EDITOR

Jude Ortega has been a fellow for fiction at the 2016 UP National Writers Workshop and in five other writers workshops. He divides his time between Senator Ninoy Aquino and Isulan, both in Sultan Kudarat Province.

CONTRIBUTORS

Jermaine Dela Cruz is an AB English graduate of Mindanao State University in General Santos City. She now works for a fashion magazine and as a content provider at Brigada Mass Media Corporation.

Patrick Jayson L. Ralla is a graduate of Mindanao State University-General Santos City with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He is currently working as a private school teacher in Polomolok, South Cotabato, and is taking up a Master of Arts degree in Literature at the University of Southeastern Philippines, Davao City.

Michael John C. Otanes was born and raised in General Santos City, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Mindanao State University. He writes poetry and short fiction, some of which have been published in various online literary magazines.

Saquina Karla C. Guiam has been published in the Rising Phoenix Review, Scrittura Magazine, Suffragette City, Dulcet Quarterly, The Fem Lit Mag, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and others. She graduated from Mindanao State University in General Santos City with a bachelor’s degree in English and is currently studying for her master’s degree in Ateneo de Davao University. She is the Roots nonfiction editor at Rambutan Literary, an online journal showcasing literature and art from Southeast Asians all over the world, and the social media manager of Umbel & Panicle, a new literary journal inspired by plants and all things botanical.

Lance Isidore Catedral is completing his residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital. He also has a degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from UP–Diliman. He was born and raised in Koronadal City. Since 2004, he has been blogging at bottledbrain.com. His interests include Christianity, literature, and medicine.

Gutierrez Mangansakan II, born in 1976, descended from the royal houses of Maguindanao, southern Philippines. He is best know as a filmmaker whose credits include Limbunan (The Bridal Quarter), Cartas de la Soledad (Letters of Solitude), Qiyamah, and The Obscured Histories and Silent Longings of Daguluan’s Children. An outsider in Philippine literary circles, he takes pride in the deconstruction of the asterisk as his way of rebelling against the formality of political and artistic establishments. He was a writer-in-residence of the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program in 2008 and a fellow of the 54th University of the Philippines National Writers Workshop in 2015. He lives in General Santos City with his eleven cats.

Kristine Ong Muslim is the author of eight books of fiction and poetry: Age of Blight, Butterfly Dream, Meditations of a Beast, Black Arcadia, Lifeboat, Grim Series, We Bury the Landscape, and A Roomful of Machines. Her short story collection, Age of Blight, was one of the best books of 2016 according to the Chicago Review of Books, while her poetry collection, Grim Series, was included in the preliminary ballot of the Horror Writers Association’s 2012 Bram Stoker Award for Poetry and was twice nominated for the Science Fiction Poetry Association’s Elgin Award. Born in Kidapawan City, Cotabato Province, she grew up and continues to live in a rural town in Maguindanao.

Mark Sherwin Castronuevo Bayanito is a BA Political Science graduate from University of the Philippines–Diliman. He is Ilocano (albeit non-speaking) by blood, raised in General Santos City, and lives in Quezon City. He is primarily interested in the complexities of identity and urban life.

Erwin Cabucos, a teacher of English and religion in Brisbane, Australia, was born and raised in Carmen, Cotabato Province. His first collection of short stories, The Beach Spirit and Other Stories, was published by Ginninderra Press in Australia. His second, Green Blood and Other Stories, was published by Manila Prints in Australia and the Philippines. His newest book, Does it Matter What the Dead Think?, is now out on Amazon.com. He graduated in psychology from Notre Dame University in Cotabato City and communication from the University of Newcastle. He recently finished Master in English Education from the University of New England. He was also a fellow for fiction at the 2016 Iligan National Writers Workshop.