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?

ELYU SERIES #1 In the sleepy town of San Juan, La Union, the waves are unrelenting. Sereia Montanez leads a quiet life with no desire to rule the waves until a boy from Manila arrived and changed everything... This is a story about a girl, a boy, and an ocean between them.

Moving to Pampanga to start anew, Lorelei Rios only wants to focus on her new life and live in peace. But when she crosses paths with the ever-mysterious Loki Mendez, she's suddenly dragged into a world of mysteries, changing her life in ways she didn't expect. *** Joining a detective club is the last thing on high school student Lorelei Rios' mind. However, after being pressured into joining the QED Club by the cold and mysterious Loki Mendez, she unexpectedly finds herself solving mysteries one after another. As they tackle cases and work to decode puzzles and codes, Lorelei realizes that her high school life will never be the same. But when lives and safety are suddenly at risk, can Lorelei and Loki find the courage to face the challenges ahead? Or will their pasts impact their present, causing them to lose focus and ultimately fail?

Started: 04/27/2021 Ended: 08/24/2021 Ang hirap palang tumanda. Ang hirap magbayad ng bills. Ang hirap suportahan ng pamilyang akala ay isang milyon ang suweldo mo. Ang hirap ngumiti sa nanay na mataas ang tingin sa'yo pero hindi ka kayang ipagtanggol. Ang hirap tabihan sa hapagkainan ng tatay na pinag-uubusan mo ng pera pero hindi ka maalala. Ang hirap mag-abot ng tulong sa kapatid na baon sa utang. Ang hirap intindihin ng hipag na nakakapagpa-rebond pa kahit kapos na kapos na. Ang hirap pakisamahan ng bunsong halos ilahad ang mga palad tuwing makikita ka. Ang hirap ngitian ng mga taong tanong nang tanong kung bakit hindi ka pa nakakapag-asawa. Ang hirap humarap sa mundong isasampal sa'yo na mag-isa ka. Tulong, bigay, utang. Isang iling mo lang, madamot ka na. Kasama mo sila kapag may maibibigay ka, pero hindi mo sila mahahanap kapag wala na. Ikaw ang kakayod, sila ang tutuka. Ikaw ang iiyak sa pagod, sila ang magtatamasa. Iyon ang summary ng buhay ko. Sobra-sobra ang naririnig na paghingi, kulang na kulang ang naririnig na pasasalamat. Sobra-sobra ang pagpapasensya, kulang na kulang ang natatanggap na pagpapahalaga. Sobra-sobra ang binabayaran, kulang na kulang sa kasiyahan. Kaya nang dumating sa buhay ko ang nag-iisang lalaking hindi ako nakita bilang naglalakad na alkansya, ang nag-iisang lalaking nakinig sa mahabang listahan ko ng problema, ang nag-iisang lalaking nagbigay sa akin ng kakaibang saya, ipinangako ko sa sarili na sa gitna ng hirap ng pagtanda, magtitiis ako basta't siya ang kasama. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay pagtalikod sa minahal na pamilya. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay paglaban sa mundong pinatatakbo ng kapangyarihan at pera. Kahit pa ang kapalit noon ay ang pagdurusa't pag-iisa. Siya ang ginhawa, pahinga, at kasiyahan ko. Dumating man ang araw na tanaw ko na ang dulo. Dumating man ang araw na wala na kaming sagot sa lahat ng bakit at paano. Dumating man ang araw na pareho na kaming talo.

Twelve years after the breakup, Esmee and Luca are forced to settle down under one roof while Esmee waits for her father's recovery in the hands of Luca's physician parents. With more than a decade filled with questions on what went wrong in an almost-marriage relationship, they may find themselves tangled once again in midnight couch conversations and underneath-the-blanket college tales more often than before. And perhaps discover something more than what they've settled with after they parted lives twelve years ago. Stand-alone Epistolary MORE OFTEN THAN NOT August 2023