Read Or Die Convention 2007

2007-01-31T06:51:00.000-08:00

Was interviewed earlier by Cathy Paras of clickthecity.com and Lana Jaina of Jam 88.3 :) Lana also hosts "Shelve It," a book review radio show which runs every Thursday from 8PM to 9PM. Tahanan Books is guesting tomorrow.

Thanks to Cathy and Lana!

A few updates re: the line-up of events: CCP might be joining with a small production number on Saturday though we've already got a pretty full line-up on Saturday afternoon. Old Friends, a quartet which specializes in Broadway tunes, will be performing on Saturday along with Vica Pineda of the Asian Theater Circuit. "Period Pieces," a performance poetry reading featuring the Fine Arts Poetry Cluster (directed by Mia Marci) of Ateneo de Manila University will also be staged.

The UP Folklorists Inc. has also confirmed their panel on Philippine folklore featuring folklore program studies founder Dr. George Fabros, Professor Ruby Alcnantara, and Professor Florentino Iniego. Their panel starts at 12:30 PM on Saturday (February 3).

January 2007 Newsletter (Part 2)

2007-01-29T05:52:00.000-08:00

January 2007 (Part 2)

Updates--

Exhibitors' Briefing
Volunteers Meeting
Panel Directory
Exhibits
Live Performances
Raffles
Portrait of the Filipino as Reader
Pinoy Readers' Choice Awards
Book Swaps and Book Donations
Attending RodCon 2007
Online Pre-Registration
More Sponsor Acknowledgments

Exhibitors Briefing / Volunteers Meeting

The briefing will take place on January 27 (Saturday) at 9AM at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Intercontinental. Exhibitors are encouraged to attend. Our booth contractor and volunteer coordinator will both be present. Agenda: Ingress/Egress, Booth Layout, Floor Plans, Parking, Timetables, Technical Inquiries. Intercon will also be giving out ingress/egress forms as well as car passes for exhibitors. We've already informed all the exhibitors about the briefing. If you have not received your invitation, please email us as soon as possible.

The penultimate Volunteers Meeting before the convention will also take place on the 27th. The volunteer coordinator has already been in contact with the new batch of volunteer applicants. For volunteer-related inquiries please attention all emails to Rael Realin or email her personally at rael_realin@yahoo.com.

Panel Directory

We updated the panel listing to reflect updates and revisions on the part of participating organizations. We have also posted a tentative timetable for the function room events: download the PDF file.

The latest on function room events--

The British Council of Manila will be presenting Roger Robinson from the UK performance poetry group "Apples and Snakes" back-to-back with local poets Kooky Tuason (of Romancing Venus) and Juddha Paolo. From the British Council press release:

POETRY WITH A BITE

Roger Robinson of the renowned UK-based performance poetry group Apples & Snakes will be in Manila for the British Council's live literature programmes this month.

On January 29 and 31, Robinson will train a cadre of performance poets with a view to cascading skills and practice to various schools as well as literary and theatre organisations nationwide. There will be two sessions – students can join the morning group at the Quezon City Science High School Conference Hall from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, while more experienced spoken word artists and enthusiasts can join the evening sessions at the British Council's Knowledge and Learning Centre at the 10th floor of Taipan Place, Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Centre, Pasig from 6:00-9:00 p.m.

His tour also includes a special performance in "VENUS TAKES A BITE" at Conspiracy Garden Café on January 30, with special guests Kooky Tuason, Karen Kunawicz, Charms of Matilda, Rinka, Aimee Marcos, and Annabel Bosch, who will do selections from Romancing Venus, to be followed by band music from The Dorques. Merienda-cena will be served at 6:00 p.m.; showtime is at 7 o'clock.

On February 1, he joins the grand finalists of Quezon City Science High School's SCIENTIA POETRY SLAM to be held at the school's covered court, which will be converted into a Literary Café. Robinson also performs at St Paul University Ma nila's Fleurdelis Auditorium on February 2 at 11 a.m. before teaming up with renowned novelist Romesh Gunesekera in handling sessions for the Literature Conference at the Ateneo de Manila University that afternoon. He caps his schedule with another performance for the READ-OR-DIE CONVENTION at Hotel Intercontinental Manila on February 3 at 4:30 p.m., back-to-back with Kooky Tuason and Juddha Paolo.

Robinson is a poet, short fiction writer and lyricist who divides his time between New York, London and Trinidad. In the past he has represented British writing worldwide with the British Council, and independently at venues and festivals including Crossing Borders (Amsterdam), Naples Poetry Festival and Mercury Lounge (Ottawa). In 2002 he represented new British writing with tours and trips to Bulgaria, Greece, Berlin and Finland.

As programmer for Apples & Snakes, he was also featured in the New Generation Poets collection at the National Portrait Gallery. His first anthology of short fiction, Adventures in 3D, was published in 2002 with a subsequent sell out UK tour, and he is now working on his first full-length novel Eat.

As if he doesn't sound busy enough, Roger Robinson can often be found touring with bands. Taking his lyrical finesse to the stage, he has opened shows for De La Soul, Cody Chesnutt, Saul Williams and Linton Kwesi Johnson. He's also featured in stage shows with Attica Blues, Techno Animal, The Bug, Silky Millionaire Syndicate and Speeka.

The UP Creative Writing Institute and UMPIL will be hosting panels on contemporary Philippine fiction, oral poetry, literary translation and regional literatures and creative non-fiction which will be hosted by writers and academics Jun Cruz Reyes, Teo Antonio, Bobby Anonuevo, Romulo Baquiran, and Abdon Balde, among others. A full list of Likhaan and UMPIL writers who will be coming to the convention will be posted later.

The Goethe Institut will be presenting a panel on German literature featuring Professor Susanna Lenz (from the Department of European Languages, UP Diliman). The incoming Goethe Institut Director will also be introduced to the public in the panel. The Goethe Institut be exhibiting collections from their library in RodCon.

The National Book Development Board will be hosting a poetry reading featuring celebrities from popular TV show Super Inggo and their campaign "Get Caught Reading." A tentative list of attendees includes Miriam Quiambao, Herbert Bautista, and Christine Bersola-Babao.

Renowned historian Dr. Jaime Veneracion of UP Diliman and SAMPAKA will be headlining a discussion forum on historical writing. The Dean of the Islamic Institute of UP Diliman Dr. Mashur bin-Ghalib Jundam and selected faculty from the Institute will be speaking on Filipino Muslim literary traditions.

The New Worlds Alliance will be presenting three speakers during their function room event:

* "Anatomy of a Villain: The Will to Power and the 'Chosen Destiny'of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." (Frances Sangil, Pinoy Harry Potter)
* TBA (R.E. de Leon, The Philippine Order of Narnians)
* "Would JRRT Approve of Sending More Troops to Iraq: The Themes of War and Peace in LOTR." (Cristina Montes, The Philippine Tolkien Society)

*This listing is very incomplete; there are a lot of other groups and publishers who have not confirmed their topics or speakers for the convention but who will be attending (see timetable). For programming inquiries, please contact Kristin Mandigma at kmandigma@gmail.com or at 09283555365.

Exhibits

The National Book Development Board will be previewing their latest poster campaign "Get Caught Reading" in a selected gallery in the convention.

Gerry Alanguilan of Komikero Publishing has lent us his collection of pulp magazine and vintage comic book illustrations for display. Watch out for this.

The Goethe Institut will also be displaying their collections.

We had planned to host an exhibit of Nick Joaquin material courtesy of the UP Filipiniana Library. However, due to the fact that the Main Library is currently cataloging and indexing their collections for the UP Centennial Celebrations in 2008, loans of rare material to outside institutions have been proscribed. We will be displaying facsimile prints and showing several slide shows of the National Artist collections in the Library, however.

We will also be exhibiting a set of rare books (signed, unsigned, specially bound, limited and first editions) courtesy of Mr. Jasper Ong of Avalon Books. A few of the titles include signed books by Neil Gaiman, Umberto Eco, Chuck Palahniuk, Gregory Maguire, Nick Hornby, Anthony Bourdain, Marisha Pessl, Jeanette Winterson, Arthur Golden, and much more.

Catalogs will be provided.

Live Performances

The Alitaptap Storytellers, headed by president Manolo Silayan, will be performing onstage on February 3 and February 4 at RodCon 2007. The performance on Saturday will take place at 5:30 PM while the Sunday performance will be held at 3PM. Details to follow.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines will also be staging production numbers on both days. Details to follow.

Good news for Star Wars afficionados: The Philippine chapter of the 501st Legion will be making an appearance in RodCon on February 3. The Stormtroopers will be mingling with guests and convention attendees for pictures and signings. Be sure to come to RoD so as not to miss this opportunity :) Members of the Jedi Order will also be appearing on February 4. With much thanks to Rej and Paolo of the New Worlds Alliance for arranging this for the convention attendees. The New Worlds Alliance will also be exhibiting at the convention (and selling select books and merchandise from their collections) so be sure to drop by.

Raffles

Each convention attendee will be entitled to one raffle ticket for the RodCon book raffles (which will be drawn periodically throughout the convention on stage). Prizes include an awful lot of books, comics, artwork, gift certificates and merchandise. We will also be holding special raffles wherein you will have to buy tickets in order to participate. For instance, Avalon Books has kindly donated a signed limited edition hardbound copy of Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" for such a raffle. Proceeds will go to our charity beneficiary. Thanks once again to Mr. Jasper Ong.

Portrait of the Filipino as Reader

Once again, all convention attendees are encouraged to participate in Portrait of the Filipino as Reader.All you have to do is bring photos to the convention which follow the contest theme and register them at the Secretriat desk, after which they will be displayed on our community wall for judging. Winners will receive special prizes. :)

Pinoy Readers' Choice Awards

If you haven't voted yet, please do so now. :) The deadline for voting is on January 31, 2007. We also have a special announcement to make with regard to our Pinoy Readers' Choice Award ceremony this year as well as news of the 2008 Awards in the forthcoming (and last) edition of this newsletter. Thank you to everyone who has voted and participated in the awards!

Book Swaps and Book Donations

We are reminding convention attendees to please bring your old/secondhand books to either swap or donate in the convention. The swap will be conducted on the principle of (more or less) equivalent trade. If you bring one book to swap, you will receive one book in return. The more books you bring, the more books you get.

Donations are very much welcome. We can't say it enough. Donated books will be re-routed to charity foundations and other book drive organizations (like RockEd, A Better Chance Foundation, and Books For The Barrios).

Attending RodCon 2007

We've prepared a set of guidelines re: how to make your way in RodCon 2007. Please take a moment to read these guidelines in order to ensure a hassle-free convention experience. We will also replicate these guidelines in our program guide along with the list of our convention policies.

Online Pre-Registration Closed

While online pre-registration has ended, you can still buy RodCon tickets at pre-registration rate until January 31, 2007. Please note that we only have a limited number of tickets on sale. If you have not bought your tickets yet, please proceed to your nearest Powerbooks outlet. We will stop selling tickets in our partner bookstores on January 31, 2007. While tickets will still be available during the convention itself, they will be sold at registration rates.

More Sponsor Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr. Jan Vincent Ong of Vivian Sarabia Optical for donating gift tokens for our guests. Thanks as well go to Ms. Rona Co of gmanews.tv and One Philippines and Ms. Laina Junia of Jam 88.3 for the media coverage. Thanks to Ms. Rio Brigino of Vibal Publishing and Ms. Joyce Bernales of Anvil Publishing.

January 2007 Newsletter (Part 1)

2007-01-29T05:46:00.000-08:00

Updates:

Partnerships
Tickets
Programming
Exhibits
Press releases

Announcements:

Guests of Honor Announced
Radioactive Sago Project, Up Dharma Down and Swissy To Perform Live
Forums Back Online

Revisions:

Portrait of the Reader as Filipino
Function Room Events Listing

I. Partnership

Powerbooks is the official partner and co-presentor of Read or Die for the Read or Die Convention 2007. Powerbooks is the pioneer specialty bookstore in the Philippines carrying the widest selection catering to every book lovers tastes and needs. Powerbooks also provides a venue for events and activities such as poetry readings, book launches and signings, author visits and lectures, book club sessions and other related events specifically created and made for every book enthusiast who visits their stores. Reading is not merely a common action in Powerbooks, it is an experience of enabling the limitless journey of the mind which every book lover takes in the process of reading.

Read or Die welcomes this collaboration with Powerbooks as we promote reading and support for Filipino readers in RodCon 2007. Powerbooks will be giving away lots of free books and special prizes in the convention and will be sponsoring several activities during the convention. Watch this space for more updates. Thank you, Powerbooks!

I. Tickets

Tickets are now on sale at all Powerbooks outlets. You can also find them at Booktopia (Libis, Quezon City) and at Aeon Bookstore (Katipunan).

Ticket rates are:

Students: P100/one-day pass; P200/two-day pass
Professionals: P150/one-day pass; P300/two-day pass

Please make sure to bring your student ID when purchasing tickets, otherwise you will be charged the professional rate.

The tickets will be exchanged for a convention kit and badge during registration. Please keep your tickets. They are non-refundable.

Also, please note that tickets will only be available at pre-registration rates until January 31, 2007. If you buy your ticket on February 1 onwards, you will be charged registration rates.

If you have any questions or concerns about registration, please visit our newly reformatted forum or contact us at rodcon.sec@gmail.com.

II. Hotel Reservations

Hotel Intercontinental is offering convention attendees a special flat rate of P5000+++ for both single and twin occupancies from February 3 to February 4. The package comes with a free breakfast buffet at the Jeepney Deli, among other amenities. Please note that the rate for regular hotel guests is P7000+++. If you wish to make a reservation, please contact us at rodcon.sec@gmail.com. We do not know when available rooms will run out so we advise interested parties to make reservations before January 25, 2007 at the very latest.

III. Online Pre-Registration

Online pre-registration will end on January 19, 2007. People who signed up through our website will be contacted this week with instructions about where and how to pay for their tickets. They will also be provided with the function room schedule once the final list has taken form and asked to make priority reservations for up to two function room events of choice. People who did not pre-register online will only receive their schedules during the convention.

IV. Registration

Registration will start at 8AM daily. Please try to come on time. Early bird registrants will receive special kits. The Dealers Room will be open at exactly 9AM. Opening ceremonies--with speeches by our Guests Of Honor and keynote speakers--will last until around 10AM. Function room events will start at 11AM.

Here's a tentative general timetable:

08:00 AM: Registration
09:00 AM: Opening Ceremony
10:00 AM: Dealers Room/Activity Area Opens
11:00 AM: Function Room Events Begin
07:00 PM: Culminating Activity (Grand Ballroom)

For a list of confirmed function room events visit this page.

V. Guests of Honor & Plenary Speakers / Live Performances

National Artists Virgilio Almario and F. Sionil Jose will be this year's Guests of Honor. Virgilio Almario will open the convention on February 3 while F. Sionil Jose will do so on February 4.

Plenary and keynote speeches on February 3, 2007 will be made by National Book Development Board Chairman Dennis Gonzalez, Powerbooks representative Jane Lopez, and Mr. Harvey Keh AHON Foundation.

The list of plenary speakers for February 4 will be confirmed this coming week. Expected: The National Library, UNICEF.

In the meantime, noted Filipino bands Radioactive Sago Project and Up Dharma Down will also be performing live in the Grand Ballroom on February 4, 2007. The bands will be debuting songs from an upcoming concept album produced by Read or Die featuring bands from innovative indie record label Terno Recordings. All the songs in the album will be original compositions based on Filipino literary works. New Terno Recordings artist Swissy will also be coming to the con to perform.

VI. Sponsors

If you haven't posted your book wishlist, please do so now, while our book dealers might still be able to do something about it.

We would also like to thank the following sponsors:

National Book Development Board
Time Life Books
Booktopia
Aeon Books
National Bookstore
Avalon Books
Adarna Books
Anvil Publishing
UST Press
Solidaridad Bookstore
Komikero Publishing
Ateneo University Press
University of the Philippines Press
Vibal Publishing / Filipiniana.net
Eternal Publications
Terno Recordings
Godspeed Exhibit Systems
Hotel Intercontinental

Our media partners:

Fudge Magazine
PEOPLE Asia
Philippine Graphic
Philippine Business Mirror
Manila Times
Net 25
NU 107
Jam 88.3
Netopia

Participating organizations:

National Book Development Board
British Council of Manila
Goethe Institut
Instituto Cervantes
PBBY
Alitaptap Storytellers
Ang INK
KUTING
University of the Philippines Creative Writing Institute
Ateneo University
University of Santo Tomas Creative Writing Center
UP Islamic Institute
New Worlds Alliance
Philippine PEN
UMPIL
Toei Animation
Ex Libris UP
Ateneo Literary Society
UP Anime and Manga Enthusiasts
UP Main Library
Quiapo Booksellers Association
Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation
Books For Asia
Books For The Barrios
Children's Hour
High Chair
Gabriela Philippines
Cultural Center of the Philippines
LitCritters

VII. Activities

RodCon activities will take place simultaneously on several fronts:

1) Function Rooms: Or the panel discussions, lectures, and workshops which will run continuously throughout the convention.

2) Stage: Film screenings, raffles, auctions, contests, special performances.

VIII. Update: Portrait of the Artist as Filipino

Due to a lack of submissions (and--it's probably related--repeated requests for extensions), we're revising the concept of the photography contest Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Instead of building a web gallery, we're encouraging people to bring their photographs to the convention and paste or tack them onto a community wall. People can then vote for their favorite photos on the spot through a ballot box. Winners will receive special prizes.

Photos must at least be 3R in size and must conform to the theme. Attendees may submit as many photographs they want, just be sure to register your participation in the registration desk .

IX. Read or Die Interactive

New! We're setting aside specific areas of the convention for meet-ups and (very) informal discussion circles. While these sessions are technically free, we'll be asking groups and individuals who do participate to pay some sort of toll fee (amount optional, money optional). It's to supplement the donation to AHON, as per usual.

1) Readers Corner : Where readers can meet up and talk about books to their hearts' content. Facilitated by Read or Die. Schedule/list of books to be discussed to follow. The swap area can also be found here.

Convention attendees are encouraged to bring their secondhand books to either swap or donate.

2) Writers Corner : Writers are notoriously hard to pin down but we've asked several writers to consider making time to meet their readers. If we see one wandering around the convention, we'll be sure to make an announcement on the PA. Or, if you're a writer or you belong to a writers' group and would like to use RodCon as a meeting place, please contact the secretariat at rodcon.sec@gmail.com so we can schedule your slot in the Writers Corner. Slots can only last for an hour.

3) Artists Corner: Artists may likewise avail of a spot in the convention where they can meet up or chat with their favorite comic artist. Please note that, as in the case with Writers Corner, we cannot ensure that your favorite artists will in fact appear or will be willing to sit for an hour and sign autographs. But if you are a comic artist and would not mind donating your time to meet with your readers (and acolytes, extant or otherwise), please do so. You can either email us to avail of your slot (or fill out the web form in the site) or sign up during the convention itself. First come first served.

4) Publishing Depot: We're inviting publishing representatives to make time to meet readers or to field inquiries from potential authors in the Publishing Depot. Writers are advised to bring their manuscripts with them for the convention

X. Press Releases

Our ads and a feature article on Read or Die have appeared in the Inquirer, Star, Tribune, the Manila Bulletin, Manila Times, Malaya and other magazine publications. We would like to thank Dee Mandigma for his efforts on our behalf. An article on the convention is also appearing in Fudge Magazine (with thanks to Ms. Annie Alejo). More press notices to follow.

We would also like to thank Ms. Isabel Garcia for writing about us in her column De Rerum Natura in The Philippine Star.

XI. Volunteers

If you applied after January 1 and have not received a reply to your invitation, it's because we'll only be determining the number of volunteers we have and need by this weekend. Please note that the official application period for volunteers ended last November. We already received a total of thirty applications. If all these thirty volunteers appear on our next meeting date, we probably won't be getting any more volunteers and will be emailing you accordingly. If we get less than the projected thirty, we'll email the number of people we need, based on the date of the submissions of their applications. Thank you for your understanding.

XI. Further Notes

Members of the New Worlds Alliance will be coming in costume. Other hobby organizations who wish to attend the convention in costume or cosplay are free to do so. You do not have to ask prior permission from the secretariat. There will be no official cosplay competition, however.

XII. Wrapping Up

Thank you to everyone who's supported us this far. Special acknowledgements go to Ms. Rowena Dumaguila of Booktopia, Ms. Marilou Consing and Mr. Sanny Medina of Aeon Bookstore, Mr. James Abuan of Powerbooks, Mr. Ed Sabolvoro of the National Book Development Board, Mr. Hector Tagaysay of TIME LIFE, Dr. Harvey Keh and Ms. Cecille Bautista of AHON Foundation, Mr. Sonny Reyes of Godspeed Exhibit Systems, Mr. Gerry Alanguilan of Komikero Publishing, Mr. Toti Dalmacion of Terno Recordings, and Dr. Vim Nadera of the UP Creative Writing Institute.

We still have two weeks to go. It's been a long and exhausting and at the same time very interesting experience for all six of us in the secretariat. We've learned a lot of things (and made a lot more mistakes, which we hope to correct, if RodCon 2008 pushes through). Please feel free to give us your comments and suggestions.

We hope to see you all in RodCon. We end with a quote from the British novelist Zadie Smith:

"But the problem with readers, the idea we're given of reading is that the model of a reader is the person watching a film, or watching television. So the greatest principle is, 'I should sit here and I should be entertained.' And the more classical model, which has been completely taken away, is the idea of a reader as an amateur musician. An amateur musician who sits at the piano, has a piece of music, which is the work, made by somebody they don't know, who they probably couldn't comprehend entirely, and they have to use their skills to play this piece of music. The greater the skill, the greater the gift that you give the artist and that the artist gives you. That's the incredibly unfashionable idea of reading. And yet when you practice reading, and you work at a text, it can only give you what you put into it. It's an old moral, but it's completely true.

I would add that talented writers begin as talent readers, though I've scarcely heard it remarked upon.

The two activities are not only fundamentally similar, they're the necessary halves of a single human activity.

The reader completes the arc.

If there is no reader, there is no text."

Swissy; Panel Listings

2007-01-22T03:04:00.000-08:00

New Terno Recordings act Swissy will also be performing at the Read or Die Convention 2007. Swissy will be opening for Radioactive Sago Project and Up Dharma Down. Looking forward to the performances--we only gave Sago and Dharma very general ideas about what we want for the concept album, so the new songs will be as much of a (pleasant) surprise to us as to the rest of the audience. We hope to have the entire concept album released by June 2007. Assuming that all things go as planned, funding-wise.

In other news, a list of participating organizations for the panel discussions have been posted here. It's still incomplete and topics and speakers are still TBA (to be arranged). However, the organizations themselves are confirmed attendees.

Hopefully by next week we'll have done and finished with TBAs. This convention has been a tremendous learning experience for all of us. It lurched along in an ungainly fashion from October to November, deflated a bit in December, and is now gathering momentum and pulling all sorts of things into its orbit this January.

Updates: Credit Cards & Book Swaps

2007-01-22T01:37:00.000-08:00

Carissa796 over at the forums asks a couple of good questions:

1) Can convention attendees use their credit cards to buy books and merchandise in RodCon?

Yes, but we can't assure that all merchants will offer this option because of limited phone lines. As of now, only Powerbooks has expressed their intention to offer credit card purchasing. We'll give a complete run-down of charge-enabled exhibitors after the exhibitors briefing this weekend.

2) What are the mechanics of book swapping?

Book tokens will be scrapped in favor of equivalent trade :) This means that to get a book from the swap pile, you only have to bring a book to swap. If you give two books, you have the option of getting two books in return.

3) What if I want to donate a book?

Yes, please, and thank you very much.There's a book donation pile right next to the swap pile. Also, all books which remain unclaimed in the swap pile by the end of the convention will be transferred to the swap pile.

We are encouraging convention participants to bring books both to donate and to swap. You can bring comic books, textbooks, magazines, paperbacks, hardcovers, etc.

Updates---

2007-01-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we posted on this blog. We haven't been neglecting it deliberately; for the months of November to December, there had been nothing to post, except tiresome, long-winded, possibly repetitive iterations of conversations with sponsors and invited organizations. We did spend a lot of time talking about and fretting over how much money we had and if we were going to jail. Again, the bloodier details didn't bear blogging about.

We're planning to post a sort of documentary post-mortem after the con, but for the moment, please rest assured that the convention is pushing through with surprising coherence, we'd ceased having panic attacks over morning coffee (and/or waking up screaming in the middle of the night), and, with your support, it might even be a rousing success.

We're slowly but surely pulling the events schedule together. Please have a little more patience with us as we wait for a few more organizations to reply with their planned functions. We had been hoping for a lot of lead time, which is why we started sending out our proposals as early as September, but it wasn't meant to be.

In any case, facts of note about the present status of the convention:

Powerbooks is now our official partner and co-presentor in the event. They have promised to clean out their entire warehouse (or at least their purchasing catalogue for the first quarter of 2007), which is exciting news (if you're not my wallet).
Tickets are on sale at Powerbooks (all outlets), Booktopia, and AeonBookstore (Katipunan). A few more store locations to follow, and we've also tied up with student organizations in UP and Ateneo to sell tickets in their respective campuses. The list of RodCon ticket outlets is provisional at this point. Please expect a more comprehensive list in the next two weeks.
In the meantime, if you haven't had time to buy your tickets (or even if you have), please make sure to pre-register. We will be contacting people who registered online next week. Please note that pre-registrants will be given priority in terms of signing up for function room events. They also don't have to line up with the rest of regular ticket buyers in order to get their convention badges. For that matter, pre-registrants can also take advantage of our sponsors' freebie offers for early bird attendees. Pre-registration is free, as long as you pay for your tickets before the pre-registration period lapses.
Pre-registration will end on January 31, 2007. Tickets sold after that period will be priced at regular convention rates: P150 for students, P250 for professionals, for one day-passes. Two-day passes will go for P300 for students, P500 for professionals. Please buy your tickets before pre-registration ends. Once again, RodCon tickets are available at all Powerbooks outlets. Or you can contact us at 09283555365 or at rodcon.sec@gmail.com for more information about how to get your tickets on time.

Hotel Room Reservation Updates

2007-01-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

UPDATE!

We have finalized the rates for the hotel room reservations and it is pegged at Php5000++ for an overnight stay. We have booked rooms from 2-4 February 2007 and we hope you'll be interested in getting rooms for said event right now! ^_^

Pls get in touch with us if you have any more queries via our email: rodcon.sec@gmail.com

Thanks!

from your harrassed coordinator
;p

UPDATE: Hotel Reservation and Rates

2006-12-15T02:58:00.000-08:00

Pls be informed that hotel reservation and rates are still being negotiated and subject to the current running industry rates for the said period of the convention. We hope that this will be resolved soon and we may have a very favorable rates for the convention attendees-hotel guests.

from your harrassed coordinator,

;p

December Newsletter

2006-12-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

The December newsletter has been sent to our list of contacts for the convention.

An update will be uploaded to the website:

http://read-or-die.org/rodcon/

If you wish to receive our bi-monthly newsletter about the convention, please go to the website and input your address in the email field.

The newsletter is issued bi-monthly and is a compilation of updates regarding the convention programming, schedule, and list of activities. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter in the future, please reply to this email with a subject heading [REMOVE ME]. Thank you for your consideration.

Update: VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS CLOSED; VOLUNTEERS ORIENTATION HELD ON NOVEMBER 25

Thank you to everyone who applied to join the volunteer staff of RodCon. We received a large number of applications and they have been forwarded to our very formidable Volunteer Coordinator.

The first Volunteers Orientation was held on November 25 at Booktopia coinciding with the monthly meeting of the Read or Die Bookclub. Thank you very much to those who were able to attend.

The next Volunteers meeting will be held in January. Please keep checking your e-mails, the website and this blog for updates. Thank you.

Read or Die would like to thank Ms. Rowena Dimaguila of Booktopia for her wonderful support and generosity as well as for allowing us to hold our monthly meeting and the Volunteers' Orientation there. Booktopia is one of our major sponsors in the convention.

If you are interested in joining Read or Die (the book club, not necessarily the convention), please contact me at kmandigma@gmail.com for more details :)

November Newsletter

2006-11-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

We've sent the November newsletter to our list of contacts for the convention.

I have uploaded the update to the website:

http://read-or-die.org/rodcon/

If you wish to receive our bi-monthly newsletter about the convention, please go to the website and input your address in the email field.

The newsletter is issued bi-monthly and is a compilation of updates regarding the convention programming, schedule, and list of activities. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter in the future, please reply to this email with a subject heading [REMOVE ME]. Thank you for your consideration.

Update: VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS CLOSED; VOLUNTEERS ORIENTATION ON NOVEMBER 25

Thank you to everyone who applied to join the volunteer staff of RodCon. We received a large number of applications (we hope it's not just because of the free books!) :)

The first volunteers orientation will be held on November 25, 2006 at Booktopia , which also coincides with our monthly club meeting. Volunteers are encouraged to attend as this will be a chance to interact with regular club members, find out more about Read or Die and how we conduct our meetings, and meet the as yet anonymous but v. formidable Volunteer Coordinator. :)

The meeting starts at 6PM. Please come on time.

Read or Die would like to thank Ms. Rowena Dimaguila of Booktopia for her wonderful support and generosity. Booktopia is one of our major sponsors in the convention.

We would also like to thank Ms. Marilou Santos and Mr. Sanny Medina of AEON Books for hosting the October 2006 club meeting of Read or Die.

If you are interested in joining Read or Die (the book club, not necessarily the convention), please contact me at kmandigma@gmail.com for more details :)

October Newsletter

2006-10-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

We've sent the October newsletter to our list of contacts for the convention. Apologies to those who got the newsletter with the email addresses thrown together in the recipient line. I (that is, the person who actually mailed the newsletter) ought to have used the BCC component to mask email addresses/identities but had clicked SEND way too soon. I am very sorry and it won't happen again.

I have uploaded preliminary press releases in this directory--

http://read-or-die.org/rodcon/press/

--though the official press kit section of the website won't be up until next week. I'll be making announcements in the website about updates in our programming this Friday.

If you wish to receive our bi-monthly newsletter about the convention, please go to the website and input your address in the email field.

In the meantime, Read or Die had its October 2006 meeting in Aeon Bookstore (Katipunan, Loyola Heights, QC) through the kindness of bookstore owner Marilou Gonzalez and store manager Sanny Medina. We welcomed new members Roselle, Karen and Marianne to the club and made plans about our reading list for the next four months. If you are interested in joining Read or Die (the book club, not necessarily the convention), please contact me at kmandigma@gmail.com for more details :)

Revised registration rates

2006-10-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

New and final pre-registration rates for RodCon have been announced in the website. We've been thinking about this for the past few weeks, asking for feedback from potential sponsors and attendees, and we're glad that we can make a final decision now and just steam ahead without any hesitation henceforth! Since a convention like this hasn't really been done before in the Philippines and we haven't got anything to use as a standard exept for--ironically--professional conventions and US fandom convention models, we basically went for an uneasy mix between the two, at least in terms of deciding the economics of the entire thing. I was personally interested to see how Filipinos would respond to the possibility of a stay-in convention with a programming such as RodCon's, but I don't suppose we're ready to take on a full-scale model as yet. So, a prototype would have to do :)

At the risk of repeating myself (as if I haven't already, numerous times): RodCon is not a book fair or book expo, as such. What we'd really like is for convention attendees to involve themselves actively with the programming of the con, to take advantage of the activities to the fullest. This is why we fixed the initial entrance rate at that level, because we couldn't be sure about the number of people who'd take a chance on an approach like this, so we concentrated on a conservative estimate of presumably hard-core bibliophiles and industry fixtures who would see the risk for what it was and take it. We also thought that since the proceeds would be going to a charitable cause, the latter should--how to say this?--expedite any fuss about the entrance fees :) But that was a frank and rather deliberate miscalculation (in other words: malay natin, kumagat).

However, it seems that we can now safely expand our targeted audience for the con to include groups and organizations we hadn't considered before, and the lineup of activities is beginning to reflect this. We're honestly happy about how this turned out and we're all learning a lot from RodCon. I'm one of those people who, if I hadn't belonged to the secretariat, would also have been asking myself whether I would be willing to pay P500 for the convention. My answer in the end was "Yes," but attached with a qualified disclaimer about how I'm probably not ready for this, etc. As it is, the dilemma has been sidelined in favor of an astonishingly simple compromise (without all the anguished metaphysics!)

Panels

2006-10-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

So far everything is going according to schedule (if not necessarily according to plan). After several revisions the events line-up is also coming together. We should post a final version of the programming schedule in December with the official convention poster though we'll be releasing teasers and inserts about the convention by November. Initial press releases will be available for download in the website and will be faxed to sponsors and interested parties next week.

While there's been significant interest in the panels and exhibits, I'm personally feeling a bit bemused at constantly getting questions like: But what should we do? What do you want from us, exactly? Usually in the context of a discussion about sponsoring panels. Since I'm the person in charge of marketing, I always feel like I'm either blowing our chances of getting a good sponsorship or simply looking like an idiot to the other party when I respond, "With all due respect, it's up to you. Just as long as it has something to do with uh reading, literacy or literature?" Cue lame smile.

The initial plan was to offer panels to organizations and companies since we were operating on the premise that they would probably have their own ideas about what they'd like to profile or talk about. However, it seems that that the common impression is that since we're the organizers, we'll have to provide the discussion topics while sponsors pick and choose which ones they'd be interested in or those which resonate most closely with their own agendas/advocacies. It's very interesting and I wonder if this is really the way things are done in professionally organized conventions.

I can see hackles rising and eyebrows twitching so before potential sponsors run away screaming "Amateurs! Hacks! Off with their unprofessional heads!" (PLEASE DON'T), I'd like to stick a caveat the size of a Stonehenge pillar right here right now and point out once again that RodCon is not a 'professional' convention. That is, in the sense that it seems to be normally understood, which is why I'm finding myself occasionally caught in rather convoluted semantic cross-wiring (cross-fire, more like it). A representative I talked to pointed out that the convention is without precedent in the Philippines so they don't really know what to expect, and I can certainly understand the nervousness on the part of commercial sponsors. Will they earn money? Where's the money going in the first place? Who's coming? How is this--you think we should sponsor a panel on books about gay dinosaurs--WHAT? ~~Where can we find them?~~

And I seem to be messing things up more with this blog entry. I invoke the Stonehenge!caveat. I think the goals of RodCon are in themselves pretty clear and straightforward--this is a social event for readers to get together, buy books, attend book exhibits, watch movies based on books, vote for their favorite books, buy books, talk about books, buy books, listen to panels about books (even books on gay dinosaurs) , buy books--and in doing so consciously manifesting how important it is to read, that there's a lot of happiness in reading, and that books can make us better people and a better society and a better country. We are often invoked to be proud of our high literacy rate. However, while a statistic might be a scientific fact (Filipinos know how to read therefore they must read) but in itself it has no sociological nuance unless we choose to imbue it with critical value (do we really read?)

To go back to the issue of panels--What I'm trying to say here is that we want the panels to be less of a bullet-point list to check or uncheck at will and more of an exercise in active intervention from the very beginning on the part of people and organizations who have a stake in the industry and in the practice of books and reading. I mean, I think all of us ought to try to think about this more deeply, even if the conclusions we come up with might seem facetious or blindingly obvious.

In other words: when all else fails, there are always books about gay dinosaurs.

Read or What?

2006-10-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

(Updated the FAQ page to reflect current--shall we say--concerns. )

First, the name. Okay, yes, we know. "Read or Die" is not a cult of sociopath bibliophiles. We named the club after the title of a comic book series which features an embattled (and cute) librarian in the British Museum fighting against, well, Evil. We'd run out of options and every other name attached with Pinoy or Filipino seemed to have been taken. :D Besides, it makes sense. Taken out of context (that is, negatively or literally!), "Read or Die" sounds like just the thing for trigger-happy spambots, but considered as a semantic twist--the converse of 'read or die' is that one has to read in order to live, and live intelligently.

And it does make people nervous about the content of their bookshelves, which is a bonus.

I've also been thinking about the nature of RodCon (as compared for example to book fairs) and 'conventions' as commonly understood in local parlance, i.e., something to do with professional, academic, business or industry-oriented concerns. RodCon is a social gathering, organized for readers by readers. I think it would have been different if Read or Die had been a hobby org, promoting games or comics or anime or a specialty interest, but this is reading we're talking about, and who organizes conventions about reading?

The thing about RodCon is that, essentially, it's really one huge cosmic book meet-up with fellow (or would be) bibliophiles. Read or Die is a book club and would always be a book club--just a bunch of readers who meet once a month (or every other month) to talk about, you know, books and reading and which bookstore in which corner of the Philippines is on sale.

RodCon started out as a kind of organic offshoot of Read or Die, and then developed into an incipient extension program. On a wider level, as a charity benefit supporting a specific advocacy (this year being literacy for children), it is an opportunity for interest groups, literary associations, business organizations, and individual readers to connect, exchange information and networks, and find common points for future action with regard to emphasizing the importance of books and reading in our society. So RodCon is basically a talking point waiting to be used, which is why we're inviting as many organizations and individuals as possible to profile their own causes or platforms. If you need volunteers for your program, go to the con and ask around, or better yet get a table or a booth. If you want to provoke discussion about an issue which you think is important or noteworthy, sponsor a panel. And so on.

RodCon has three aspects to it: 1) a gathering of book lovers from all over the Philippines to talk about, exchange, buy books; 2) an available open forum for issues regarding reading, literature and literacy in the Philippines; 3) a charity benefit for AHON Foundation and UNICEF.

About the Secretariat

2006-10-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

And I know that people might be wondering about who the heck we think we are, sending in-your-face emails and prospectuses and flinging botheration all around (if you're that company exec I accidentally slammed a door into, please don't let it stop you from helping build public libraries!!! Think of the children!) :

I'm (the webperson) still working on the Secretariat page. The reason why it's not up yet is because whenever we meet, we usually get bogged down talking about con details and why we still don't have money so writing down our profiles inevitably gets forgotten (or we decide that eating is more important). So there's a Secretariat directory with our real names and contact numbers which I'm posting to the site (or you can email us about it--it's also included in the hard copy of the RodCon prospectus) but no complete profile write-up as yet.

Basic stats--

I'm Tin (my complete name is kind of embarrassing and ponderous), I'm in charge of marketing, a little bit of programming, and the Read or Die and RodCon 2007 websites. Not a very interesting person otherwise. I work as a researcher and I like, well, reading. I also write a little but it's pretty embarrassing writing too. I studied in UP. I run--after a fashion--a small independent press called Quatre Gats. I'm interested in a lot of things but mostly I... like reading.

I'll let the other staff members speak for themselves. :)

RodCon 2007

2006-10-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hi :) This is the 'official' weblog of RodCon 2007 (aka where the Secretariat records its progressive state of insanity through the next few months as we grapple with the biggest existential question of all--WHAT WERE WE THINKING?)

But seriously, it's all for love. So come to the con! If you love books and reading, bring that love with you to share. We're promoting literacy through providing Filipinos, especially schoolchildren, with books books books, but that's just mostly gloss on what we're really trying to broadcast--the romance of reading. The sheer sappy goopiness of it.