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Camille is a reader, storyteller, and creative. She is currently the Marketing Head of the Ateneo de Manila University Press, one of the Philippines’ top publishers. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (with a focus on Communication and Theater Arts), Program Award, and Loyola Schools Award for the Arts in Theater Performance. Drawing from this background, she brings a multi-faceted approach to her work that combines the ethos of cultural work with the innovative strategy of brand development. She has had experience in both theater production, performance and art-making, as well as digital marketing and corporate communications for the large-scale Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), food and beverage, and telecommunications industries. Today, she brings this unique perspective and expertise to use in the world of publishing, fueled by her lifelong love of literature and reading.

Patricio N. Abinales retired as a Professor from the Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawai’i-Manoa in 2025 and completed a six-month research fellowship at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, last August, where he was working on a manuscript on everyday authoritarianism in the University of the Philippines during the Marcos era.

 Abinales grew up in the northern Mindanao city of Ozamiz and studied at the University of the Philippines and Cornell University.

 His first book was a co-authored one. Transnational Corporations in the Philippine Banana Export Industry was a study of corporate agriculture in southern Mindanao conducted by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center (TWS).

 In 1998, Abinales published his first single-authored book, Images of State Power: Essays on Philippine Politics, from the Margins with the University of the Philippines Press. This was followed by Making Mindanao: Cotabato and Davao in the Formation of the Philippine State, 1900-1972, published by Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2000 (and republished in 2020). In 2001, the University of the Philippines Press published his Fellow Traveler: Essays on Filipino Communism, which won the National Book Award for the Social Sciences.

In 2005, he and his late wife, Donna J. Amoroso, co-authored State and Society in the Philippines, published by Rowman and Littlefield (an expanded edition was released in 2017). In 2010, he wrote Orthodoxy and History in the Muslim Mindanao Narrative, which was published by Ateneo de Manila University Press.

His last four books are The Contemporary World, a 2021 college textbook he co-wrote with Professor Lisandro Claudio of the University of California-Berkeley and put out by C&E Publishing Inc., of Manila; Modern Philippines, which was published in 2022 by ABC-Clio Greenwood Press; The Marcos Era Reader, which he co-edited with Leah Castañeda-Anastacio, published in 2022 by Ateneo de Manila University Press; and  Presidents and Pests, Cosmopolitans and Communists, which came out of Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2023.

Abinales wrote two non-academic books with Anvil Publishing: Love, Sex and the Filipino Communist, or Hinggil sa Pagpigil ng Panggigigil, in 2004, and Joys of Dislocation: Essays on Mindanao, Region, Nation, in 2008. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing. He is currently working on a third book, Global Cuisines: The Philippines, for ABC-Clio Greenwood Press.

He lives in Quezon City with his wife, the book historian Patricia May Jurilla, and their two dogs, Caxton and Pinpin, and commutes to Honolulu to visit his daughter Angela.

Manuel Luis “Manix” Abrera is a celebrated visual artist and a trailblazer in the Filipino comic book industry, dedicating over 25 years to mastering the art of storytelling through comics. As the creator of Kikomachine Komix, a long-running daily strip in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and News Hardcore, a widely followed webcomic on GMA News Online, he has captivated readers with his distinctive art style, witty plot twists, and deeply relatable stories.

Manix honed his craft at the University of the Philippines Diliman, earning a Fine Arts degree, majoring in Visual Communication. During his college years, he served as the graphic editor of The Philippine Collegian, where his editorial cartoons and comic strips first appeared. His ability to convey compelling narratives through visuals has been recognized with three National Book Awards for 14 (2015), News Hardcore: Hukbong Sandatahan ng Kahaggardan (2016), and Kikomachine Komix Volume 14: Alaala ng Kinabukasan (2019), with several other works named as finalists. His wordless graphic novels, 12 and 14, have also received international acclaim, leading to their publication by the US-based publisher Ablaze.

Beyond his publications, Manix’s influence extends to collaborations with authors, museums, universities, and various organizations—both local and international—on projects ranging from comic art and book illustrations to murals and ad campaigns. His contributions to literature, culture, and the arts have been recognized through prestigious accolades, including The Outstanding Young Men Award in 2022 and the IP Citation at the 2024 IPOPHL Gawad Yamang Isip Awards.

To date, Manix has produced 19 volumes of Kikomachine Komix, News Hardcore Volume 1, Bertong Badtrip, The Terror Prof, and several other comic compilations, immortalizing the meaningful day-to-day stories of the Filipino people. His work continues to inspire aspiring artists and storytellers, proving that comics are a powerful medium for both entertainment and cultural expression.

Stephen B. Acabado is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). where he serves as Chair of the Interdepartmental Program in Archaeology and Director of the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies. His research focuses on human-environment interactions, Indigenous knowledge systems, and community-engaged archaeology in Southeast Asia, with sustained collaborations in the Philippine highlands. He directs the Ifugao Archaeological Project, which has reshaped understandings of the Cordillera Rice Terraces, emphasizing Indigenous engineering and social transformations in response to colonial incursions. He also leads SEACARE (Southeast Asia Climate Adaptation, Resilience, and Engagement), a program advancing integrative research on climate, food and water security, and Indigenous knowledge systems.

In 2024, Acabado (together with co-editors Dada Docot and Clement Camposano) received the National Book Award for Plural Entanglements: Philippine Studies, recognized for its contribution to critical and multidisciplinary scholarship. He is the founding director of the Southeast Asian Archaeology Laboratory at UCLA and writes the Time Trowel column for Rappler, where he explores archaeology, heritage, and climate issues through a public and community-engaged lens.

Aldy is a Filipino visual artist, illustrator, and educator. Some of his works have been awarded and recognized by the Philippine Board on Books for the Young People, National Book Development Board, and abroad by ILUSTRARTE in Castelo Branco, Portugal and Sharjah Exhibition for Children’s Book Illustrations. His book with CANVAS, “Hanapin ang Sagot: Ano ang Batas Militar?” won as one of the Best Reads at the 8th National Children’s Books Award, and the 2025 Gintong Aklat Award. His illustrations for the book, “Papuntang Community Pantry” were chosen as a finalist in the 2022 Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators competition; and the book “Si Kian” has been included in the White Ravens Catalog by the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany.

Roby Alampay is a distinguished Filipino journalist, media executive, and advocate for press freedom, with a career spanning over three decades. He is the founder and chairman of Puma Public Productions, the pioneering force behind PumaPodcast, Southeast Asia’s first non-music audio production company. Under his leadership, PumaPodcast has garnered international recognition, including inclusion in the US Library of Congress Podcast Preservation Project and accolades from the Society of Publishers in Asia and the Human Rights Press Awards.​ Alampay’s journalism journey began in print media, where he played a pivotal role in establishing TV5’s online news portal and served as editor-in-chief of BusinessWorld, the Philippines’ oldest business daily. His tenure was marked by a successful digital transformation and financial turnaround of the publication. He also anchored the nightly newscast “The Big Story” and co-anchored “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV.​ Beyond broadcasting, Alampay has been a prominent figure in media development and advocacy. He was the first executive director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and currently serves as the Asia Regional Adviser for International Media Support (IMS), focusing on strengthening independent media across the region.​ In 2025, Alampay took on a new leadership role as Vice President for Communications at PLDT Inc., reflecting his continued influence in shaping media and communication strategies in the Philippines.​ An alumnus of the University of the Philippines and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Alampay’s career reflects a deep commitment to journalistic excellence and media innovation.

Gigo Alampay is a writer, editor, lawyer, and developmental worker. Advocating for human rights, democracy, and the environment, he is the founder and executive director of CANVAS (Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development), established in 2005. Under their flagship program One Million Books for One Million Filipino Children, he authored Safe Space and YouThink, both of which received the National Children’s Book Award in 2022. In 2024, his book How to Raise Your Child won the Gintong Aklat Award for Inspiration. To date, CANVAS has donated more than 500,000 copies of its award-winning books directly to children in disadvantaged communities throughout the Philippines.

Mike Alcazaren is a freelance director/writer/ideator with 30 years experience in advertising, film, television, and digital media. He began his career heading the award-winning animation group Alcazaren Bros. in 1989. The group specialized in stop-motion, the first in Southeast Asia, then shifted to live-action directing (advertisements) in 1995 and continues till the present, creating content for different media platforms (concept & direction). In between advertising jobs, he has written three screenplays, one of which, “Prisoner Alpha”, won First Place in the the 2007 Carlos Palanca Awards. Alcazaren has directed two films “Puti” (2013), an art-house thriller and the documentary (co-director/2022) “11,103,” about survivors of human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship. The film was recognized as the Best Documentary at the 46th Gawad Urian Awards. “Patay Kung Patay” is his first venture into the comic book scene in collaboration with writer and artist Noel Pascual and AJ Bernardo. The comic book series has recently been translated into an English compilation book, “Death Be Damned,” which won a 2023 National Book Award for Best English Graphic Novel. He is completing another documentary entitled, “Children of the War,” which follows the stories of survivors of the Battle of Manila 1945 where an estimated 100,000 civilians perished from both the Japanese atrocities and the American advance to liberate the city.

Paring Bert’s immersion in popular spirituality and social issues during the 1970s Martial Law in the Philippines led him to get attracted to the Jesuit mission of ‘Faith and Justice’. His formation was enriched by his interest in poetry, politics, and indigenous philosophy while working with the organized poor, especially when he headed the Archdiocese of Manila Labor Center before his ordination in 1991. After earning PhD in Social Anthropology in London, he engaged in teaching and research, while remaining active in indigenous peoples’ rights advocacy, peace negotiation with armed Communist and Moro groups, fighting corruption and extrajudicial killings related to the ‘war on drugs’. He cofounded the Institute of Indigenous Peoples Education, Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue, Sacred Springs: Dialogue Institute on Spirituality and Sustainability, and Amuma Cancer Support Group Foundation. Among his books are Ehemplo: Spirituality of Shared Integrity in Philippine Church and Society, Generating Energies in Mount Apo: Cultural Politics in a Contested Environment, Táo Pô! Tulóy! Isáng Landás ng Pag-unawà sa Loób ng Táo (National Book Award 1990), and three poetry anthologies for which he received the National Award for Poetry and Translation or Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas, given by the Writers Union in the Philippines in 2021. Among his edited works are the 4-volume Annotated Bibliographjy of Mindanao Studies, From Zamboanga to Subic, In Search for Partnership:  Conflict and Cooperation between Ancestral Domain and Economic Zone, and Listening to Our Teachers: A Study of the Views, Attitudes and Practices of Teachers and Parents of Catholic High Schools Regarding Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Sexuality Education. His music videos, like Bayang May Dangal and Meme na Mindanaw, are in YouTube. Paring Bert serves as board member of No Peace Without Justice, while teaching at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Dean is an internationally published author, playwright, and advocate of speculative fiction. His books include the novel Salamanca; short fiction collections The Kite of Stars and Other Stories, How to Traverse Terra Incognita, A Field Guide to the Roads of Manila and Other Stories, and Stars in Jars; and the children’s book How Rosang Taba Won A Race. As an editor and anthologist, he is the founder of the Philippine Speculative Fiction annuals, and the editor of anthologies including Fantasy: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults, Horror: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults, Science Fiction: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults, Maximum Volume: Best New Philippine Fiction 1 & 2, and Ang Manggagaway at iba pang Kathang-Agham at Pantasya mula sa Gitnang Europa at Pilipinas, and New Philippine Speculative Fiction, among others.

Dean’s short stories have been anthologized internationally, in books such as The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, The Time Traveler’s Almanac, and The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror, as well as in many other books, magazines, and online publications. His stories have been adapted into plays, musicals, and film.

His literary awards include 10 Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature — including the Grand Prize for Novel for Salamanca — as well as National Book Awards, the Philippines Free Press Literary Award, and the Gintong Aklat Award. He is also the Chair of the Filipino Critics Circle.This year, his upcoming books include his fourth collection of fiction, as well as a volume of selected stories from his first 25 years of speculative fiction.

Aurora Almendral is a Filipina American journalist and writer based in London. She has worked in over 30 countries, from Somalia to Mexico, and has lived in Thailand, Spain, New York and the Philippines, where she maintains a home in Cebu. Her journalism has been published by The New York Times and National Geographic Magazine, and has been recognized with multiple awards, including from the Overseas Press Club of America, and a Hillman Prize for investigative journalism. She is currently working on her first book.

Merlie Alunan writes creative nonfiction and poetry in both English and Cebuano. Her poetry is collected under six titles, namely: Hearthstone, Sacred Tree (Anvil, 1993), Amina among the Angels (UP Press, 1997), Selected Poems (UP Press, 2004), Tales of the Spider Woman (UST Publishing House, 2010), Pagdakop sa Bulalakaw ug uban pang mga Balak (AdMU Press, 2013), Running with Ghosts (AdNU Press, 2017) and Tigom Collected Poems of Merlie M. Alunan (UP Press 2024). She was awarded the National Book Award in the 35th, 36th, 37th and 42nd NBDB-Manila Critics Circle for the following titles: Sa Atong Dila Introduction to Visayan Literature (UP Press 2015); Susumaton Oral Narratives of Leyte (AdMU Press 2016); Tinalunay Hinugpong nga Panurat ha Winaray (UP Press 2017); Running with Ghosts and other Poems (AdNU Press, 2017), and Hubad Ester Tapia (UP Press 2024). She taught literature at UP Tacloban College and retired as Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines in 2008. She worked for most of her life as a teacher of literature and creative writing. She is also known for her work in promoting writing and reading in the Visayan mother tongues.

Bambi Eloriaga-Amago is a Philippines-based comic book writer and children’s book author. Her graphic novel “Doobiedoo Asks” is an Official Selection of the first-ever Philippine International Comics Festival, a Finalist at the 39th National Book Awards, and a Readers’ Choice Award Recipient at the 7th National Children’s Book Awards. While her children’s book is entitled “Too Loud! Soothing Sensory Overload With Music.” Both books are nominees for the 2025 International Board on Books for Young People’s Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. Bambi also currently acts as Managing Editor for Seven Seas Entertainment, a USA-based publisher. Her books will soon have German and Turkish editions.

Analyn Salvador-Amores is Professor of Anthropology and former Director of the Museo Kordilyera, the ethnographic museum of the University of the Philippines Baguio. Her research interests include anthropology of the body, non-Western aesthetics, material culture, endangered cultures, ethnographic museums, Indigenous Peoples and colonial photography in the Cordillera region in the Philippines. She studied anthropology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, her MPhil and DPhil in Social and Cultural Anthropology at Oxford University through a Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program.

In addition to her award-winning book, Tapping Ink, Tattooing Identities: Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Kalinga Society (University of the Philippines Press, 2013), she is the author of many scholarly articles published in various books and journals. 

Her recognitions include one of the Outstanding Filipinos (Teacher) by the Metrobank Foundation (2015), and Outstanding Young Scientist in the field of Anthropology by the National Academy of Science and Technology (2014). 

As a public service professor, she continues to engage Indigenous communities in her work, and promotes Indigenous knowledge in different platforms. She actively carries out anthropological fieldwork among the Indigenous communities in Northern Luzon, and has published extensively on this subject. Recently, she is involved in the research on Northern Luzon Philippine collections in the archives and museums in the US and Europe, reconnecting historical documents, archival photographs, and material culture to communities of origin in Northern Luzon through digital repatriation and rematriation. The culmination of this collaborative work with German museums is the book, Hunting for Artifacts: 19th Century German Travelers in the Luzon Cordillera (2025) edited by Professor Emeritus Delfin Tolentino, Jr.  and published by the Cordillera Studies Center, University of the Philippines Baguio.

 

Ardie Aquino is a Filipino komiks creator and illustrator known for crafting engaging and innovative stories since 2011. With a passion for pushing the boundaries of storytelling, Ardie has published numerous works that experiment with format, presentation, and narrative techniques.

Among his most recognized titles is School Run, a suspense-adventure comic following a group of students navigating a zombie-infested city. He also created Balik Tanaw, a deeply personal work exploring memory and nostalgia. His groundbreaking comic Nandito Lang Ako uses tracing paper to enhance its narrative, while Ang Manguulam blends Filipino cuisine with elements of Pinoy mythology, further showcasing his ability to merge cultural storytelling with thrilling narratives.

Ardie’s dedication to the medium has led to significant achievements, including being selected as a co-exhibitor for the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair 2025, a milestone that highlights his growing international presence. He has also participated in major local and international events, such as the Philippine International Comics Festival and Komikon Grande, where he continues to engage with readers and fellow creators.

With over a decade in the industry, Ardie remains committed to crafting compelling stories that captivate audiences. Whether through heart-pounding adventures, introspective narratives, or experimental formats, his work continues to redefine the komiks landscape.

Jane Arguelles is the owner and general manager of Grana Books. She has over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and brand development across the hospitality, wellness, and publishing industries. A grantee at the 2024 Frankfurter Buchmesse, she runs Grana Books with her husband, Mesandel V. Arguelles, a Filipino author who is also published internationally, and her daughter, Maria Rilke Arguelles, a fellow Filipino author.

Maria Rilkë Arguelles is a Creative Writing graduate from the Philippine High School for the Arts pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Art Studies at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. In 2022, she published her first collection of poems titled Pasalubong, a finalist in the 41st National Book Awards for Best Book of Poetry in Filipino. Vidas, her second collection, was published earlier this year as a final project before she graduated from Makiling.

Yasmin Arquiza is the author and editor of more than 20 books about environmental issues and indigenous peoples in the Philippines. She has worked as an international news reporter for Agence France-Presse and Associated Press, as a community journalist for Bandillo ng Palawan, and as managing editor for GMA News Online. A graduate of the University of the Philippines and the New School for Social Research in New York, she was awarded a Bellagio fellowship for the Reuters Foundation Programme at Oxford University and a Ford Foundation-International Fellowship Program scholarship at the Asian Institute of Management. She is the founder of Pawikan Press, an independent publishing house that specializes in books about the culture and environment of Mindanao and Palawan.

Arnold Arre is a celebrated Filipino graphic novelist, illustrator, and animator. With a Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, he gained prominence for his groundbreaking graphic novel The Mythology Class, the first to win the National Book Award for Best Comic Book in the Philippines in 2000. Over his career, Arnold has authored several acclaimed works, including Trip to Tagaytay and The Children of Bathala series, with five of his titles published internationally by Tuttle Publishing. His creative pursuits extend to award-winning animation projects like Milkyboy, which garnered accolades at international and local festivals. Arnold continues to advocate Filipino heritage and storytelling through his art, earning recognition as a significant figure in the Philippine comics industry.

Genevieve L. Asenjo (b. 1979), with more than 20 years of teaching and professional writing experience, is a Full Professor of literature and creative writing and two-time Chair of the Department of Literature, De La Salle University. She is featured in the 2018 Cultural Center of the Philippines Encyclopedia of Philippine Art (Literature) for her award-winning and multi-genre works in three Philippine languages: Kinaray-a, Hiligaynon, and Filipino. She has authored three bilingual poetry and short story collections, a novel, children’s books, and staged one-act plays. She is well-anthologized locally and published internationally in English translation. Her book Ang Itim na Orkidyas ng Isla Boracay: Mga Kuwento (UP Press, 2021) won the DLSU St. Miguel Febres Cordero Research Award for Outstanding Book, and the Gerardo P. Cabochan Prize for Best Book of Short Fiction in Filipino in the 40th National Book Awards while her poetry collection Indi Natun Kinahanglan kang Duro nga Tinaga sa Atun Tunga/Hindi Natin Kailangan ng Maraming Salita sa Ating Pagitan (University of the Philippines Press, 2020) was a finalist in the same year. Her children’s book is titled Ang Buhok nga Naglimpyo kang Suba/Ang Buhok na Naglinis ng Ilog/The Hair that Cleaned A River (Alamid Publishing House, 2022), with illustration by Viel Vidal.