My grateful thanks to Nikki Alfar–whose set of stories have just concluded–for putting in the time and effort in editing her writers’ works, and then sharing one of her own. I hope you all enjoyed reading her set as much as I have.
The end of Nikki’s set marks the halfway point of this little experiment with PGS Online, of bringing genre stories by Pinoy writers for you to read through the web. With four guest-editors now done with their four stories each, that’s sixteen here on the site (for those keeping count), enough to fill a full physical anthology.
Comparing my previous experiences with a print-product and this online one, I must say that it’s easier to keep a consistent schedule by going digital. The many steps involved in bringing stories out in physical form–from layout, illustrations, stripping, plating, printing, color-checking, binding, cutting, to distribution–certainly can’t compare to the more straightforward use of a website’s content management system and worldwide presence. It still takes some time to do, make no mistake, but it is something less people can manage, versus the many more needed to produce the physical digest. It actually feels quite empowering. Having said that, the temptation to produce a physical product is still there; I don’t think it’ll ever go away.
To end the current year and to usher in 2012, our next guest-editor is a fresh name to the site: Alexis “Exie” Abola, multiple Palanca winner and English professor at Ateneo de Manila University. As with the others before him, I’m thankful that Exie agreed to take the time to guest-edit a set and to share one of his own stories on PGS. His set begins on December 15, 2011, and with his editorial sensibilities he brings a fresh perspective to genre fiction for PGS.
As a bonus for this holiday season, there will be an extra story on December 25, 2011. I had written on the PGS blog before how I was considering publishing stories in Filipino and not just English. Well, I’m happy to announce that, to give this a try, PGS will soon have a translated version of PGS contributor M.R.R. Arcega’s “The Magic Christmas Box”, which was first published in English in the print-version of the PGS Holiday Issue. “Ang Mahiwagang Kahong Pamasko” will go live on Christmas Day. My thanks to M.R.R. Arcega for agreeing to this; she’s one of our local writers with the high-skill to write stories in both English and Filipino. I hope PGS readers will receive this translation well. If so, I’m looking to extend this into 2012. Please leave your comments and let me know how you feel about this.
Many, many thanks to all the readers of PGS for your support. Please do keep on reading PGS Online, and any other book or story (digital or not); reading is a good habit to keep. Here’s hoping PGS Online will succeed in reaching more readers into 2012 and beyond. Thank you, everyone. Enjoy your holiday season, and Happy New Year to you all!
There was a knock on the door, and when Jose opened it he found himself face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was surrounded by birds of all colors and sizes, all looking up at her with love. She was saying something to him, but he could only stare at her in incomprehension, wondering what in the world he had done for the heavens to bestow such a favor on him.
