I had never read a book by a Filipino or Filipino American author until I was 28, and I read 30-50 books each year. Elaine Castillo’s America Is Not The Heart changed that.
The year after I read Jose Antonio Vargas’ Dear America, and last year I read Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror. To this day the number of Filipino authored books sits at 3.
Representation matters to me more and more but I rarely see our books on shelves. That’s why I was pretty amped to see this whole section of Fil-Am writers in The Hangout in Long Beach.
From children’s books to cookbooks to memoirs and graphic novels and poetry, the selection was amazing. I definitely left with a good sized bundle for me and Rhys.
Read Fil-Am Writers
