Lakambini “Bing” Sitoy
Lakambini “Bing” Sitoy is a Filipino writer, journalist, editor, and teacher with a long connection to Dumaguete and Silliman University. Her fiction has received national recognition in the Philippines and has also reached international readers through publication in Europe and North America.
Biography
Name: Lakambini A. Sitoy
Also known as: Bing Sitoy
Born: 1969
Location / connection: Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental / Silliman University
Field: Literature / fiction / journalism / editing
Creative focus: Fiction, family relationships, social class, identity, sexuality, race relations, and contemporary Philippine society
Education: Silliman University; Roskilde University
Professional work: Writer, journalist, editor, translator, and English teacher
Notable works: Mens Rea and Other Stories; Jungle Planet; Sweet Haven
Major recognition: National Book Award; Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards; David T.K. Wong Fellowship; Man Asian Literary Prize longlist
Based in: Denmark
Lakambini “Bing” Sitoy — Significant Contributions
Philippine Literature
Sitoy has written fiction that examines difficult social and personal themes, including family conflict, sexuality, identity, race relations, prejudice, and social class.
Her short-story collections include Mens Rea and Other Stories and Jungle Planet. Mens Rea and Other Stories received a Manila Critics Circle National Book Award.
Sweet Haven
Sitoy’s first novel, Sweet Haven, is one of her most internationally visible works.
She wrote the novel between 2006 and 2009 with Dumaguete as its setting. The book presents a provincial Philippine community dealing with family secrets, scandal, corruption, prejudice, and social divisions.
International Publication
Sweet Haven reached readers outside the Philippines.
A French translation, Les Filles de Sweethaven, was published by Albin Michel in 2011. The English-language edition was released in North America by New York Review Books in 2014, followed by a Philippine edition from Anvil.
Literary Awards and Fellowships
Sitoy has received numerous prizes in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards and awards from Philippine literary publications.
In 2003, she received the David T.K. Wong Fellowship at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. Sweet Haven was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2008.
Journalism and Editing
In addition to fiction, Sitoy worked extensively in Philippine journalism.
She served as a columnist and section editor at the Manila Times and worked as an editor for lifestyle and cultural sections of several publications.
Silliman University
Sitoy has a particularly strong connection to Silliman University.
She completed elementary school there in 1981, high school in 1985, and a BS Biology degree in 1989. She also participated in the Silliman University National Writers Workshop.
She later returned to Silliman for a homecoming lecture through the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center and launched the Philippine edition of Sweet Haven at the university.
Connection to Dumaguete and Negros Oriental
Sitoy’s connection to Negros Oriental goes beyond education.
Dumaguete provided the setting and cultural background for Sweet Haven, allowing elements of provincial life in Negros Oriental to reach readers in the Philippines, Europe, and North America. Her literary career therefore connects Dumaguete’s cultural environment with a wider international readership.