IRÔ is a forthcoming novel to be published by Milflores Books, selected for "Books at Berlinale" out of 120 global entries for possible film adaptation. A folk horror and body horror novel set in contemporary times, it explores themes of feminism and institutionalized violence against women.
A film written and produced by Lacuesta for the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and having its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in 2025
A film written and produced by Lacuesta, to have its world premiere in Los Angeles for the Manila International Film Festival.
Press:
PUBLICATIONS
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A Japanese super robot cartoon makes it to the top of the charts. A son receives an unexpected email from a father he has not heard from in 27 years. A struggling musician composes a love song for a national competition and wins an all-expenses-paid trip to America. A man and his lover enjoy a new life together. An advertising creative makes a pitch for the country’s no. 2 fast food brand. A woman returns to her hometown. A renaissance man steps into a polar bear costume. A boy becomes the first Filipino to land on the moon. Not necessarily in that order. JOY is music, ecstasy, grace, virtuality, mercy, food, America, sadness, sex, electronics, animatronics, death, pretending, aspiring, middle age, coming of age, one-night stands, and the nation. Not necessarily in that order.
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In this collection, I’ve chosen to briefly revisit the cities that I’ve written about across two decades of writing. Most of the stories have been extensively rethought and rewritten, and I hope that they offer a fresh experience to old readers, young citizens, and new visitors alike. Welcome to my cities, and thank you for your stay.
(Ateneo de Manla University Press, 2019)
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17 internationally acclaimed artists. A renowned fictionist and storyteller. 21 original stories on life, love, family, sex, identity, nostalgia, existence, death—set in the past, the present, and the future.
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Finalist, Philippine National Book Award
First Runner-Up, Jeanne Leiby Chapbook Contest, The Florida Review
One of The Best Filipino Comics of 2018, CNN Philippines
One of The Top 10 Books of 2018, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Chosen as part of official Philippine Catalogue, 2021 Frankfurt Buchmesse
Official catalogue entry, London Book Fair 2022
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In the title story, discontinued love makes deft and swift appearances in a plot involving an app that systematically kills off its inventors and users, setting the apocalyptic tone for the rest of the book. These are cold-blooded stories, which means that the tender paragraph or two thrown in the mix are rendered luminous.
The widely-acclaimed author’s fourth collection of fiction gathers stories that take place in the clouded past, the urgent present, and the dark future—yet all seem to happen in the same timeframe and state of mind.
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Winner, Philippine National Book Award
First Prize Winner, Philippines Graphic Award, for “Coral Cove”
First Prize Winner, Philippines Graphic Award, for “Sparrows”
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This book gathers essays, explorations and profiles written throughout the author’s career in creative non-fiction, and as an editor-at-large at Esquire Magazine (Philippines).
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Finalist, Philippine National Book Award
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17 internationally acclaimed artists. A renowned fictionist and storyteller. 21 original stories on life, love, family, sex, identity, nostalgia, existence, death—set in the past, the present, and the future.
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Finalist, Philippine National Book Award
First Runner-Up, Jeanne Leiby Chapbook Contest, The Florida Review
One of The Best Filipino Comics of 2018, CNN Philippines
One of The Top 10 Books of 2018, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Chosen as part of official Philippine Catalogue, 2021 Frankfurt Buchmesse
Official catalogue entry, London Book Fair 2022
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“Lacuesta creates an impossible sense of belonging one soul at a time. He’s a late-night DJ, a smooth, relentless voice transforming loneliness into off-kilter citizenship. Our post-modern, post-colonial, Post-brand cereal world offers endless points of reference, but each of Lacuesta’s lovingly created characters intuits a private way forward and thus traces for the reader an individual constellation of meaning. Lacuesta is not merely a DJ mixing messages from twin turntables, but also a scientist weighing inscrutable cultural and historical trade-offs in a pair of scales of subatomic sensitivity. These stories are pitch perfect.”
— Hugh Ferrer, Fiction Editor, The Iowa Review
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Finalist, Philippine National Book Award First Prize Winner
Palanca Memorial Award, for “Flames”
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“Once agan, in this new collection, Angelo Lacuesta shows his mastery not only of language but also the life it examines and conveys. As one writer to another, I appreciate how he takes his time to shape a story, and the varied cadences of his prose are a pleasure to follow. But best of all, he writes with a maturity of feeling, a sureness of sensibility that eschews the easy sentiment and disembodied lyricism of those less committed to art and country.”
— Jose Y. Dalisay
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Winner, Philippine National Book Award Second Prize Winner
Palanca Memorial Award, for “White Elephants” First Prize Winner
NVM Gonzalez Award, for “Rest Stop”
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“Writing is searching, someone once told me,” says one of Lacuesta’s protagonists. “You search for something and you don’t know what it is until you’ve found it.”
What these stories have in common is the questions which they raise and do not answer, and the aloneness of their protagonists. Loneliness, lovelessness, impermanence, death, lie at their heart.
Life Before X is an exceptional first book, one which raises expectations for the next one, and the next.”
from the Introduction, by Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo
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Winner, Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award Winner
National Book Award First Prize Winner
Palanca Memorial Award, for “Life Before X”
Third Prize Winner, Palanca Memorial Award, for “The Daughter of the Wind”
First Prize Winner, Philippines Graphic Award, for “Harvest”
First Prize Winner, Philippines Graphic Award, for “The Last Retreat”
"Angelo R. Lacuesta has the rare gift of all true literary artists. He creates characters and narratives that illuminate the universal quest for an answer to the great and enduring question of our existence: Who am I? Joy is a brilliant exploration of this great theme.
Lacuesta weaves the four principle lives in the book seamlessly together as they ache for self. I have long been an ardent fan of Lacuesta’s short stories. Joy now reveals him as a master of the novel form, as well."
Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize laureate, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
ANTHOLOGIES (AS EDITOR OR CONTRIBUTING WRITER)
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“An Errand” in THE ART AND CRAFT OF ASIAN STORIES
An all-in-one craft guide and anthology, this is the first creative writing book to find inspiration and guidance in the diverse literary traditions of Asia. Including exemplary stories by leading writers from Japan, China, India, Singapore and beyond as well as those from Asian diasporas in Europe and America, The Art and Craft of Asian Stories offers an exciting take on the traditional how-to writing guide by drawing from a rich new trove of short stories beyond the western canon which readers may never have encountered before. Whilst still taking stock of the traditional elements of story such as character, viewpoint and setting, Xu and Hemley let these compelling stories speak for themselves to offer readers new ideas and approaches which could enrich their own creative work. Structured around the themes encountered in the stories, such as race and identity, history and power, family and aspirations, this text is a vital companion for writers at all levels keen to develop and find new perspectives on key elements of their craft. Written by two internationally successful writers and teachers, each chapter contains complete short stories and writing exercises for practice and inspiration.
Edited by Robin Hemley and Xu Xi
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021)
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This anthology of poetry and prose marks another milestone in the literary tradition of Southeast Asia and co-operation among its publishing community. There were five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967—Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand—and this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of this regional grouping. Earlier ties of friendship and new-found ones had drawn these publishers together. We are honored to coordinate this cooperative literary venture that seeks to further build bridges among peoples through expanding the diet for readers in each country.
(Ethos Press, 2017)
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This collection of short stories, 13 in all, published by Anvil, includes several styles of fiction writing that makes the book feel like a full-course meal. The stories range from the fantastic to the mundane. There are stories about native sorcery (“The Secret Adobo Wars” by Kate Osias) a former bad boy boyband member looking for a second chance (“My Life As A Bee” by Michaelangelo Samson); family jealousies boiling over aboard a cruise ship (“Cruising” by Isabel Yap); gay lovers searching for a missing backpack (“Basta” by Glenn Diaz); and a woman to trying to survive a despotic regime while looking for viable alternative to tampons and sanitary napkins (“The Red Cup” by Francesca Kwe)—it’s a good story, trust me. And that’s just a partial list of what the book offers.
This anthology is edited by acclaimed writers Dean Francis Alfar and Angelo R. Lacuesta and they deserve much credit for choosing well-written and accessible stories for both general readers and the more literary types. If you’re a novice at reading short stories, then Maximum Volume just might be a good place to start.”
Ramil Digal Gulle, Interaksyon.com
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The 14 stories in this book celebrate the variety of voices currently enriching and expanding Philippine literature–all by authors under the age of 45. Stories of wonder and mystery rub shoulders with contemporary domestic dramas and rousing speculative fiction, all rife with joy and sadness told in different ways.
Edited by Dean Alfar and Angelo R. Lacuesta
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Latitude is the first literary collaboration between the Philippines and Scotland, collecting short fiction from seven Scottish and seven Filipino writers, ranging from the young and newly discovered to the internationally published and established.
Edited by Angelo R. Lacuesta and Toni Davidson
(Anvil Publishing, 2004)