By Liezel Longboan
Candy Gourlay is a London-based Filipino children’s author with a serious mission: to share her Philippine heritage to young readers across the world. With seven books and various international awards to her name, Candy infuses her stories with Philippine folklore, history and sensibilities. Her latest book, Wild Song, will be published in March 2023.
“Books were my world. And yet my world was not in my books,” Candy wrote about the books she read as a child in Manila. Growing up, she wondered why books only featured pink-skinned children who lived in idyllic settings that didn’t resemble her tropical home and its realities: Manila’s tricycles, beggars walking around in streets barefooted, children being left by their mothers to work overseas.
Candy’s first novel, Tall Story, won the Crystal Kite prize and the National Children’s Book Award of the Philippines. It was also chosen in the “100 Best Books of the Last 100 Years” by BookTrust, the UK’s largest literacy organisation. Her second novel, Shine, also received the Crystal Prize and had been shortlisted for several awards.
Bone Talk, a coming-of-age story of a young boy from the Philippine highlands set in 1899, was shortlisted for two top British literary awards: the Costa Prize and the Carnegie Medal. It was awarded Outstanding International Book in 2019 by the US Board on Books for Young People.
Wild Song, the upcoming sequel to Bone Talk, has already been selected as The Bookseller’s Book of the Month. The story is about Luki, a young Igorot who travels to America to be part of the St. Louis World Fair in 1904 and her and her friends’ experience of racism and cruelty. Despite its serious themes, the novel is alive with cultural richness and an immersive story of adventure, love and self-belief. The Bookseller has described it as “A stunning achievement.”
Tinig UK spoke with Candy to find out what her usual day is like.
What is your morning routine, if you have one?
I’ve just finished my manuscript so I’m not on a routine at the moment but when I’m writing, I try to get to my computer as quickly as I can, while my brain is still fresh and enthusiastic. I only eat when I’ve done at least an hour’s writing. But because of various aches and pains, I also have to exercise before working, and if I overdo the exercise I find myself eating sooner rather than later, haha.
How did you start writing stories for children?
I’ve always wanted to write stories for children but never believed I would get published. I was a stay at home mom and when the children were at school from 9 am to 3 pm, I realised I had the time to give the writing a go. My oldest son was 11 or 12 and my daughter was a toddler. It took nine years to get my first book deal with Tall Story, about a boy who turns into a giant just as his visa arrives to join his mom, who is a nurse in London. And today, four novels later, my daughter is in her 20s and my oldest son is in his 30s.
What time are you most productive?
I am very productive first thing in the morning and last thing at night!
Your three favourite children’s books?
I love so many books, it is hard to narrow it down to three! My top read for teenagers is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, it’s a graphic novel seeing the Iranian revolution through the eyes of a little girl. It made me think about the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
For middle grade readers, I would recommend anything by Erin Entrada Kelly, a Filipino-American author who has won the Newbery Medal. Her warm-hearted novels are populated with Filipino-American characters.
There are so many brilliant picture books! I would highly recommend that children discover the work of Isabel Roxas, she has published in the Philippines and internationally. My favourite picture book that Isabel illustrated is Day at the Market, written by May Tobias Papa.
For kengkoy adults, I recommend the graphic novels of Manix Abrera – I LOVE them! Pinoy humour talaga especially about manananggal (I am laughing just thinking about his book). I think he is about to or has just been published internationally with a wordless graphic novel.
How does your identity as a Filipino shape your stories?
To write a novel you have to dig deep into your emotions and your experiences. So ALL my novels explore facets of my Filipino story – family, homesickness, faith, friendship, tradition.
When not writing, what are you busy with?
At home, it would be doing the gardening or looking after my plants. At work, I am most busy speaking in schools and at festivals. But recently I’ve been trying to make more time for what I’ve always wanted to do: writing and drawing comics!
What would be your advice for readers who want to write for children?
Go to the library, read as many children’s books as you can find. You will inevitably find a book in the style and voice that you might want to tell your own story. Count the words, notice how it’s designed, and then try writing your own. If you want to take it further, there are many excellent courses that range from expensive ones run by publishers to cheap online courses like these ones I can recommend from Domestika: writing and illustrating a picture book with Claudia Rueda (Spanish with subtitles) or writing adventure stories with Ross Montgomery (English)
What’s your evening like?
When I’m writing, I tend to work into the evening and then, realising I’m hungry, race for the refrigerator like a starving beast. If my daughter, who is a wonderful cook, is around she might feed me but if she’s not, I will fill a bowl with disgusting scraps from the fridge and eat that with my husband, Richard, who is often busier than me. When i’m NOT writing, I will plan an elaborate meal and have a pleasant evening listening to a podcast while making something wonderful to stun and stagger my husband with.
You can follow Candy on Twitter and Instagram where she posts about books, writers and artists, the Philippines, and much more. Top photo credit: Candy Gourlay.
Updated 12 December 2022.
