Fil-Am authors Florante Peter Ibanez and Roselyn Estepa Ibanez sought out family albums, organizations records, personal stories, and more than 200 vintage images to write Filipinos in Carson and the South Bay.

Printed by Arcadia Publishing, the book ($21.99) traces the history of the Filipino community in this California city, where many Pinoys settled in the 1920s as farm workers, US military recruits, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and laborers, to fill the economic needs of the Los Angeles region.

Florante, a library manager at Loyola Law School, and Rose, who chairs the board of the Filipino American Library, hope that the book will give readers “a more multidimensional view of Filipinos in America” and recognize them as “an eager, hardworking, and talented community that is proud to be part of the rich American tapestry.”

The Lopez Memorial Museum, the Ortigas Foundation Inc., and the Children’s Library are organizing Book Matters, a festival celebrating books and reading, from May to June. Meant to foster appreciation for Pinoy authors, the festival will have a creative writing workshop for kids and teens and another on fan writing.

Let your kids learn how to organize their thoughts and discover the magic of poetry in a workshop facilitated by children’s book author and Carlos Palanca awardee Carla Pacis. The workshop for children is on May 16, while the one for teenagers is on May 23. Both lectures are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and cost P1,000.

Los Angeles–The Filipino American Library’s two storytelling sessions this January will introduce a popular Filipino illustrator of children’s books and Pinoy staple food through stories.

The storytelling session on Saturday, January 24, 2 p.m., will feature the popular illustrator Hermes Alegre, whose richly colored images were used in the classic story “The Mats” by National Artist Francisco Arcellana. The session will also teach children how to create a foam placemat. Co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Public Library, the event will take place at the Panorama City Branch Library on 14345 Roscoe Blvd., Panorama City 91402.

Los Angeles–“For many Filipinos in America, [the election of Barack Obama] is a time of celebration and pride. For others, of concern, even fear,” writes San Francisco-based Pinoy journalist Benjamin Pimentel, whose book, Pareng Barack: Filipinos in Obama’s America, launches this Saturday, January 10, 1 p.m., at the Filipino American Library in Los Angeles.

Pareng Barack is about Obama’s incredible march to the American presidency and how Filipinos responded–often with excitement, sometimes with fear and dread–to his campaign and victory. The book is also about the Filipino journey in America, how it has intersected and sometimes collided with those of other communities, and how it has taken a dramatic turn as America enters a new era of anxiety and hope.

“It will be Obama’s face and voice that my sons will see and hear on television and on the Internet over the next four years, maybe longer. It will be Pareng Barack who will play a critical role in defining my sons’ future in America,” writes Pimentel.

• Happy New Year! We look back at 2008 with some of our favorite stories. We also talked to a number of our favorite bloggers and asked them how their blogging made a difference in 2008.
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Canvas.ph, a nonprofit organization that celebrates Pinoy art, culture, and the environment, is calling for entries to the 5th Annual Romeo Forbes Children’s Storywriting Competition. Deadline is 5 p.m., March 20, 2009.

This year’s contest, centered on an original untitled oil on canvas work by artist Juanito Torres, will award P35,000 and a trophy to the winning author. The story will also be published as a full-color children’s book in 2010.