We are pleased to be publishing Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco in 2010. More information about it will be posted here soon.
Miguel Syjuco, from Manila, is the author of Ilustrado, the debut novel which won the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize as well as the Palanca Award, the Philippines' highest literary honour. Born into a political family, Miguel ran away to become a writer and has eked out a living as a medical guinea pig, B-movie extra, eBay power seller of ladies' designer handbags, and an assistant to a bookie at the horseraces. He has done work for major international publications, most recently as a copy editor at The Montreal Gazette, and has a weekly book-review column called the Biblio-File on CBC's Radio Canada International. He has a master's degree in creative writing from Columbia University and is completing a PhD in English literature from the University of Adelaide in Australia. Miguel's current literary writing explores the possibilities of narrative fiction and examines the complexities of a Third World society involved in reckless decay and hopeful progress. Some of his goals in life are to have everyone be able to pronounce his surname properly (see-hoo-coh) and to introduce the world to the storied Philippine culture that is far more than just domestic helpers, Imelda Marcos and the guy who shot Versace. Part of the peripatetic millions-strong Filipino diaspora, he has temporarily alighted in Montreal. Ilustrado will be released in 2010.
Praise For Ilustrado
“Ilustrado seems to us to possess formal ambition, linguistic inventiveness and sociopolitical insight in the most satisfying measure. Brilliantly conceived, and stylishly executed, it covers a large and tumultuous historical period with seemingly effortless skill. It is also ceaselessly entertaining, frequently raunchy, and effervescent with humour.” — Man Asian Literary Prize jury citation |
