Author Archives: sawagariverpress

Happy Monday, Friends and Family!   We hope you are all well.   Thank you to those who attended the 2nd Annual Social Justice Children’s Book Holiday Fair which featured local bookmakers like us, local live performers, and taco trucks .It was great to see people get excited about finding our various books on diversity andContinue reading “Social Justice Fair + UC Davis Launch + Campaign Update”

Hello Friends, We hope you are well and keeping warm. We thought we’d send you this quick update on our progress before the busyness of December starts. The Jack Meets Agyu creative team is chugging along. We have now finished and colored all the interior pages. Our graphic designer is starting to pull the textContinue reading “Holiday Events + Campaign Update”

Happy November, Friends! We zoomed through October, it seems! But despite the busyness, we still got to enjoy the many moments of beauty that October brought. October was my birth month. So I had to make sure I celebrated it with the right kind of cake. (Thanks to my friend, Anoosh, who orchestrated the cakeContinue reading “October Recap: Campaign and more Thank Yous”

Hello, Friends and Family, We’re excited! We have 5 days until our Indiegogo campaign goes live on October 20! We would love it if you can come join us at our launch at the Undiscovered SF event where we will also celebrate Fil-Am History Month. Here’s the FB Page invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/583289098771490/ In the meantime, aContinue reading “October Updates: Campaign Launch + Thank Yous”

Happy Fall, Everyone! The heat is no longer as oppressive and I feel a bit of a nip in the early morning air as I bike race with my kids to school.   Lynnor and I both made it through the summer! We are back and very eager to continue with the book. Here, pageContinue reading “September Updates: Collaborating + Crowdfunding”

Hello, Friends, July went by too quickly! So many fun summer trips. But don’t be fooled. Even with the many camping trips we went on with our respective families, Lynnor and I managed to spend some time on the book. Twice in July we got together and talked about the changes we needed to do.Continue reading “July Updates”

Hello, Friends! Lynnor and I are on a roll! We’ve set the scenes and finalized the page counts. I am making it sound like it was easy to get to this point. In a way it was. But it could have been harder. I initially told Lynnor our book will be 32 pages. She createdContinue reading “Page Counting and Clothing”

Hello Friends and Family! I was invited by Professor Melissa Moreno of the Woodland Community College to discuss Sawaga River Press’ publishing journey through a decolonizing framework. This was a very welcomed change of pace for me as I usually present at events geared towards younger children, not adults, and I don’t get to delveContinue reading “Independent Publishing and Decolonizing”

Hello, Family and Friends! Happy May! After a few weeks of mulling over options, we have finally decided on our next book’s boy protagonist’s look. (Google chatting with Lynnor, choosing which look best fits our Jack) (Illustration Credit: Lynnor Bontigao) And so…Meet Jack! (Illustration Credit: Lynnor Bontigao) He loves to hear and tell stories, especiallyContinue reading “Meet Jack”

Hello, Friends, We hope your April is off to a good start! We are super excited to announce our second book, tentatively titled “Jack Meets Agio.” This story is inspired by the oral folk literature of my hometown, Bukidnon. (See below for map.) Specifically, it is inspired by the Olaging epic about the adventures of Agio (also knownContinue reading “Introducing Our New Book and Illustrator”