Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 15

Every single book I read in 2019 (and I’m not done yet)

I read a lot of books. I’m in the book trade so I have an advantage (and I spent six weeks in Spain reading books), but you can read regularly if you want to. The benefits to mental health and cognition are great, but I think we should read for pleasure. Want to read more? […]

A holiday message from this delinquent blogger

Yes, I am holding my new book. You can buy it at Fully Booked, Mt Cloud, Solidaridad and Shopee, or order a signed and gift-wrapped copy right here. I apologize for not having blogged regularly in the last couple of years. The page views had dropped, but that’s not an excuse. I figured the readers […]

Come to my talk and book-signing at Fully Booked BGC on November 30

“Both Jessica’s journalism and fiction are delicious. She is a wry observer of Filipino society, and her stories are gems of social history.” – F. Sionil Jose, National Artist for Literature

Anti-anti-aging

When You Are Old By Jessica Zafra (published in Philstar, 27 Oct 2019) One day I woke up and I was old. Age had come upon me like a stealth drone. The first warning was the documents: whenever I had to fill out a form that asked for my age, I would do the math […]

Come to the book launch of The Collected Stories of Jessica Zafra on 2 Nov, Saturday, 4pm at The Nexus Center

The Collected Stories of Jessica Zafra will be launched on Saturday, 2 Nov 2019, 4-6pm at the lobby of The Nexus Center. Published by Ateneo University Press, the book contains award-winning fiction from Jessica’s two previous story collections, plus new and uncollected stories and an introduction by Don Jaucian. The cover is by renowned artist […]

The Collected Stories of Jessica Zafra is now available at Fully Booked and other stores, on Shopee, and on our Instagram

From the author of the Twisted series comes a collection of 27 stories from the last 27 years. The Collected Stories of Jessica Zafra contains award-winning fiction from Manananggal Terrorizes Manila (1992) and The Stories So Far (2014), plus new stories and an introduction by Don Jaucian. “Jessica is a natural short story writer, and […]

On surrogates, OFWs, misogyny, racism, and white privilege. . .Listen to our book club discussion of The Farm on Jessica Zafra’s PODCATS

Some of our previous selections, and our book for August, The Farm. Bibliophibians Reading Group, 31 August 2019 at Tin-Aw Art Gallery. * The discussion has been edited for the podcast.

Coming in September: The Collected Stories of Jessica Zafra

My story collection published by Ateneo University Press drops in September. It contains stories from Manananggal Terrorizes Manila (1992) and The Stories So Far (2014) and some new material. The cover is by Jason Moss, and this is how it came to be. I love this piece by Leo Abaya entitled Midcentury and 425 Weeks. […]

Two and a half days in Jaen and my research is done.

The last stop in my research on the life of the Spanish Civil War poet Miguel Hernandez was Jaen in Andalucia, a three-hour car ride from Orihuela. Andalucia sounds like the home of the Andals of Westeros (e.g. Jorah the Andal); the name is believed to have been derived from Vandals, some of the Goths […]

Our reading group selection for July is Circe by Madeline Miller

Our Bibliophibians reading group meets every month at Tin-Aw Art Gallery, Somerset Olympia, Makati Avenue beside the Peninsula Manila. Everyone who’s read the chosen book is welcome. The discussion starts at 4pm, followed by refreshments and chika. Our fabulous host is Dawn Atienza. Our past selections have been Dune by Frank Herbert (before the new […]