FICTION · FILIPINO AMERICANS
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard
Also known as: Cecilia Brainard
Cecilia Manguerra Brainard (born 1947) is an author and editor of 22 books. She co-founded PAWWA or Philippine American Women Writers and Artists; and also founded PALH or Philippine American Literary House. Brainard's works include the World War II novel, When the Rainbow Goddess Wept; The Newspaper Widow; Magdalena; and Selected Short Stories by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, which won the 40th Philippine National Book Award and Cirilo Bautista Prize. She ranks among the Top Translated Filipino Authors of the Philippine Works and Translation Data Base. She edited several anthologies including How I Became a Writer: Essays by Filipino and Filipino American Writers, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and three volumes of Growing Up Filipino, young adult books used by educators.
From the start Magdalena had refused to see Victor for what he really was.
— from MAGDALENA
Most acclaimed
Magnificat
Collected and Edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, this book collects 24 Marian devotees' accounts of their experiences in Marian pilgrim sites. The sites are found in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, India, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United States, and there are eight Pilgrim sites in the Philippines. The book includes short writeups of other international pilgrim sites and some Catholic Prayers. Archbishop Tagle of Manila has issued an Imprimatur for the book, Magnificat: Mama Mary's Pilgrim Sites.
A La Carte
2007
A La Carte: Food and Fiction is a collection of 25 short stories by Filipino and Philippine American writers that are related to food. Each story is preceded by a Filipino recipe. A La Carte is the winner of the prestigious Gourmand Award 2008 as the Best Food Literature Book from the Philippines. Noted Philippine critic says: "Here is a book guaranteed to satisfy even the most discriminating taste, but also to make readers hungry for more stories, characters, insights, and recipes. Fact, fiction, fantasy, and food mix in a feast for the mind, the heart, the palate, and the soul. There are many well-known writers in the anthology, but it is not so much who writes as what is written that makes this book a must-read, just as it is not so much the chef or the cook that makes a recipe to die for, but the dish itself. Enjoy the 25-course banquet!"