More and more Filipino American authors and stories are being published and represented, something the Liwanag Literary Festival looks to recognize. This festival saw the unison of Filipino American History Month and National Book Month, both of which are celebrated in October. The second annual book fest took place on Saturday, October 21 at the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library in Long Beach.

The day was chalked full of events including a lineup of Filipino American authors. They write for a variety of genres that range from children’s books to young adult to nonfiction to romance, and more. The events of the festival included author readings, Q&As, book signing and a performance by Millikan High School’s Tinikling Troupe. There was also a pop-up bookstore, food and retail vendors and kids crafts available throughout the day.

The author lineup featured diverse perspectives on the challenges and experiences faced by the Filipino community. The readings and Q&As included groups of authors of different genres such as adult literature and young adult/teen who offered insight into their backgrounds and dived into the different stories from their books. The emcees prepared the following questions that each author on the different panels answered to share that insight.

What is it like to write from a Filipino perspective or with a Filipino history?

“I love the essay form because you can do really cool acrobatics with prose,” said Jen Soriano, author of “Nervous: Essays on Heritage and Healing.” Soriano’s book is about transgenerational trauma explained through history, science and family stories. “So when I was missing pieces of my grandmother’s or my parents’ stories, then I would just put my story in there. So it was like weaving in and bringing different basically generations and layers of Filipino family stories.”

“I had a Filipino sensitivity reader read this because I wanted to make sure that the details I had in here were more universal than just my own personal experiences,” said Dominic Lim, author of “All the Right Notes.” Lim’s book is a humorous gay romcom about a pianist who falls in love with a Hollywood heartthrob. “Particularly, my language because Tagalog is not my first language. I wanted to make sure those details were on point. So I had my reader and my Tagalog teacher look through the various details just to make sure they were okay. Sometimes it was just as simple as like, ‘No, you would not eat those two things together.’ I was like, ‘I ate them together.’”

How do you think the writers now are shaping what it’s like to be Filipino or the Filipino experience?

“What we’re doing is kind of carrying on what a lot of activists, poets and writers did where they couldn’t distribute their work—it was actually very difficult,” said Genevieve Clutario, author of “Beauty Regimes.” Clutario’s book is about how beauty and fashion in the Philippines are intertwined with its nation’s evolution and imperial expansion. “What we’re doing is carrying on that legacy but also showcasing what they did and showcasing more that there isn’t a singular Filipino American experience or a singular Filipino experience that we’re not a monolith. And you know why it’s dangerous to have a monolith? It’s because you’re reduced to a stereotype.”

“Having Filipino writers and an increased diversity of books is important,” said Jasmin Iolani Hakes, author of “Hula.” Hakes’ book is a saga of tradition, culture, family, history and connection in the lives of three generations of women set in Hilo, Hawaii. “When you see a book, even if you’re not a reader, it validates in a certain way and it sends a message that this is worth of preservation and worthy of observation and acknowledgment.”

What advice do you have for writers who want to start writing in the YA genre?

“This advice comes from a lot of other folks just to read a lot of YA,” said Tracy Badua, author of “This Is Not a Personal Statement.” Badua’s book is about the conflicts of acceptance and lying a teen undergoes after getting rejected from her dream school. “The reason folks tell you to do that is because it is a different kind of style than writing for much younger kids or writing for adults. There’s a very set kind of pacing like the way the characters think, the way things are structured that you will learn as you read.”

How much of yourself did you write in your book?

“I think my Filipino Americanness comes through just by having characters who are Filipino American just existing,” said Alex Brown, author of “Damned If You Do.” Brown’s book is about a girl’s healing after her abusive father left with the help of her guidance counselor who turns out to be a demon. “Cordelia is biracial, she’s Filipino and white like I am. She, like me, grows up feeling disconnected from her heritage, but Veronica who’s her best friend and love interest is Filipino, she is kind of more connected to her heritage.”

“I did want to see myself in a fantasy like a character that looks like me,” said Vanessa Lanang, author of “Fireheart.” Lanang’s book is about a girl determined to slay the dragon that took her mother’s life. “There’s not necessarily issues faced in the story about any specific struggles for Filipinos in there. I would say that I grew up in a small town in Indiana where there weren’t very many Filipinos. It’s like the few that we knew and a culture that most people don’t even know what Filipino is, trying to find that place in between and that’s something my main character does kind of experience.”

The children’s literature authors who attended include Jocelyn Francisco, Alexandra Adlawan, Bobbie Peyton, Michelle Sterling and Sophia N. Lee. Other adult literature authors who attended include Mia Alvar, Ricco Villanueva Siasoco, Maria Bolaños and Rachelle Cruz. With more emerging Filipino authors, Filipinos of all ages will get a chance to see their stories told in books and there will be more opportunities for everyone to learn about the culture. The Liwanag Literary Festival will continue this new tradition of bringing together the Filipino community through the love of literature.