WATTY'S SHORTLIST 2023 Stuck in the never-ending responsibilities as one of the breadwinners of the family, Calisse Abigail Guillermo, an Iska from UP Manila, seeks to find true comfort between drinking and smoking. But she never does. Her desire to find consolation in everything is not found within the consumption of toxins. When she meets fellow smoker Chance Luy, a UP med student, in the bustling street of Pedro Gil, she thanks the heavens for a chance to meet him. Chance is your worn-out med student who is stingy. As they ponder about life, would they find solace as they share a moment of smoke?

Two men. One secret conversation. A truth that broke everything. Tyler hated Mikael long before he fell for him, and falling for him might be the one thing he can't charm his way out of. *** Tyler Coast Alderidge Cervando has always had everything, except genuine connection. Charming and privileged, he returns to the Philippines for college carrying ambition and old grudges. Chief among them: Mikael Jasver Chua, the last person Tyler expects to matter to him. What begins as rivalry quietly shifts when an anonymous late-night conversation strips away titles, wealth, and walls, and two people begin to see each other clearly for the first time. But when the truth surfaces, so does the damage. Tyler & Mikael is a story about what happens when two people who were never supposed to fall in love... already have.

They say that happy-go-lucky people bury their deepest pain behind smiles. For Maverick Evander, an architecture student, was entangled in a web of uncertainty by his parents' decision to separate. Beneath his playful image and a well-known loud circle, he was able to carry a facade-a mystery no one could ever decipher. How can you read someone when they are just black pages in the book? That's how engineering student Rade Archiel Tejano sees Mavric: a blinding sun you could only graze upon. And the more he tries to solve the puzzles in Mavric's mind games, the more Mavric's wall thickens. Will Rade be able to crush someone who is already broken? Will Mavric top someone when he's the one who's falling? In a play where one had to win, both of them fell...hard.

In a society where blue is classified for boys and pink for the girls, Shiloh Ching Escarra struggled during his childhood when he discovered his fondness for the toys and colors that were only labeled for the girls. Despite confining himself in the darkness, Brent Matthew Jarsdel, his roommate and the son of his mother's friend, gradually peeked through his thick walls and found a way to paint his world according to what color he genuinely prefers. In the midst of those unexplainable feelings, confusions, and judgements, Brent was willing to risk it all; to fight for the love he unexpectedly found; to build him a home where his true colors would finally be accepted.

Yvonne Maica Lim is an aspiring UAAP court side reporter for UST, she was so close to getting her football player crush after plotting on him for almost a year...but everything fell apart when she had to fake date the infamous star basketball player of the UST Growling Tigers instead. Book cover by cottonbro studio in pexels

If we were to talk about making the first move, boys are usually the ones who do it, but not in the case of Ireena Razon. For her, it was a now or never situation. Given that it was her last year of high school, she felt she had to do everything. You only turn 17 once in your lifetime, and after that, you can't afford to make foolish decisions anymore, she thought. Little did she know, this "foolish" 17-year-old decision she was about to make would shape the rest of her life. Book Cover from: Su Minh in Pexels

Sikat siya at hindi ka niya kilala. Kaya bakit sa dami ng taong nakapaligid sa kanya, ikaw na walang kamalay malay ang minumulto niya? THE JERK IS A GHOST. Genre: Fantasy Teen Fiction Romance Adventure Written by: april_avery

Having enhanced senses cannot help one earn a living. A useless special ability--or at least, that's what Shia Sheridan believes. But when she is caught for a crime she did not commit, this useless ability saves her, leading her to enroll in Titan Academy, the very place she hates with a passion. *** Titan Academy is an esteemed school where students train to improve their special abilities. However, for seventeen-year-old village girl Shia Sheridan, it's nothing more than a despicable place where wealth speaks the loudest. Fate plays a joke on her when her best friend, Lucas, becomes part of a crime committed within the academy, and owning that crime in his stead leads Shia to the headmaster and principal, who then offers her a proposal she dare not refuse--in exchange for her freedom, she must become one of the special group of students joining the annual survival game called Linus Cup. Now, not only is she fighting for a spot she did not want in the very academy she hated, but also for her dear life as well. Can Shia survive till the end? STATUS: Published under Summit Media - Cloak Pop Fiction DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish COVER DESIGN BY: Rayne Mariano

(Game Series # 2) Aurora Marie Floresca just wanted to escape their house. Ever since her father re-married, palagi na silang nag-aaway dalawa. She wanted her father to be happy, of course, but not with that evil step-mother wannabe. Unang pagkikita pa lang nila, masama na ang kutob niya sa babae. She wanted happiness for her father, but definitely not with that woman... But unfortunately, the witch won. She managed to get her father to throw Rory out. She was forced to stay in Manila for the meantime. She didn't know what to do in Manila! Wala naman doon ang mga kaibigan niya. Wala siyang pamilya. The only consolation she got was the condo unit from her father--well, at least hindi naman yata gusto ng tatay niya na sa kalsada siya matulog. She'd probably get a job or study again, she wasn't sure yet, but she's certain that everything would be fine... until she realized that her next door neighbor would be keeping her up all night with all the banging against the wall.

(Game Series # 4) Charisse Faith Viste believes in working hard. She does not believe in luck, only hard work. Bata pa lang siya, nasanay na siya na pinaghihirapan lahat ng meron siya. Being the only girl in a family full of guys, nasanay na siya na kung gusto niyang makuha, kailangan niyang pagtrabahuhan. And because of this, she grew up tough. She already accepted the fact that guys are just too intimidated to even give her a second glance. She'll always be too smart, too confident, too much for everyone. One day, she had this overwhelming feeling of sadness. She looked around and saw that everyone around her has someone by their side... Everyone has someone to embrace... Siya? Libro lang ang kayakap. She used to be fine with the idea of being alone... alone, not lonely. But not anymore. She needed someone to stop her from feeling so lonely.