS will serve as a turning point for Philippine fiction. I’m wishing you all the best in your writing career!
I am sure you can do it!! :)YOu are so blessed you have opportunities like this. Grab it! hehe. Wishing you all the best!
Goodluck shari!
I’m guilty of plagiarizing some of the internet resources.
i really like the banner above saying to type your own words.
I do want to write stories. It’s just that all my creative writing skills are already rusty…
Will see what my Muse can bring me.
sweet! I want to write too but I guess I’ll be a reader first before writing something
i distinctly remember a horror story i wrote once, but it’s in the form of a horror “epic.” would it count for a genre story?
shari: would you care to turn it into a genre story for me? i know i’m such a bad writer kasi.
I used to write Filipino (Tagalog then) short stories especially when I was in high school, maybe that’s why I got a 4 in my filipino class back in college (4 was the highest, 0 the lowest). I do some poems too. Pero rusty na ako ngayon
Wala ng practice eh. Im so engrossed with my work at the office 
Hello dear! Dropping by to say hello and also you got tagged in my blog
Hmm… I might go to SM North EDSA next Saturday. I’ll get my copy of the last Harry Potter book there, and I might as well buy a copy of that magazine.
Yay. this blog is really neat. love white.
Hi Shari! Thanks for sharing this one. I am already considering submitting my own story to their mag.
I’m thinking of submitting a mystery/conspiracy story. Hmmm… I wish I had the time.
I’d like to join too… If only I can write stories lol I suck at them. I’m more of a newspaper/magazine columnist than a creative story-teller. Darn. I get a lot of Uno when it comes to writing reaction papers and such. But when it comes to research papers, I get.. *toot* It’s too low to even be considered a grade. haha!
congratulations and good luck. i like to read and i think I’ll stick to that.
looking forward to your stories.
guess hus back for blogs…
Aww, I miss writing stories. Dati marami ako sinusulat nung HS pa ko. I don’t think I can join so good luck.
that’s awesome. good luck. and congrats.
and i saw that picture before somewhere.. the anti-text thing. haha. :P
salvation! at last something to do that’s worthwhile. i tell ya, all this free time makes a girl a little loony.
shari, kumusta? san na ngay yung inuman natin?
hey there shari! i’m back and i moved. hehe
sorry ha kung di ko na masyado navi-visit ang site mo. alam mo naman naglaho ako bigla hehe.
anyways, wow thanks for sharing this one. fan ako ng philippine lit. and gusto ko tuloy bilhin to. naaalala ko ikaw nagrecommend sakin ng Orosa-Nakpil,Malate. hehe
sa isang job interview ko last last month, tinanong ako kung anong hobbies ko besides drawing and i said, writing poems and short stories(kahit alam ko di ako magaling). and the guy asked “eh bakit hindi ka nag creative writing?” ang sinagot ko, “eh kasi po gusto ko po magdrawing…” whoot? hahaha labo.
share lang. alam ko namang wala akong future sa creative writing hehe. Good Luck dyan! ang galing mo kaya magsulat!
i wish i can enroll in a Creative Writing crash course coz i’d love to extend my writing in that dimension, quickest as possible.
i’m no good in storytelling mainly because i’m more into editorials and opinions but heck my prepositions ain’t that bad (it’s not good either).. sometimes i tend to use it extensively in which, only i could comprehend haha.. :P
err.. style and “technicality” have always been the least of my concern whenever i write my “stuff”.
Hi Shari. How are you? Sorry haven’t been here a while but I’m following you on Twitter.
This sounds like a wonderful project and a wonderful venue for writers, especially aspiring ones. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been looking for the magazine at Fully Booked, the Block branch. I didn’t see a copy. Baka di pa available. Pero meron akong nakitang magazine na parang PGS, kaya binili ko na rin since I like Filipino literature. Yun lang nga 150 siya. Ang mahal…
Hi christian. I’m Kenneth Yu, the publisher of PGS. If none are available at Fully Booked The Block (could be out of stock), please try Comic Quest or mag:net also at SM North Edsa. You just have to cross from The Block, go past the cinemas, and then you’ll see mag:net and Comic Quest to your left. mag:net and Comic Quest are very near each other. Thanks!
i have written a story it is in tagalog language, and i want to try to submit it. is there something that i need to know how to do that? i want to submit it and i want to know how
I’m a Pinoy currently residing in Pasadena, CA. Just wondering if PGS is still on print. I would like to turn in maybe a couple of my short stories, which I plan to include in my book, Bedtime-Pastime:Collection of Short Stories and Bukidnon Folktales. I have published my first book, KOILAWAN:Letters and Poems of a Jungle Dad-Mom, currently sold in 21 countries. It was included in the TOP 100 Bestselling Inspirational Books on Amazon.com, TOP 100 Bestselling Christian/Mission Book on Borders.com, and TOP 100 Most Requested English Books on Amazon.de for several weeks.
Any response will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
:grin: :grin:
GOD BLESS YOU ALL! Jesus loves you. 
I’m also ito “anti-txt” talk..whenever i send a text message i do not use the “txt lingo”; i make sure that i type messages as they are in the English or the Filipino language..you’re right it’s about “LITERACY”..so thanks for that ad..if i may call it that way..Jesus keep