Five Years After Maguindanao Massacre, Filipina Writer Seeks To Raise Awareness With New Novel

"Portraits of a Massacre" by Victoria Conlu )Source: lulu.com)

In November of 2009 in the province of Maguindanao, the mass slaughter of 58 people, including over 30 journalists covering a controversial election, was hailed as one of the deadliest days in history for journalists. In 2014, five years later, justice has yet to be served.

Inspired by the story of the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, "Portraits of a Massacre" delves into the minds of four young adults entrenched in political turmoil and seeks to answer the burning question on all of their minds: "How did I get here?"

Written by Victoria Conlu, a Filipino American writer and registered nurse, Portraits of a Massacre seeks to bring awareness and attention back to a tragedy that has fallen from the spotlight on the world stage, but continues to stand as testament to a slow-crawling justice system in the Philippines. It is presented with the hope that although it is a work of fiction, it will reignite dialogue and call the Filipino American community to action, to become involved in their own communities and knowledgeable of the struggles of the motherland. This is Conlu’s second novel, following her 2012 work, Sampaguita Roots. Her work is available on Amazon, and inquiries related to her work can be sent to conlu.authormail@gmail.com.

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Portraits-Massacre-Victoria-Conlu/dp/1304021602/ (paperback and eBook versions available)
On Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/shop/victoria-conlu/portraits-of-a-massacre/paperback/product-21706387.html (paperback only)

About Victoria Conlu

Victoria Conlu was born in 1989 in Daly City, a predominantly Filipino suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area. The oldest of four children, Conlu grew up in a household very aware of her Filipino heritage and comfortable with her roots. It would not be until her high school years, when she relocated to the East Bay with her family, that she would realize not every Filipino American youth was privileged with the same experience and access to their culture.

Developing a passion for books and writing in her youth, including a high school journalism career which included time as editor of her high school newspaper and student columnist with the Contra Costa Times, Conlu soon developed a new passion for the field of healthcare, particularly the fields of mental health and public health.

Conlu is now a registered nurse and public health nurse living in Sacramento, California, with her husband of six years and her grandmother; she published her first novel, Sampaguita Roots while still a nursing student in 2012. She continuously explores new writing projects with a particular focus on presenting Filipino culture in new ways to Filipino American youth.