The Indie Publishers Collab – PH (TIPC-PH) wishes to bring together as many dissenting voices this year at the INDIEPUBCON 2021 as the line to critically read and change the publishing landscape in these trying times. Among the many fascinating themes in this year’s INDIECON is hegemony. Simplified, hegemony refers to the dominance of a social group or class over one or more groups/classes. This sociological and anthropological concept has been explored for over half a century now and is considered a significant study area in continental European theory, from post-structuralism to postmodernism. 

Italian thinker Antonio Gramsci further developed the concept to encompass other coordinates in the field, to shed light on how material practices (including language, habits, and more) became part of cultural hegemony, which is crucial to maintaining the power of the state and the ruling classes. The French thinker Louis Althusser further complicated the relations between the base and superstructure in Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses. He expanded on how practice was maintained and reproduced by different institutions such as the family, the police, and the school.

On the other hand, counterhegemony is seen as the antidote to the domination of one social class over another. Since the material coordinates in the field are determined by behavior and practice, counterhegemonic practices are required to challenge the status quo—consequently leading to the dismantling of oppressive apparatuses of power and domination.

The never-ending quest for justice and change in the Third World, coupled with the limitations of independent publishing as it attempts to challenge the matrices of power and domination, is the crux of the “Pagbali sa Utos ng Hari: Malayang Paglalathala Bilang Dayalogo Kontra-Gahum.” This is a crucial and timely roundtable discussion featuring Jun Cruz Reyes, Allan Derain, Ronaldo Soledad Vivo, Jr., and Natalya Patolot. The roundtable discussion will be moderated by the editor-in-chief of Vox Populi PH, Maria Kristelle Jimenez.

Jun Cruz Reyes hails from Bulacan and was an Assistant Professor at the DFPP in UP Diliman from 1993 to 2004. He has authored several books, including Etsa-Puwera, which was awarded the grand prize at the National Centennial Literary Contest in 1998 and the National Book Award (Manila Critics Circle) in 2001. He is also a SEA Write Awardee (2014). Jun Cruz Reyes was also given the Gawad Alagad ni Balagtas by the Unyon ng Manunulat sa Pilipinas in 2002.

Allan Derain is a multi-awarded author of Iskrapbuk, Pangontra, The Next Great Tagalog Novel at Iba Pang Kuwento, Banal na Aklat ng mga Kumag (which won the National Book Award, Carlos Palanca Memorial Award Grand prize and the Reader’s Choice Award) and Aswanglaut. Allan is a representative of AILAP: Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices. 

The Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practices (AILAP) offers yearly fellowships in creative writing for young writers across the nation. Its writing workshops cater to aspiring writers, presenting them with the fundamentals of writing as a craft, art, and philosophical engagement to enter the mainstream of Philippine Literature with a sense of responsibility that adds depth and direction to national cultural practices. More importantly, AILAP integrates the intellectual mainstreams of Ateneo education to inspire individual writers to pursue projects relevant to the history of ideas and the cultural traditions of the country.

Ronaldo S. Vivo, Jr. is a musician, novelist, and filmmaker. He is the founder of UngazPress, a collective of short story writers focusing on transgressive literature. Ronaldo also runs an independent record label, Sound Carpentry Recordings, and a guerrilla filmmaking outfit called Resbak Filmz. He is the author of numerous works, including Pseudo Absurdo Kapritso Ulo, (Short Story Anthology), BAKA NG INA MO: o bakit hindi palaging mother knows best (Short Story Anthology), and Ang Kapangyarihang Higit sa Ating Lahat, Novel, ikalawang edisyon, PSICOM Literati.

Natalya Patolot is a 21-year-old BS Communication Technology Management student at the Ateneo de Manila University. She has written for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Porch Reader Philippines, Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation and WhenInManila. She is the author of the ebook Hiding Her Blush (eGlobal Creative Publishing, Inc.). Her work also appears in the anthology Warm Tea on a Rainy Day.

Maria Kristelle Jimenez is a freelance writer, layout artist, and website design specialist based in Pampanga. Some of her works have been recognized by the Saranggola Blog Awards and the Gawad Digmaang Rosas. Marya, as he is affectionately called by her peers, is also the author of “Salamín: Mga Personal na Prosa” (Rebo Press, 2020). Her chapbook entitled “Anatomiya ng Pandemya” is a recipient of this 2021 Peter’s Prize for Covid Literature. Her works have been published in Assortedge, Philippines Graphic, and Vox Populi PH. She is the founder of Rebo Press Book Publishing, the current associate editor in Filipino of Revolt Magazine PH, and the editor-in-chief of Vox Populi PH.

Pagbali sa Utos ng Hari: Malayang Paglalathala Bilang Dayalogo Kontra-Gahum will tackle several interstices of counterhegemonic practice in publishing, including taking up an anti-establishment position by way of independent publishing and the historical track of counterhegemonic writing from the Spanish colonial era to the present time. There will also be discussion areas that will tackle the question on the market, its characteristics, the impact of demand on committed independent writing (or otherwise), and how students can consume/process these writings.  

This event is made possible by the National Book Development Board. Vox Populi PH is the official media partner for INDIEPUBCON 2021.