In the English speaking world, many people don’t realize just how wonderful non-English speaking writers are. One of the communities that produce some of the most amazing writers is the Filipino community - so I’ve decided to offer this list of Filipino writers for our Filipino readers.

The following are a top list of Filipino writers, but at the bottom of this article you’ll also find a list of about thirty more that deserve mention.

Top 10 List of Filipino Writers

In a literary world dominated by English-speaking writers, it isn’t always easy to make your mark as a Filipino writer. However, the culture and heritage embodied by the carefully crafted words of some writers pay tribute to the creativity and writing skill of this community.

The following writers are a few of the best Filipino writers you’ll find. Whether you are Filipino or simply love the culture, make sure to check out these writers.

Manuel Arguilla

Manuel Arguilla was the author of the 1940 book of short stories titled How My Brother Leon Brought Home A Wife. It took first prize for short stories in the 1940 in the First Commonwealth Literary Contest. People that knew him said that he enjoyed doing his writing around one or two in the morning, when the stories came to him easily.

His stories reflect the heritage of his home town Barrio Nagrebcan, Bauang, La Union. Even though he moved away to Manila to earn his degree at the University of the Philippines in 1933, his heart remained back home.

Although his life seemed to revolve only around writing, teaching creative writing at the University and later editing Welfare Advocate for the Bureau of Public Welfare, there was a deeper aspect to Manuel. He expressed his political stance by putting together an intelligence unit to thwart the Japanese in WWII.

In October of 1944, he was captured by the Japanese army and brought to Fort Santiago, where he was tortured for information and then executed. He left behind his wife, Lydia Villaneuva, who happens to be another excellent Filipino writer.

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia is an award-winning female Filipino author with a significant writing career including eight novels. Born in Cebu, Philippines, she wrote When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, the novel she is best known for. Other books include Magdalena, three books of short stories, Philippine Woman in America, Cecilia’s Diary 1962-1968 and Fundamentals of Creative Writing.

She also collaborated with four other female authors on the novel Angelica’s Daughters.

She received plenty of awards for her work, including a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award, a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, the Filipinas Magazine Award for Arts and the Outstanding Individual Award from Cebu, Philippines where she grew up.

She continues to teach and lecture about creative writing, and lives with her husband and former Peace Corp volunteer Lauren Brainard, as well as their three sons, in Leyte, Philippines.

Angela Manalang Gloria

To branch out into other areas of creative writing, it’s only fair to cover Angela Manalang Gloria, a pianist and poet who, despite her tragic life, wrote notable lyrical poets - sonnets - as part of her love of music. You can find a partial collection of her poems in Poems (1940).

One reviewer commented that her poems are “sweeter and more tender [and more melodious] than Tarrosa’s”.

Born in Albay, from a young age she loved reading and music. She started playing the piano at a very young age. Schooled within the girls’ schools run by the religious orders of the region, she was always top of her class. Her life was an exploration of talents, from being a pianist, to attending pre-law school, and even painting and art. Everything about her portrayed a skilled creativity.

Eventually she served as a literary editor at Philippine Collegian, and while there she married editor-in-chief Celedonio Goria, who later became a lawyer. Her storybook life took a turn for the worse during her work as an editor at Herald Mid-Week Magazine, when she became ill. To make matters worse, her husband served in World War II and lost his life.  Many say that the harsh realities of her life transformed her into a pragmatist - and at the close of her life she no longer contributed as a Filipino writer…instead she entered into business and became financially successful on her own.

Additional List of Filipino Writers

Marivi Soliven Blanco earned her Literature digree from Simons College in Boston, and her mass communications degree in the Philippines. She wrote The Unicorn, Chief Flower Girl and The Toad and the Princess to name a few. In 1992 she won second prize in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature.

Norma Olizon-Chikiamco was a journalist and editor of Food Magazine, Sunday Globe, Metro and Celebrity Magazine. She won first prize in the 1995 Don Carlos Palance Memorial Awards for Literature.

Leoncio P. Deriada won the 1994 Don Carlos first  prize for The Man Who Hated Birds, and wrote The Dog Eaters and Other Plays, Night Mares and The Week of Whales.

Lina B. Diaz de Rivera won 2nd prize in the 1996 Don Carlos Awards for The Gem. She had her masters in reading and doctorate in English, and wrote Ferry in the Sun, Goldon Galleon and English for High School.

Angelo Rodriguez Lacuesta won 3rd prize in the 1996 Don Carlos for The Daughter of the Wind.  He had a debree in biology, and published work in various magazines and journals such as Likhaan Anthology of Poetry and Fiction,  The Evening Paper, The Philippine Daily Inquirer,  and Sunday Inquirer Magazine.

Twink Macaraig won first prize in the Don Carlos in 1994 for What is Serendipity? She was a news anchor in Singapore, and wrote The Ultimate, and the Absolutely Indispensable Guide to Food Delivery in Metro Manila. She is currently a news anchor for Asia Business News in Singapore.

Ino M. Manalo won third prize in the Don Carlos in 1993 for Little Bird, Little Fish, and the Two Elephants. He also wrote The Architect’s Design and Botong: Alay at Alaala.

As you can see, the list goes on and on. The Filipino community clearly added a great deal to the Literary advancement of the world, and continues to do so every day.

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Ryan is a technology writer and investigative blogger. He has been working as an online writer for numerous clients for over 5 years, and now consults webmasters and blog owners about effective SEO optimization. Ryan has 53 post(s) at Free Writing Center