One of the things I really love about ebooks is that the provide a cheap and effective way to distribute books all over the world. A case in point: I have just added a book from a Filipino publisher to the bookstore.

The book is How to Traverse Terra Incognita by Dean Francis Alfar. Alfar has had a couple of stories published in Western venues. In particular “The Kite of Stars” was in Strange Horizons and went on to be collected in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror #17 (2003), and in The Apex Book of World SF (2009). However, a quick look at his publication history shows that he’s very prolific, and most of his output has been published in the Philippines. So Flipside Publishing has made Alfar’s latest collection available as an ebook, and you can buy it here.

As you might expect, where the Philippines are involved, our friend Charles Tan has had a hand in the process. He has also got some fine blurbs for the book from people like John Grant, Ann VanderMeer, Lynne Thomas, Tansy Rayner Roberts and (in the book only) Rachel Swirsky. If Ann describes someone as a “wondrous storyteller” then we should sit up and take notice.