A portrait of the artist as filipino
Are you looking for a new book to read? Check out these 18 best Filipino authors that you will absolutely love.
Many people living in the Philippines have had intense struggles through poverty, crime, and cultural challenges. Those who are skilled writers take those challenges and transform them into great works of literature.
If you want to get a feel for the human struggle that the people of the Philippines experiencing, reading one of these Filipino authors could give you that insight.
Throughout the works created by famous authors from the Philippines, you will find something to fit almost any taste. From historic to modern, here are the Filipino authors you need to read.
Contents
Filipino Authors Ranked
1. Carlos Bulosan
Born in the Philippines in a small farming village called Mangusmana, Carlos Bulosan came from a family who struggled to make ends meet.
Determined to help his family and improve his education, Bulosan emigrated to the United States at the age of He started working low-paying jobs while facing racism and illness until he finally learned how to write and put a voice to the struggles of the Filipino people in the United States.
His best-known work is a semi-autobiographical book called America Is in the Heart.
Author biography filipino novelist and wife She majored in art history at Columbia University. Reyes born 2 February in Tondo, died 7 May was a Filipino diplomat and author. Skip to content Unang nakilala sa kanyang mga kuwentong ukol sa mga bilanggo, si WPV ay kabataang manunulat na mapagpanalo sa mga timpalak-panitik. Award-winning author Luis Francia has lived in New York for decades, but his experiences of growing up in the Philippines continue to shape the stories he tells the world.He also wrote The Freedom from Want. Bulosan was both a novelist and a poet, and he died in Washington in If you enjoyed our round-up of the best Filipino authors, we have many more articles on the best authors from around the globe. You might want to check out our list of the best Korean authors. Or use the search bar at the top right of the page to search for authors in a country or region you are interested in.
2. Jessica Hagedorn
Born in in Manila, Jessica Hagedorn is a modern playwright, poet and writer.
She came to the United States in to get her education at the American Conservatory Theater training program. She lives in New York City and has won an American Book Award and the Lucille Lotel Foundation fellowship.
Hagedorn has many famous works to her name, but Mango Tango, her first play, is one of her most famous.
She also wrote Burning Heart: A Portrait of the Philippines and the fiction novel Dream Jungle.
3. Jose Rizal
Jose Rizal came from a wealthy Filipino family He was well-educated and spent much of his time as a young adult traveling Europe to discuss politics. He also studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg and pushed for Filipino reforms under the Spanish authorities.
His execution at the age of 36 put a fast end to his writing career.
Rizal wrote a number of poems as a teenager. He also wrote an Operetta called On the Banks of the Pasig. His first novel, Noli Me Tangere, offended the religious leaders of his area and caused him to be deemed a troublemaker. This likely led to his later arrest for political and religious problems.
4. Randy Ribay
Randy Ribay is a Filipino author who writes middle-grade and young-adult fiction.
Though he was born in the Philippines, he was raised in the United States and majored in English literature at the University of Colorado with a graduate degree from Harvard. In addition to writing, he teaches English in San Francisco.
Ribay&#;s first works were poetry, but his book Patron Saints of Nothing is an award-winning work of adult fiction.
He also wrote An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes and After the Shot Drops. You might also be interested in our round-up of the best Indian authors of all time.
5. Barbara Jane Reyes
Poet and author Barbara Jane Reyes was born in Manila and moved to the United States as a child.
She studied literature and writing in California before launching her award-winning career. She now serves as an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco.
Reyes&#;s published works include full-length poetry collections and chapbooks. Gravities of Center, Easter Sunday and Poeta en San Francisco all won awards, including the James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets.
Letters to a Young Brown Girl is another popular collection.
6. Elaine Castillo
Elaine Castillo is an American writer who is of Filipino descent. She studied at the University of California Berkeley and the University of London.
She is passionate about equality for the people of the Philippines, and that comes out in her work.
In Castillo published her first novel America is Not the Heart. Though this is the only publication she has so far, many reviewers consider her an up-and-coming name in literature. NPR named it one of the best books of the year.
7. F.
Sionil Jose
Francisco Sionil Jose was a Filipino writer who is one of the most widely read in the English language. He writes about the social struggles of his culture, and his books and short stories have a huge following. He was born in Pangasinan and attended the University of Santo Tomas before starting his journalism and writing career.
Jose has many novels in his name, including The Pretenders and The Rosales Saga.
He also wrote Dusk: A Novel. He won the National Artist of the Philippines award for his literary works. He died at the age of 97 in
8. Gina Apostol
Gina Apostol is a modern Filipino author who was born in Manila and attended Devine World College and the University of the Philippines before coming to the United States to earn her master&#;s degree at Johns Hopkins University.
Apostol&#;s first book, Bibliolepsy, recently received republication.
She also wrote The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata and Gun Dealers&#; Daughter. She has non-fiction works about Filipino American History and short stories to her name as well.
9. Joanne Ramos
Born in the Philippines, Joanne Ramos moved to Wisconsin when she was just six years old.
She attended Princeton University, where she received a bachelor&#;s degree. She worked in investment banking and private investing before becoming a staff writer for The Economist.
In Ramos published The Farm, her first novel. It tells the tale of a facility named Golden Oaks, where women serve as surrogate mothers for wealthy clients, and the main character is Filipino, shedding some light on the plight of poor Filipino women and where current cultural ideals could lead them.
Malaka Gharib
Malaka Gharib works for NPR as the digital strategist and deputy editor for their global health and development team.
She started this position in , and before that worked with the Malala Fund, which raises money for educational charities.
Gharib is the author of the graphic novel I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir. It talks about what she faced growing up as a Filipino Egyptian American and introduces young readers to the culture of the Philippines.
She also wrote How to Raise a Human and #15Girls, both of which won Gracie Awards.
Melissa de la Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz grew up in Manila and made the move to San Francisco as a teenager. She majored in art history at Columbia University. She lives in West Hollywood, where she continues to write novels and middle-grade fiction.
Many of de la Cruz&#;s works are quite famous, including several New York Times bestsellers.
She published The Isle of the Lost, a prequel to the Disney movie Descendants, which spent weeks on the bestseller list. She is also famous for her Blue Bloods series, which has three million copies in print, and she has over 50 books to her name.
Mia Alvar
Mia Alvar was born in the Philippines and raised in the United States and Bahrain.
She attended Harvard College and Columbia University and currently resides in California.
Alvar won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction for her short story collection In the Country.
Filipino novelist philippines: Rufus Bautista Rodriguez. Licauco, also known as Jimmy Licauco, is a parapsychologist, author, and teacher of management in the Philippines. Among the vast array of Filipino names in the world of literature, many have stood apart as exceptional contributors. You might want to check out our list of the best Korean authors.
She serves as the writer in residence at the Corporation of Yaddo. Sech also earned the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers award for her work.
Nick Joaquin
Best known for his short stories and novels, Nick Joaquin often wrote under the pen name Quijano de Mania. He was born in and fought in the Philippine Revolution.
After winning a nationwide essay competition, he started contributing poems and stories to magazines and newspapers. He was named the National Artist in
Joaquin has several novels to his name, including The Woman Who Had Two Navels and A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. He focused on trying to explain and showcase Filipino culture and its history.
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan was often called Plaridel, his pen name.
He was born in and lived in many parts of the Philippines before moving to Barcelona, Spain. Well-educated as a young man, especially in the arts, he became a well-known Filipino writer as an adult. He also attended law school and wrote on legal topics quite often.
Del Pilar was a prolific writer who published many works during his lifetime.
Filipino novels In , Aguinaldo ran unsuccessfully for president of the Philippine Commonwealth against Manuel Quezon. He died in Santa Cruz, California in Luis Eduardo Aute, a multifaceted artist, is known for his prowess not only in literature but also in painting, music, and filmmaking. Santiago Villafania is a bilingual Filipino poet who writes in English and in his native language of Pangasinan.The Greatness of God and The Triumph of the Enemies of Progress in the Philippines were some of them.
Meredith Talusan
Meredith Talusan is a Filipino-American author who moved to the United States at the age of He has many excellent essays, stories, and books to her name. She attended Cornell University, where she received an MFA degree, and she worked as a journalist for many well-known publications.
In addition to writing, Talusan trained as a dancer.
Talusan has hit the New York Times Bestsellers list with Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture. She earned the Marsha P. Johnson Fellowship and the Poynter Fellowship at Yale.
Author biography filipino novelist Ferdinand Marcos. Jose Maria Flores Lacaba, Jr. Peter Solis Nery. His multi-faceted attribute in the humanities, as a Renaissance man, is identical with those of well-rounded historical figures during the Renaissance period in Europe.Many of her books talk about the LGTBQ+ community, and Fairest is her most recent publication.
Lysley Tenorio
Lysley Tenorio is a Filipino writer who wrote The Son of Good Fortune and Monstress. His work won many awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, an Edmund White Award, and the Rome Prize. Many of his works have become plays.
Tenorio focuses much of his writing on short stories.
He was born in the Philippines and moved to San Francisco to pursue his passion for the arts. He works as an associate professor at Saint Mary&#;s College of California.
Mia Hopkins
Mia Hopkins is a Filipino-American writer known for her romance novels. She lives in Los Angeles and continues to publish new novels today.
Author biography filipino novelist and poet The novels, which are surprisingly wry and romantic, crystallized the growing anti-Spanish sentiment and were banned within the Philippines. Rustica C. Jourdan Sebastian. In , Mar became a Senator and was also elected president of the Liberal Party.She likes to use working-class heroes in her works.
Mia Hopkins&#; novels are full of steamy stories. Trashed is one of her most recent, and it is written from the point of view of the anti-hero of her previous novels. Her books have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, and The Washington Post. Several of her works are part of a larger series, which gives the reader the chance to get to know her characters.
Tess Uriza Holthe
Tess Uriza Holthe is a Filipino-American writer who was raised in San Francisco.
She attended Golden Gate University and works as an accountant in addition to her work as a writer.
Of her books, When the Elephants Dance is her most famous, hitting several national bestseller lists. She wrote the book during her breaks at work, and she drew information from her own father&#;s experience in the Philippines to inspire the story.
She also wrote The Five-Forty-Five to Cannes. If you enjoyed this guide on the top Filipino authors, you might be interested in our round-up of the best Ukrainian authors.