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The and That Was is an archipelago of words: lush and mountainous in parts, civilized veneer in others, almost all of it seemingly born from instances when the forces within could no longer be restrained. The thing about archipelagos is to not view them as chains of islands, but as the space that envelops them.
That is what this collection contains.
The land. The culture. The rustic and the urban, religious and heretical. The fractures. The spaces. The cities without dragons…
The Fairy Tale Reality of the Philippines …
Where the end began and begins again … The wishes that point to what we should have wished. These stories contain–and release. And so do you.
Mia Tijam was born and spent her early childhood in Iriga City and grew up in Naga City in the Bicol Region of the Philippines. She studied European languages, philosophy, literary theory, creative writing, and comparative literature at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, in Metro Manila. She was one of the first fellows for CNF in 2007 in the oldest creative writing program in Asia, the Silliman University National Writers Workshop; and a fellow in CNF in the 2024 Women’s Annual Writing Workshop. She has published poetry, nonfiction, and short fiction, and her work has received awards and critical recognition.
Mia served as co-editor of the pioneering virtual anthology Philippine Speculative Fiction Sampler; editor for the inceptive Special Section for PWDs and PADs of the (CCP) Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Literary Journal ANI 41: LAKBAY; co-editor of the CCP’s tribute to departed cultural workers in the pandemic, “Hanggang sa Muli: Pagpupugay at Pasasalamat sa mga Pumanaw”; editor for Philippine Genre Stories; judge for Istoryang Rinconada: Literary and Visual Art Competition; judge for Saranggola Awards; and category judge for Bikol translation in the National Book Awards in the Philippines.
Her debut short fiction, Flowers for Thursday (published by Ateneo de Naga University Press) was a finalist in the 40th National Book Awards in the Philippines; its bilingual second edition published in 2024 is the first English-Rinconada short fiction book in Philippine literature. Mia has been acknowledged as one of the writers and editors who have advanced Philippine Speculative Fiction.
"Every story in Mia Tijam’s The and That Was is an enthralling portal I gleefully fell through into the many complicated, magical lives and versions of the Philippines. This bold, polyvocal collection of bruha cackles, river dragons, and fairy tale realities will transport you. The and That Was will nestle comfortably on your shelf next to Kelly Link’s Magic for Beginners, Helen Oyeyemi’s What is Not Yours is Not Yours, and Isabel Yap’s Never Have I Ever. Read it!”
—Rachelle Cruz, American Book Award-winning author of God's Will for Monsters
—Jeffrey Ford, Shirley Jackson Award, Nebula Award, and World Fantasy Award-winning author
"Absolutely wonderful ... a luminous debut that announces the arrival of a major voice... Tijam is a writer of uncommon power, insight and humanity."
—Junot Diaz, author of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Award-winning, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
"Mia Tijam's stories come from a place of memory and study that reminds Filipino readers of who and what we are; and more, it introduces non-Filipino readers to the hidden psyche of our culture. Her voice is proudly of the Philippines, and her type of speculative fiction does not shirk from telling her tales in a distinct voice and language, unafraid to touch on subjects that may be challenging and difficult."
—Kenneth Yu, publisher of Philippine Genre Stories and author of Mouths to Speak, Voices to Sing and The Greatest Fight of Sunny Granada and Other Stories