Bahíon: Reading and Community Gathering

Bahíon: Reading and Community Gathering will unravel stories and poems about Pinays who are bahíon—tough, brave, resilient.

Join us for a tender Saturday afternoon of readings, conversation, and communion as we welcome award-winning Filipina writers Merlinda Bobis and Eunice Andrada to Magenta House to celebrate their newly-released publications. Merlinda will read excerpts from her new novel ‘In the Name of the Trees’ while Eunice explores her new poetry collection ‘KONTRA’.

All are welcome! We extend this invite to people who are of Filipino/a/x heritage and who are interested in deepening their learning of Philippines culture and connecting with kapwa. Our intention is to anchor the voices of archipelagic kin in the diaspora. We look forward to gathering together with you for this special day!

Signed copies of ‘KONTRA’ (Giramondo, 2025) and ‘In the Name of the Trees’ (Spinifex, 2025) will be available to buy at the event. Filipino snacks and refreshments are provided as part of entry.

Bahíon: Reading and Community Gathering with Merlinda Bobis and Eunice Andrada
Saturday 25 October, 2pm-5pm
Magenta House, Redfern (address provided to registered attendees)

Spots are limited due to the intimate and invested nature of this gathering. Entry fees will go towards food, labour, and materials. For enquiries, pls contact Mariam on housekeeper@magentahouse.com.au

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Biographies

Merlinda Bobis is the author of four novels, two books of short fiction and six collections of poetry. Her novel Locust Girl, a Lovesong won the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and the Philippine National Book Award in 2016. It has been translated to Tamil and is currently awaiting the publication of its Italian translation. The Kindness of Birds received the Canberra Critics' Circle Award in 2021. It was shortlisted for the Christina Stead Prize and the Steele Rudd Award, and was Highly Commended for the ACT Book of the Year in 2022. She is the recipient of numerous other awards in Australia, Philippines, US and Italy. In 2025 she was named as one of the top 10 female novelists shaping the literary scene in Southeast Asia. She regards her writing as a homecoming: a return to roots, a retrieval through memory, and a reckoning with loss, hopefully with care and grace. She lives and writes on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country (Canberra). Website

Eunice Andrada is the author of three books of poetry. Her debut Flood Damages (Giramondo Publishing, 2018) won the Anne Elder Award and was a finalist for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Poetry and the Dame Mary Gilmore Award. Her second poetry collection TAKE CARE (Giramondo Publishing 2021) has gained many honours as a finalist for the Judith Wright Calanthe Award, Stella Prize, Australian Literature Society Gold Medal, and two NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Her third poetry collection KONTRA is out now. Website

Magenta House
Step inside Magenta House, a grassroots artist-run initiative based inside a re-envisioned domestic home on Gadigal / Sydney Australia. We host programs and collaborations that platform emerging artists, experimental practices, and equitable arts ecologies. Our activities come alive through workshops, talks, communal meals, test kitchens, dialogues, soirées, reading sessions, and more. We also run a library and online shop support social ventures, publishers, and artisans across Asia and Australia. Established by arts worker Mariam Ella Arcilla in April 2023, Magenta House is a synergetic platform for ideas and encounters to ferment. Website | Instagram

Images: Merlinda Bobis; photo: Mude / Eunice Andrada, photo: Hebah Ali.