McCarthy – arguably the greatest American writer since Ernest Hemingway or William Faulkner, both of whom he was sometimes compared to – died of natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, according to a statement from publisher Penguin Random House that cited his son, John McCarthy.

Little known for the first 60 years or so of his life, rapturous reviews of 1992’s “All the Pretty Horses” – the first in “The Border Trilogy” – changed all that. The book was made into a movie – as were 2005’s “No Country for Old Men” and 2006’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Road.”

But McCarthy was never seen on the red carpet. An intensely private man, he almost never gave interviews. He granted a rare exception for Oprah Winfrey in 2007, telling her: “I don’t think (interviews) are good for your head. If you spend a lot of time thinking about how to write a book, you probably shouldn’t be thinking about it, you probably should be doing it.”

McCarthy wrote with a distinctive, spare style that eschewed grammatical norms but drew the reader in relentlessly to his world of blood, dust and an unforgiving universe.

“He stood at the window of the empty cafe and watched the activities in the square and he said that it was good that God kept the truths of life from the young as they were starting out or else they’d have no heart to start at all,” he wrote in typical fashion in “All the Pretty Horses.”

Not respectable

Born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr on July 20, 1933, in Providence, Rhode Island, McCarthy was one of six children in his Irish Catholic family, and later switched to using the old Irish name of Cormac.

His father was a lawyer and he was brought up in Tennessee in relative comfort. But middle America was not for him.

“I felt early on I wasn’t going to be a respectable citizen. I hated school from the day I set foot in it,” he told the New York Times in another rare interview in 1992.

He served in the Air Force in the 1950s and was married twice before the 1960s were out – first to Lee Holleman, who he met at college and with whom he had a son, and later to English singer Anne DeLisle, from whom he separated in 1976. After a short spell in Europe, he returned to Tennessee to settle near Knoxville, Tennessee and later moved to El Paso, Texas and then to Santa Fe.

His first book “The Orchard Keeper,” set in rural Tennessee and published in 1965, landed with Faulkner’s last editor, who recognized the young writer’s potential. But despite positive reviews – and some shocked reaction – for this and other early works like “Child of God” and “Outer Dark,” commercial success eluded McCarthy and he scraped by on writers’ grants.

In 1985 “Blood Meridian” was published, garnering little attention at the time, although it is now considered his first truly great novel and perhaps his best. With lots of violence and no heroes, it tells the tale of a gang of scalp hunters in the mid-19th century West.

“All the Pretty Horses,” a coming-of-age book that kicked off a trilogy centered around Texas ranch hands at the close of the frontier, finally brought him acclaim in the 1990s.

The trilogy was followed by “No Country for Old Men,” a deeply disturbing and yet riveting Western crime novel about a drug deal gone wrong, quickly adapted into a movie by Joel and Ethan Coen that won the 2007 best picture Oscar.

This was the time that also saw the publication of “The Road” – perhaps even darker than what went before. Set in a world where an unnamed disaster has ended society and food production, a father and his son walk through a devastated landscape occupied by desperate people. The full depths of human depravity are on display – but also the love that the small family is able to sustain through it all. “The Road” won multiple awards and was also made into a movie in 2009.

Then came a long period until two new companion novels were released in 2022 – interconnected books “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris” that were unmistakably McCarthy, now approaching 90 years of age, albeit somewhat gentler – and, perhaps, valedictory.

“Enough,” says one character for whom death is approaching. “I have never thought this life particularly salubrious or benign and I have never understood in the slightest why I was here. If there is an afterlife – and I pray most fervently that there is not – I can only hope that they wont sing.”

In a statement, Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, said, “Cormac McCarthy changed the course of literature. For sixty years, he demonstrated an unwavering dedication to his craft, and to exploring the infinite possibilities and power of the written word.”

McCarthy was married three times, divorcing his third wife Jennifer Winkley in 2006. He had two children: Cullen, born in 1962, and John, born in 1998. – Rappler.com

The series’ publisher PSICOM Publishing posted a call for submissions in a Facebook post on Monday, May 15. 

According to the post, stories must follow the theme of the book, must be 800 to 2,000 words long, should be written in English, Tagalog, or Taglish, and should not have been previously published elsewhere.

Submissions can be done via email at tpgs2023@gmail.com until June 30.

True Philippine Ghost Stories was first released in 2002, and quickly became a cult favorite among the youth. As the title suggests, the books are a collection of supposedly factual horror stories (and photos) submitted by readers. The series went on to produce over 20 books. – Rappler.com

The first two stores in SM City Iloilo and SM City Marilao opened in April, and the third store in SM City Pampanga – which stands at 110 square meters – opened on May 12. The upcoming SM City Bataan branch will open on May 19, while the SM Seaside Cebu branch is opening on May 26. The sixth store in Sta. Rosa, Laguna is opening late June.

As of 2023, Fully Booked can already be found in ten cities outside Metro Manila. In 2022, the brand was only in five provinces: Bacolod, Baguio, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao.

During the pandemic, Fully Booked struggled with keeping its branches open. In early 2022, Fully Booked’s popular Century City Mall, Taft Avenue, and Ayala Vertis North branches closed unexpectedly, much to patrons’ disappointment. However, Fully Booked founder and managing director Jaime Daez was quick to reassure customers that they wouldn’t be going anywhere.

Must Read

After closing 3 branches, what should we expect from Fully Booked’s next chapter?

Fully Booked also takes orders through the Fully Booked Online website, Shopee, and Lazada. The bookstore was founded in 2003. – Rappler.com

The Philippine Book Festival is making its way to the World Trade Center Manila along Sen. Gil J. Puyat Ave, Pasay City from June 2-4, 2023, and to SMX Davao from August 18-20 from 10 am to 9 pm. Entrance is free – guests and exhibitors just need to register via website.

The “largest traveling book festival in the country” organized by the National Book Development Board Philippines (NBDB) aims to highlight Filipino books and “celebrate the best of Philippine literature, culture, and content” by melding education, entertainment, and shopping into one festival.

Guests can expect the newest Pinoy books, programs, interactive workshops, storytelling sessions, live performances, food & drinks, and even free meet and greet events with local authors and comic book artists.

This year’s Philippine Book Festival will have four literary sections: Kid Lit, Komiks Land, Booktopia, and Aral Aklat. Kids Lit will have an “extensive range of books catering to every age group” – from picture books for toddlers to novels for young adults.

Booktopia has books of all genres – from contemporary fiction, mystery, romance, and non-fiction, while Aral Aklat caters to students and scholars with textbooks of different subjects, reference books, study guides, and educational resources. Komiks Land boasts both classic and new comic books.

For more information on the festival’s list of exhibitors, events, and featured publishers, you can check out NBDB on Facebook. – Rappler.com

It’s hoarding time! Big Bad Wolf book sale comes back after 3 years

After three years, the beloved book sale is setting up shop in Manila again from June 24 to July 3. 

The sale will open at the PICC Forum Tent in Pasay, Metro Manila. This year’s edition won’t be open for 24 hours like before, but it will run from 10 am to 1 am daily. Admission is free.

Over 2 million books will be up for grabs, with discounts going up to 95% off.

Big Bad Wolf Books was founded by Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng in 2009, launching in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Their book sales have toured 15 countries, including Malaysia, Cambodia, Manila, and Singapore.

Their last stop in Manila was in 2020, though they held an online sale in 2021. 

For more information, check out Big Bad Wolf’s website or check them out on social media. – Rappler.com

The winners were posted on NBDB’s Facebook page on Friday, April 28.

This year’s awards covered titles published in 2021. Out of 213 nominations across categories, 100 finalists were selected, with only 29 winning awards. 

Winners will receive their awards at an onsite ceremony on May 13. Here’s a full list of awardees: 

Literary Division

BEST NOVEL IN ENGLISH: Snakes in the Grass by Patrick Everard, University of the Philippines Press

BEST NOVEL IN FILIPINO: Aswanglaut by Allan N. Derain, Ateneo de Manila University Press

NATIONAL ARTIST CIRILO F. BAUTISTA PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF SHORT FICTION IN ENGLISH: Selected Short Stories by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House

GERARDO P. CABOCHAN PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF SHORT FICTION IN FILIPINO:  Ang Itim na Orkidyas ng Isla Boracay: Mga Kuwento by Genevieve L. Asenjo, University of the Philippines Press

PABLO A. TAN BEST BOOK OF NONFICTION PROSE IN ENGLISH: Departures: Essays by Priscilla S Macansantos, University of the Philippines Press

BEST BOOK OF NONFICTION PROSE IN FILIPINO: Sa Yakap ng Gubat at Dagat ng Palawan: Mga Ekosanaysay by John Iremil Teodoro, Pawikan Press

BEST ANTHOLOGY: Harvest Moon: Poems and Stories from the Edge of the Climate Crisis by Padmapani L. Perez, Rehana Rossouw, Alexandra Walter, and Renato Redentor Constantino, Millflores Publishing Incorporated and Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC)

BEST BOOK OF LITERARY CRITICISM/ CULTURAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH: Campaigns of Knowledge: US Pedagogies of Colonialism and Occupation in the Philippines and Japan by Malini Johar Schueller, Ateneo de Manila University Press

BEST BOOK OF LITERARY CRITICISM/ CULTURAL STUDIES IN FILIPINO: Musika ng Pananakop: Panahon ng Hapon sa Filipinas, 1942-1945 by Raul Casantusan Navarro, University of the Philippines Press

BEST BOOK ON MEDIA STUDIES: Hindi Nangyari Dahil Wala sa Social Media: Interogasyon ng Kulturang New Media sa Pilipinas by Rolando Tolentino, Vladimeir B. Gonzales, and Laurence Marvin S. Castillo, Ateneo de Manila University Press

PHILIPPINE LITERARY ARTS COUNCIL PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN ENGLISH: Tangere by Rodrigo V. dela Peña Jr., University of the Philippines Press and College Boy: Poems by Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, Ateneo de Manila University Press

VICTORIO C. VALLEDOR PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN FILIPINO: Pasakalye by Lean Borlongan, self-published; and Tuwing Nag-Iisa sa Mapa ng Buntong-hininga by Paolo Miguel G. Tiausas, University of the Philippines Press

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL IN ENGLISH: Alandal, written by Philip Ignacio, illustrated by Alex Niño, Komiket Inc.

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL IN FILIPINO: Ang Mga Alitaptap ng Pulang Buhangin by RH Quilantang, Komiket Inc.

BEST TRANSLATED BOOK: Mga Himutok sa Palikuran at iba pang kuwento by Eka Kurniawan, translated by Amado Anthony G. Mendoza III, Savage Mind: Arts, Books, Cinema

BEST NOVEL IN ILOCANO: Dagiti Pundador (The Founders) by Prescillano N. Bermudez, Saniata Publications

BEST ANTHOLOGY IN ILOCANO: Panaglantip (Union) by Dionisio Soliven Bulong and Eden Cachola-Bulong, Saniata Publications

BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN ILOCANO: Baribari (Pardon Me) by Roy Vadil Aragon, Saniata Publications and Anglem (Incense) by Danile L. Nesperos, Saniata Publications

Non-literary Division

ALFONSO T. ONGPIN PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK ON ART: Endangered Splendor: Manila’s Architectural Heritage, 1571-1960 by Fernando Zialcita and Erik Akpedonu, Ateneo de Manila University Press

ELFREN S. CRUZ PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed by Robin Broad and John Cavanagh, Ateneo de Manila University Press

JOHN C. KAW PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK ON HISTORY: Pugot: Head taking, Ritual Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice in the Philippines by Narciso C. Tan, Vibal Foundation Inc.

BEST BOOK ON HUMOR, SPORTS, AND LIFESTYLE: The Business of Banking: Structure and Profitability; Risks and Controls by Deogracias N. Vistan, Anvil Publishing

BEST BOOK ON FOOD: Appetite for Freedom: The Recipes of Maria Y. Orosa, with Essays on Her Life and Work by Helena Orosa del Rosario, Ige Ramos Design Studio

BEST BOOK IN SPIRITUALITY AND THEOLOGY: Handumanan (Remembrance): Digging for the Indigenous Wellspring by Karl M. Gaspar, CSSR, Claretian Communications Foundation Inc.

BEST BOOK IN PHILOSOPHY: Repentance and Rebirth at the End of Life as We Know It by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez, Ateneo de Manila University Press

Design

BEST BOOK DESIGN: Endangered Splendor: Manila’s Architectural Heritage, 1571-1960, design by Ali Figueroa and Erik Akpedonu, Ateneo de Manila University Press

– Rappler.com

Everybody has a story about their COVID-19 experience, but not many have a story as inspiring as Professor Joel Costa Malabanan, PhD. Last April 15, the acclaimed poet and musician successfully launched his book Lockdown Series: Buhay Guro at Philippine Normal University. This came two years after he contracted the dreaded coronavirus that left him fighting for his life. And even though he had finished the book before spending 47 days in the hospital and almost two weeks being intubated, he wasn’t sure whether he would live to see its publication. The rest is now history.

Published by 7 Eyes Productions, the book is a compilation of short stories and essays that Dr. Malabanan composed and posted on Facebook while the country was under enhanced community quarantine. Most of the stories are written in the form of daglit (a short story with fewer than 150 words) and end with a dalit (a short Filipino poem consisting of four verses with eight syllables each), which can be compared to Japan’s haibun, which combines poem and prose. Here in the Philippines, this genre was pioneered by the litterateur Dr. Reuel Molina Aguila. Some of the essays, on the other hand, were written years before the pandemic.

While the author recognizes the value of writing workshops, he maintains that he purposefully left most of the book’s content unpolished in order to preserve their spontaneity and authenticity. The end result was an honest, heartrending portrayal of issues affecting ordinary teachers and Filipino people in general during the pandemic lockdowns such as the plight of private school teachers (No Work, No Pay and SAP), sexual harassment (RA 7877 and Patriyarkal), and the dire state of human rights in the country (Terorista, Human Rights Violation, Checkpoint, and Red tagging). 

Dr. Malabanan has long been involved in the struggle for the promotion of Filipino language and his political beliefs are encapsulated in the essays Pagbabalikwas sa Kamalayang Dayo, and Kung Bakit Hindi Dapat Tanggalin ang Pagtuturo ng Filipinp at Panitikan sa Kolehiya, while the stories Napandemya ang Wika and Rubrics reflect his stance against colonial education and consciousness. With his profound understanding of history, he analyzes from nationalist perspective the development of class antagonism in Philippine society with Pagsusuri: Tunggalian ng Uri Mula sa Panahon ng Himagsikan Hanggang sa Kasalukuyang Panahon ng Globalisasyon at Pandemya.

As a patriotic songwriter and musician, Dr. Malabanan is responsible for the inclusion of Musikang Makabayan Bilang Materyal na Panturo as an elective subject for those taking Masters at PNU, which is tackled in his essay of the same title. He has also written the book Pagtatahip-Dunong: Mga Awit ng Kilusang Bayan sa Pilipinas (1986-2018) which examines the evolution of songs associated with Filipino people’s struggle for genuine democracy and freedom. 

In his “love letter” to aspiring teachers, Panawagan sa mga Magiging Guro sa Hinaharap, the activist professor quotes the late Lualhati Bautista: “Ang payapang pampang ay para lang sa mga pangahas na sasalunga sa alimpuyo ng mga alon sa panahon ng unos. (Tranquil shores are only for those who boldly oppose raging waves during storms),” and calls on future educators to dare to struggle against the rotten and colonial system of Philippine education, and get involved in the fight for just wages and benefits in order to uplift the living conditions of our teachers.

Like a personal journal with a twist of poetic virtuosity, the book reflects on different subjects, including Dr. Malabanan’s adventure as a claw machine player at Tom’s World and his thoughts on the concept of eternal life. Indeed, it has more to offer than one might expect. But more than anything, it serves a historical documentation of the life of Filipino teachers in the time of COVID-19 lockdowns. – Rappler.com

The exhibition, which marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio in 1623, runs in Christie’s London showroom from May 2 until May 26. The copies will then go back to their owners.

The editions were compiled by Shakespeare’s friends and published seven years after his death. They contain 36 of the 37 plays he wrote, arranged for the first time as comedies, tragedies and histories.

“If we didn’t have the publication of the First Folio, it is very likely that half of Shakespeare’s entire output, so 18 plays, would not exist and these include plays such as Macbeth, Julius Caesar, All’s Well That Ends Well’, Margaret Ford, Christie’s international head of books, told Reuters at a preview on Monday, April 24.

“We don’t know exactly how many copies were published, but the most likely guesstimate is 750 copies, and 235 copies survive in some form. The majority are imperfect, but there are some complete copies there as well.”

In 2020, a First Folio sold for a record $9.97 million at auction.

Five of the six copies come from private collections, and the sixth from the Senate House Library at the University of London. 

“It’s the only time that the public can see six copies of the First Folio together exhibited,” Ford said.

“Six copies may not sound like a lot to the average person but… to put it in context, the last time that even four copies were exhibited was 100 years ago for the 300th anniversary when the British Library exhibited four of their copies.” – Rappler.com

The Llano County commissioners in central Texas held a special meeting to consider closing the three public library branches after a federal judge’s ruling to return banned books to shelves and not censor any more.

Llano County – with a population of about 22,000 located about 60 miles northwest of Austin – is the latest flashpoint in a battle over books in libraries across the US.

The four commissioners and judge of the Llano County commissioners court, as the governing body is known, heard from 15 members of the public during a tense meeting before going into executive session.

Most who spoke wanted the libraries to remain open.

“Does Llano, Texas, want to be known as the town that closed the public library?” resident Lee Nelms asked. “That would be the death knell for a vibrant community.”

But others said they wanted the libraries shut until books they labeled “pornographic” were out. They read aloud explicit sex scenes from books.

County Judge Ron Cunningham, the top elected official in the county, announced after the executive session that the libraries would remain open and said “we will try this in the courts, not through social media or through news media”.

He said the books had been returned to the shelves, but did not say when.

Among the books removed, according to the lawsuit, were “Caste: The Origins of our Discontent” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson and “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti.

Over 1,600 titles, mostly addressing racism and LGBTQ issues, have been removed from libraries in 32 states in the past year, according to the writers’ organization PEN America.

No state bans more books than Texas, according to PEN America.

“Public libraries are not meant to serve particular ideological factions,” said Kasey Meehan, who directs the “Freedom to Read” project of PEN America. “They are meant to serve the community.”

Some Llano County citizens in 2021 began requesting the removal of books that were included on a Texas Republican lawmaker’s list of titles that should be banned.

The library board resisted and in 2022 it was dissolved by county commissioners. Commissioners then “packed the new library board with political appointees,” according to the lawsuit.

Judge Robert Pitman of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas on March 30 issued a preliminary injunction ordering Llano County to return to library shelves “all print books that were removed because of their viewpoint or content.” He also ordered no more books be removed. – Rappler.com

This year Instituto Cervantes de Manila celebrates Día del Libro (International Book Day) on Saturday, April 22, from 10 am until 6 pm.

As a tradition, we will be having the Escribo el Quijote where volunteers hand-copy the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha, the first handwritten reproduction of the great novel in the Philippines.

Don Quixote is considered to be the first modern novel and unarguably one of the most important literary works in the history of Spanish literature and the entire world was published in two parts in 1605 and 1615.

There will also be a book market where Manila’s bookstores and publishers will offer large quantities of books at discounted prices. And for poetry lovers, we encourage our guests to take part in the 2nd Hispano-Filipino Poetry Recital.

Following the Spanish tradition, participants will receive roses. There will be a concert by the Talahib People’s Music, games, activities for kids, and Spanish food all on a single roof.

See the schedule below for details

– Rappler.com