Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards set for 2013

In 2012, I was lucky to be included in the team that organized the first Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards that was a part of the 2nd Filipino ReaderCon that happened last August. It was fun because I saw so many Filipino books that I can add to my TBR. This year we’re sort of launching the awards a little bit earlier, so we readers can start recalling our favorite Philippine published books in 2012. :)

Filipino Readers' Choice Awards

The Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards returns for its second straight year, engaging the Filipino reading public in honoring their favorite Philippine-published titles.

An initiative of the Filipino Book Bloggers Group, the Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards debuted at the 2nd Filipino Reader Conference in 2012, and was established to develop awareness and appreciation of Philippine literature, recognize the reader’s role in creating the meaning and experience of a literary work, and give the readers a voice in the Philippine book industry.

For 2013, the Filipino Readers’ choice awards will be open to books published from January to December 2012. Nomination period is set for May 2013, in preparation for the awards ceremony at 3rd Filipino ReaderCon in August.

2012 winners of the Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards (books published 2010-2011) were: “But That Won’t Wake Me Up!” by Annie and Anelka Lumbao and Liza Flores, Adarna House (Children’s Picture Book); “Fairy Tale Fail” by Mina V. Esguerra, Summit Books (Chick Lit); “Ilustrado” by Miguel Syjuco, Anvil Publishing (Novel in English), “Ang Huling Dalagang Bukid at ang Authobiography na Mali” by Jun Cruz-Reyes, Anvil Publishing (Novel in Filipino); “KikoMachine Komiks Blg 6” by Manix Abrera, Visprint (Comics/ graphic novel); “Alternative Alamat” edited by Paolo Chikiamco, Rocket Kapre and Flipside (Short Story Anthology); “It’s A Mens World” by Bebang Siy, Anvil Publishing (Essay Anthology); and “Off the Beaten Track: Tulaan sa Tren 2” NBDB and Vibal Foundation (Poetry Anthology).

Preliminary survey for the Filipino Readers’ Choice Awards is now ongoing at http://filipinoreadercon.wordpress.com/readers-choice-awards/frca-2013-survey/.

Flipreads: Filipino e-Books for All

There were a lot of things that happened last Friday, and yes, I think people made use of the 11.11.11 date to make the day more memorable and all that. Other than the 11/11/11 Challenge for our NaNoWriMo region and lantern launches all over the metro, Flipside Digital Content also launched their e-bookstore, Flipreads.com. :)

I was supposed to be at that launch but alas, work called, so I had to pass. But if you also missed the launch, well, here’s some stuff on the launch and the bookstore for your information. :)

eBooks now made accessible to Filipinos through Flipreads.com

Filipinos can now have easier access to eBooks through the online eBookstore, Flipreads.com. Likewise, authors and publishers can now distribute their eBooks more widely and securely through the same website, which was launched on November 11 2011 from 4-7PM at the Celebrity Sports
Club Grand Ballroom.

Flipreads.com is owned and developed by Flipside Publishing Services, a sister company of Flipside Digital Content. Flipside Digital Content, previously just a conversion house catering to four of the top six international publishers, is responsible for publishing and co-publishing more than 70 Filipino and Asian eBooks on Amazon, Apple iBookstore, and Barnes and Noble just in its first six months of operation. Most of these international eBookstores, however, are not available to the local populace.
Filipinos can only buy from Amazon, albeit with an added cost of $2 per book.

Now, Flipside is making eBooks more accessible especially for Filipinos through Flipreads.com. Readers can download eBooks onto their Apple or Android devices. They can even download it onto their PCs or Macs. Whereas before, Filipinos could only buy eBooks legitimately if they had credit cards, but with Flipreads, they may use other payment gateways such as CashSense and, in the near future, Globe GCash, and Smart Money.

Flipreads also serves as a secure distribution platform for Filipino publishers, authors, and other content providers. Therefore, publishers can now sell their eBooks securely through Flipreads.com. Authors can also opt to independently publish their titles through the site. Other institutions and
entities can also distribute their digital materials safely through Flipreads.

eBooks distributed through Flipreads can be made secure through the use of Adobe Content Server’s DRM. DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and is the means by which eBooks are protected from casual piracy. Alternatively, authors and publishers may choose to distribute their eBooks for free
through the Flipreads site.

Flipreads also hopes to provide a venue to publishers and authors to bring previously out-of-print titles back into circulation. Since everything is online, these titles will also be available to an international market.

For more information, email business@flipreads.com or call +632-5709255 or +63917-6206244.

I love the idea of this entire store, and I love that it makes books more accessible to people not only here but also in other countries. Of course, nothing still beats print books, but still, ebooks have come a long way and it’s really hard to deny ourselves that they are here and they help a book reach more people than a print one can. I mean, look: they have The Sky Over Dimas by Vicente Garcia-Groyon, and that was a required reading for me back in college. And they also have Blue Angel, White Shadow by Charlson Ong, which I reviewed earlier this year. And of course, they have High Society by Paolo Chikiamco and Hannah Buena (formerly known as Kataastaasan), which I definitely recommend. :)

Also, I love that this thing came just in time for NaNoWriMo. Who knows, maybe a NaNo novel will get published and sold through Flipreads.com sometime, yes? :)