Main Page




PALHBOOKS.com or Philippine American Literary House publishes fine Philippine and Philippine American books and Kindle e-books. They are available online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. Ingram and other US distributors carry most of our titles. For more information, email palhbooks@gmail.com or palh@aol.com.


                                        Acapulco at Sunset and Other Stories by Cecilia Brainard
PALH 2020, 160 pages, softcover, $17.95
Available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle|

Acapulco at Sunset and Other Stories is Cecilia Brainard's second short story collection. This is a US edition; the Philippine edition was 1995 published by Anvil. All rights belong to the author.
“The stories of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard tell of voyages the heart could have taken, of places haunted by old memories like ghosts lingering under an ancient mango tree, of times seemingly irretrievable but always there at the farthest end of the thread of remembering. Wherever the characters of her tales have wandered, one finds them at some point of their journey redeeming fragments of their lost selves and making sense of the maze through which we all pass.” (Marjorie M. Evasco, Poet)

Benedicta Takes Wing and Other Stories by Veronica Montes 
PALH 2018, 190 pages
Available from Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle
ISBN 9780971945876 (sc) $17.95; 9780971945869 (hb) $24.99

Benedicta Takes Wing and Other Stories, is the debut collection of short fiction by Filipino American writer Veronica Montes. In these fourteen stories, Montes explores the intricate workings of Filipino families as they struggle to define their place in the world. Two American-born sisters bumble their way through an unforgettable night at a Manila nightclub famed for its staff of midgets. The mother of legendary warrior Gabriela Silang has been lost to history, but here she is given voice to share her story. A lonely, middle-aged woman's life changes when she stumbles on a surrogate son and together they create a makeshift family. "Veronica Montes limn the lives of Filipino families," writes author Benito Vergara, "with wit, simmering fury, and an abundance of generosity. With her sharp eye for the telling detail, she depicts the grief and everyday joy handed down as inheritance, the affections and denials the bind Filipino families together."  In 2020 Veronica Montes won the Black Lawrence Price for their Black River Chapbook competition.

Available from Amazon and from Kindle
ISBN 9781952716095 (sc) $17.95

This is a 2021 US Edition of Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America which  collects 26 stories by emerging as well as established Filipino writers living in America, including Luis Cabalquinto, Linda Ty-Casper, Jay Ruben Dayrit, Alma Jill Dizon, Ligaya Victoria Fruto, N.V.M. Gonzalez, Vince Gotera, Paulino Lim, Jr., Veronica Montes, Oscar Penaranda, Edgar Poma, Greg Sarris, Eileen Tabios, John Silva, Marianne Villanueva, Fatima Lim-Wilson, and others.

This anthology, plus others Cecilia Brainard edited (including Fiction by Filipinos in America, Growing Up Filipino I and II) are valuable sources for many teachers. To quote Harold Augenbraum, “Brainard has done a fine job bringing many little-known writers – and the edginess of Filipinos in America – to the fore.”
PALH 2020, 258 pages, (SC) $17.95
Available from Amazon, Kindle

This anthology has been reprinted by PALH in 2020. The 1992 edition by New Day is out of print.
(Editor) Manguerra Brainard’s selection is a delight. Some of the stories are masterly, especially those written by such reliables as Carlos Bulosan, Linda Ty-Casper, N.V.M. Gonzalez, and Alberto S. Florentino. None is less than highly competent, and all are worth reading. Manguerra Brainard has done an excellent job of mixing critical judgement and personal taste.” (World Literature Today)


Growing Up Filipino: Stories for Young Adults, ed. Cecilia Brainard 
PALH 2003, 283 pages
ISBN 9780971945807 (sc) $21.95
ISBN 9781953716002 (hc) $28.00 - hardcover is new

This book was included in National Geographic's 2020 Summer Reading List:
Available from Amazon, Kindle
Included in National Geographic's 2020 Summer Reading List:

"Emerging and established award-winning writers are the authors of this fine collection of 29 stories about what it means to be young and Filipino in the Philippines and in the United States...This impressive array captures the complexities of both the Filipino culture and history and the realities of the lives of young adults no matter what their ethnic affiliation. Each story is assigned to one of five universal themes: family, angst, friendship, love, and home" ~ Glenna Sloan, Bookbird Journal International


Growing Up Filipino II: More Stories for Young Adults, ed. Cecilia Brainard 
PALH 2009, 258 pages
ISBN 9780971945838 (sc) $21.95; ISBN 9780971945821 (hb) $29.95
This book was ncluded in National Geographic's 2020 Summer Reading List:
Available from Amazon , Kindle

"This collection of 27 short stories, the followup to the critically-acclaimed Growing Up Filipino, reflects the impact of post-9/11 wartime sensibilities among Filipino writers living in the Philippines, United States, and Canada. Although similar topics of family, memoir, and coming-of-age thread through both collections, the pieces are not grouped by theme, but nevertheless weave a constantly shifting tapestry of Filipino identity. The challenges and conflicts of unique ancestry and struggles for identity provide a rich background for modern urban realism ... These is plenty here to stimulate discussion and encourage an appreciation of Filipino writing and culture. The anthology is a worthy successor to the first volume and has appeal to an audience beyond high schoool literature courses." ~ Roxanne Spencer, School Library Journal
Journey of 100 Years: Reflections on the Centennial of Philippine Independence
PAWWA 2009, Distributed by PALH, 260 pages
Available from Amazon
"In this ambitious book, seventeen leading scholars and writers survey some significant themes and issues in the Philippines and the United States during the 20th century. We have Cecilia Manguerra Brainard on the significance of Magellan's voyage, and Edmundo F. Litton on colonialism and education. Epifanio San Juan on the Filipino diaspora, Valorie Slaughter Bejarano on Filipino life in L.A., Luisa Igloria on revolutionary Filipino women's poetry, and much more. This work offers an important insight into the history of the Philippines and will become a benchmark for future studies." ~ Roger N. Buckley, Professor of History and Director, Asian American Studies Institute, University of Connecticut.



Magdalena: US Edition, novel  by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard 
PALH, 2021, softcover, 186 pages, $14.95
University of Santo Tomas Publishing House 2016, Manila, 146 pages

Available from Amazon and Kindle

This second novel of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard blends a series of multiple perspectives to create a polyphony of voices that enacts Philippine society during periods of war that affected the Philippines: Philippine-American War at the turn of the century, World War Two, and the Vietnam War. The fragmented narrative is a nuanced vision of the workings of culture, social class, obligation and the Filipino personality. First published in 2003 in the US, the book has received favorable books reviews and academic attention and was reissued by the UST Publishing House in 2016. 
Magical Years: Memories & Sketches by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
PALH 2020, 37 pages
Available from Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0971945896?ref=myi_title_dp
ISBH 9780971945890 (hb) $4.00
Special Limited Edition of 43 sketches in reed and pen and ink by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
This book of sketches by Cecilia Brainard relates to her childhood in Cebu, Philippines. "Magic" is the key word in the art of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard" says Tony Perez, Playwright, Novelist, and Painter.


The Newspaper Widow, novel by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

 University of Santo Tomas Publishing House 2017, Manila, Distributed by PALH, 238 pages
Available from Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/dp/9715068111?ref=myi_title_dp: 
ISBN 9789715068116 (sc) $18.95
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, author of the acclaimed World War Two novel, When the Rainbow Goddess Wept (University of Michigan Press) presents her third novel, The Newspaper Widow, which is set in the Philippines in 1909 during the early years of the United States' colonial empire in Asia. Brainard combines compelling characters with an intriguing mystery and page-turning literary suspense. What begins as a murder mystery transforms into something greater as love, loyalty, and friendship are tested and refined. The novel was shortlisted for the inaugural Cirilo F. Bautista Prize for the novel.
Please, San Antonio! & Melisande in Paris: Two Novellas, Special International Edition, by Eve La Salle Caram and Cecilia Brainard
PALH, 2018, 168 pages (sc) $14.95 
Available from Amazon  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0971945888?ref=myi_title_dp; and in Kindle
ISBN 9780971945883
In Eve LaSalle Caram's Please, San Antonio!, an emotionally isolated American woman's trip to Rome becomes a powerful quest to find what she has lost: her creativiey, identity, and "an open place in her heart." 

 In Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's Melisande in Paris, a young seamstress from the French countryside comes to Paris to assist her dressmaker aunt, and discovers her talent, strength, and a precious "feeling of wholeness" in her new lover's arms. 

 Together, Caram's Beatrice and Brainard's Melisande cross geographical borders and borders of the heart with vitality and spirit, and will inspire those who believe in the possibility of heaven on earth.

The book of novellas is also available from Barnes and Noble Online, in which there is a nice review of it that says:
"Great Summer Read that Takes you to Italy & France: I love this book of two novellas by two creative writing teachers. One story is set in Italy and the other in Paris, and so reading the book is like taking a vacation. The protagonists are women who find healing in relationships. There's good writing in these gentle lovely stories. The book also has delightful illustrations by Nina Lim-Yuson. I enjoyed this book very much."


A River, One Woman-Deep: Stories by Linda Ty-Casper
PALH 2017, 228 pages
ISBN 9780971945852 (sc) $18.99; 987097191945845 (hb) $29.95
Available in hard and soft cover from Amazon ; and in Kindle 

 Winner of the SEA Write and other Awards, Filipina writer Linda Ty-Casper, who is noted for her historical fiction set in the Philippines, presents this new story collection that includes her novella of the same title. 

Her novella is set during the tumultuous Estrada years from 1998 to 2001 when the Philippine president rose to power and was impeached after massive rallies. The main character is a Filipina-American who uncovers a family secret during her visit to Manila, a secret caused by another traumatic historic event in the Philippines -- World War Two. Her other stories are about Filipino and Filipino-American women.

World Literature Today’s Nota Bene section reviewed: “In this collection of stories, Filipina American Linda Ty-Casper runs her finger along the scars left behind in the wake of historical events in the Philippines parsing out what it means to live through and after the trauma of dictatorships and war.

Ty-Casper’s A River, One-Woman Deep: Stories is also published by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House in the Philippines.


Woman with Horns and Other Stories
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
PALH 2020, 103 pages, softcover ISBN 98153716033, $11.95
Available from Amazon
Available from Kindle

This 2020 US Edition of Woman with Horns and Other Stories by Philippine American writer Cecilia Manguerra Brainard introduces her first book to a new audience as well as readers of her subsequent books, which have been recognized as significant contributions to Filipino, Philippine American, as well as Asian American literature.

“Beautifully written in the minimalist style yet never lacking color and clarity, Brainard’s stories reach out from the deep centuries of folklore, superstition, religion, customs, geography and history to bring them life into the present. But more than life itself, this book mirrors the unique ways in which the Filipino woman searches for meaning. The locale and period of each story expand rather than limit the characters’ choices.” (Marie Castillo-Pruden for Katipunan)

“A welcome addition to Filipiniana.” (Manila Times)
~~~

PALH sells Rare Filipiniana books and ephemera - click here. 

 


PALHBOOKS.com also carries hard-to-find & first edition copies of Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's books. Email palhbooks@gmail.com or palh@aol.com for more information:

Cecilia's Diary: 1962-1969
Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America
Finding God: True Stories of Spiritual Encounters.
Fundamentals of Creative Writing
Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites
Out of Cebu: Essays and Personal Prose
When the Rainbow Goddess Wept
Vigan and Other Stories
Woman with Horns and Other Stories
Angelica's Daughters: A Dugtungan Novel
Behind the Walls: Life of Convent Girls


MENU



Popular posts from this blog

News Update on PALHBOOKS Publications 9/3/2020

Image
  Cecilia Brainard gives an update on the Filipino and Filipino American books published by Philippine American Literary House (PALH), palhbooks.com. It's on YouTube here. The narrative is pasted below: https://youtu.be/bbl9JO8qcUk Cecilia Brainard here, writer editor and publisher of PALH or Philippine American Literary House. I’d like to update you on the publications of PALH. All except one are now available in hard copy as well as in Kindle form. The hard copies are available from Philippine Expressions, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble online.  Or contact  palh@aol.com  for copies. PALH’s titles include: Linda Ty-Casper’s  A River, One-Woman Deep, Stories , of which World Literature Today’s Nota Bene section reviewed: “In this collection of stories, Filipina American Linda Ty-Casper runs her finger along the scars left behind in the wake of historical events in the Philippines parsing out what it means to live through and after the trauma of dictatorships and war. Ty-Casper’s  A R
Read more