Asian and Philippine Folktales: Retellings by PAWWA

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard was born and raised in the port city of Cebu, Philippines, a place she has turned into her mythical setting called "Ubec" for many of her stories. She attended St. Theresa's College and Maryknoll College in the Philippines before migrating to the United States to do graduate work in film making. She later turned to writing and other literary work. She went on to write and edit twenty-two books. Brainard has taught at the University of Southern California, UCLA, California State Summer School for the Arts, UCLA-Extension's Writers Program. She lectures and performs in literary arts venues such as Shakespeare and Company in Paris, Culture Rapide in Paris, Beyond Baroque, PEN, Coming Together in Skokie, Illinois, Second Literary Symposium in Jackson Tennessee, Filipino American International Book Festivals, Cebu Philippines Literary Festivals, and many Philippine and US universities. As a former Executive Board Member of the writers' group PEN, she represented PEN USA West in international meetings in Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela. She served as an officer in such groups as the Midnight Special Cultural Center, PAAWWW (Pacific Asian American Women Writers West), and the Arts & Letters at the Cal State University, Los Angeles. Brainard co-founded PAWWA (Philippine American Women Writers and Artists) a support group that received funding from the California Arts Council. She founded and runs PALH (Philippine American Literary House), a publishing house of fine Philippine American books. She is an active member of the Philippine and Philippine American literary communities. She has received several awards including a California Arts Council Fellowship, a Brody Arts Fund, an Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city Cebu Philippines, a City of Los Angeles Cultural Grand, several USIS grants, California State Senate, 21st District, and others. Her books have won the Gintong Aklat Award, the International Gourmand Award, and others. She is married with three sons.