by Julianne Le

Wilfrido D. Nolledo has only ever written one novel. Originally published in 1970, But for the Lovers was not brought back into circulation until 2023. Exploding Galaxies, an independent publishing house interested in reviving lost stories, published the first Philippine edition of Nolledo’s novel. Preceded by a foreword from Gina Apostol and introduction from Audrey Carpio, Nolledo depicts a “jaded Spanish vaudevillian living in a devastated Manilan landscape.”

Founder and author Mara Coson developed the idea of Exploding Galaxies after years of envisioning how a revival of Filipino literature may look like. Coson created the press with the goal of publishing solely out-of-print books thought to be forgotten by modern readers.

“These books had to be hunted down in the most obscure corners, if you could even find them there. Some of our most significant books have only had a spectral presence in these last few decades so I decided that my contribution to Philippine literature would be to go back in time and take these books out of limbo,” Coson said over email.
Before entering the publishing industry with her own press, Coson co-founded a journal focused on film and literature called The Manila Review. She has also authored the 2018 novel, Aliasing, a story that invites readers to explore an undertold depiction of Philippine mysticism.

There is currently one other book that can be found on the press’s website: The Three-Cornered Sun by Linda Ty-Casper, a historical novel grounded in a family’s true stories. A preface by Ty-Casper and a foreword by Manuel L. Quezon III puts the 1979 novel in conversation with today’s literary world.
“When we decided to publish our second title, Linda Ty-Casper’s ‘The Three-Cornered Sun,’ the title had existed as just ten or so copies left wilting at the bottom shelf of a publisher’s office…There were absolutely no plans for republication until we picked it up, and considering this is one among the many novels that have made her among the best women writers in the Philippines,” Coson said.

Read more about Exploding Galaxies’ journey as an independent publisher with a unique mission in the below Q&A between Kaya and Mara Coson.

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How did you come up with the idea of Exploding Galaxies? When did you first have the idea?
I have always wanted to publish books, but the idea to rediscover Filipino lost classics was because I could not shake off my growing disbelief that the books we considered among our best were not available on shelves anywhere: not in bookshops, not even online, and not in many libraries either. These books had to be hunted down in the most obscure corners, if you could even find them there. Some of our most significant books have only had a spectral presence in these last few decades so I decided that my contribution to Philippine literature would be to go back in time and take these books out of limbo.

Exploding Galaxies occupies a really distinct position within publishing as a press dedicated exclusively to Filipino fiction. Can you tell us more about the importance of Exploding Galaxies as your personal project and for the wider international publishing community?
Getting these books to Filipino readers is my first and main priority because I know how difficult it can be to find these books, but also how pleasurable the books are once they are found. It’s really been such a great feeling to return a title back on the shelf, and readers, who rediscover these titles and add them to their own shelves at home, they share that feeling with the press too. The warm glow that this endeavor receives from that has been wonderful for our titles, because they’re again visible, and the interest keeps growing. We also really want to be accessible to Filipino readers around the world, and already many have reached out because they want to know what we’ve been rediscovering. Literature can be such a deep way to remain connected. But these two novels we have so far are not only a Philippine celebration; it can expand even larger, and I’m looking forward to making that happen for these books.

There are presses like New Directions and New York Review Books that publish older titles that might be out-of-print or not previously available in English. Can you tell us more about why EG focuses on out-of-print titles specifically?
I know that I focus a lot on the shock that I still feel today about these titles being out-of-print, but besides that, the main reason I do this is simply because these books are so important. The book is complete but their story is not, and their existence helps complete a larger story. Filling this shelf gap is not only for the enjoyment of readers, but to help Philippine literature maintain a clearer view of its greater map, its timeline, its threads, its points of reference, its struggles, what these books inspire, what they are inspired by, and why they exist. Also, I thought, well, if it’s been decades that these books haven’t seen the light of day, and we’re right there in front of it, then we really have to do it! This leaves us little time for “new” books, but we do have future plans.

There are currently two books that EG offers to readers—how did you decide to publish these titles? What is your acquisitions process like as a press dedicated to out-of-print titles?
Each book presents a different challenge in its journey back to the shelf. The search is enjoyable, as anyone who loves reading can imagine, but the process really takes a lot of time. But I am also aware that the task is quite urgent not only because finding the author gets increasingly harder, but it is more time that readers are without them. There are some titles that I wish I could publish but are completely lost in time; I cannot reach the author or their family, and sometimes it takes me a whole year of trying before I accept that. Each book really comes with a different story, so it comes down to a little bit of fate and a lot of perseverance. Each successful printing is its own miracle, and of course the trust and support we are given by the author or the estate makes it possible.

As to why these titles, they are simply titles we cannot exist without. Somebody told me the other day that these books are regarded as so important that republishing them is a no-brainer. I’m really glad that they are. They’re fantastic books. Our first title, Wilfrido D. Nolledo’s “But for the Lovers” had been published twice in the US, first in 1970 and again in 1992, but because these editions had sadly never really been circulated in the Philippines; the novel had been forgotten. Only last year, after more than fifty years, through our edition, that this Filipino novel had finally arrived in the Philippines. That was a moment, and it had come from a new and homegrown press from the Philippines that found this and whose mission was to find more. The moment of its republication is now a great story accompanying the novel, and we’re excited to bring this book out in the world again. When we decided to publish our second title, Linda Ty-Casper’s “The Three-Cornered Sun,” the title had existed as just ten or so copies left wilting at the bottom shelf of a publisher’s office, whose well-regarded period of literary publishing had long made way for their focus of mainly Christian books. There were absolutely no plans for republication until we picked it up, and considering this is one among the many novels that have made her among the best women writers in the Philippines.

EG has a small but mighty team much like Kaya—what are some of the struggles and joys you’ve found working as an independent press?
Whenever Sam, our managing editor, says “let’s gooo” whenever we hit a snag, I get reminded that this isn’t a lonely journey, and there are more and more people around us who not only anticipate our next release but who support Exploding Galaxies! It’s been great that readers start conversations with us, and they are happy to share their thoughts on our books, or that they’ve gifted a book to somebody special, or that they have an author we might be interested in, or that we’ve made a typo we need to fix in the next printing!

Finally, what do you hope the future of EG looks like?
I want the world to read Philippine literature. That’s our future!

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Keep up with Exploding Galaxies by following them on Instagram and Tiktok, and you can purchase their releases via Lazada. Celebrate Filipino American History Month with Kaya Press – find José Garcia Villa’s The Anchored Angel: Selected Writings and Luis Cabalquinto’s Bridgeable Shores: Selected Poems on our website.