Out of Print
Dream Catalog
by Andi Osmeña
Photos by JL Javier
Don Jaucian always wanted a life in publishing — and he must continue to fight for one. In the wake of the CNN Philippines shutdown, the writer-turned-editor-turned-author reflects on the “golden age” of print, queer representation, and how one might build it all again from the ground up.
The air was quite literally different back then. Now, a full-force team of five people covering an event felt excessive. Most CNN Life field assignments during lockdown were stripped down to skeletal operations, which usually meant sending their official photographer JL Javier on solo missions in a mask and face shield.
JL took on his usual duty of documenting the debate and taking portraits of the candidates. He was accompanied by Joseph Pascual, who keenly snapped the goings-on backstage and from his perch at the technical booth. Contributing editor Marga Buenaventura volunteered to write about the Vice Presidential debate, and along with it Walden Bello’s infamous tirade against Sara Duterte. This left associate editor Gaby Gloria with the responsibility of covering the Presidential segment.
“Are you sure, Don? Is there anyone else who can write this?” she remembers telling her features editor. Don Jaucian had been running the show at CNN Life for six years, most of it as founding editor-in-chief. This certainly wasn’t his first rodeo — which is why he knew to trust Gaby. Instead of changing up the assignments, Don offers some sage advice: take the skills that you’ve gained from years of interviewing celebrities, and just apply them to the candidates. From K-Pop idols to Leni Robredo.
Twenty-four hours later, once the draft was turned in, Gaby tells me she was able to surprise even herself.
That’s the job of an editor, right? Knowing how to choose the right voices. When he wasn’t at the frontlines, watching history unfold, Don Jaucian was always on the lookout for fresh talent to populate the CNN Life website. This work could range from cyber-stalking Book-Tok creators to see who could curate a list of Holy Week reads, to attending weird media events to see if there’s actually a story there. And as always, you had to keep reading other people’s writing. To him, the funnest part was always that.
“May certain level of authority in setting the cultural agenda,” Don tells me. The Life team always wanted to represent underrepresented demographics and voices. Even when writing weekly shopping and event guides, you’d have to consider, Are there enough queer people on this list? How about brands outside of Manila? A sports or entertainment daily was also an opportunity to wax a little poetic about your personal connection to the topic. You were often encouraged to think a little out of ‘the box’ — be it the conventions of the form, or the bubble of your own perspective.
By the time CNN Philippines and all of its verticals had shut down on January 31, 2024, Don was no longer part of the Life editorial board. He had initially taken a step back to focus on writing his first book, Brief Histories, in 2021. A chunk of the essay collection are expanded works from his Philippine Star column of the same name, where he navigates modern gay life, usually by interfacing with the anime, video games, and albums that made him. He makes sense of the world that way. Media was a mirror into the possibilities of the self.
Don worked closely with Katrina Stuart Santiago and Oliver Ortega, releasing the book under their independent press Everything’s Fine. “I've known Don for far too long,” Katrina remarks in an email to me. The two had met during Don’s time as a staffer in Rogue Magazine — before Katrina eventually made her departure from mainstream publishing. Their paths crossed again whenever he’d give her stories she “couldn’t say no to” for CNN Life, and once more when they were in the talks for him publishing his first book.
The book had gone through many incarnations, both cosmetically, and content-wise. Don learned to give into the process and know when to let go of his sense of control. After months of editing and revising, the book came out in November 2022. “It is exactly the book I would've wanted to read from Don at the point in which we published it. And, I feel, a book that needed to be written first, before he moves on to writing other books,” says Katrina. Don had initially created two different drafts for two entirely different books: one was a collection of film-related writings, and the other was his more personal work. It isn’t difficult to see why he went with the latter. The book is a warm, fuzzy, sometimes self-deprecating, glimpse into his lore. Something like finally breaking through to a cool older cousin in the warm lamplit glow of your family room late at night. It’s now nearly impossible to find in-store or online.
Ever since releasing Brief Histories, Don became interested in the process of bookmaking himself. He officially left CNN Life one year later, in June 2023 — not just in pursuit of his new ambitions but also from the acknowledgement that the work was taking a toll on his body. He was enlisted as an editor for a new publisher, Exploding Galaxies, just in time for their maiden release: a re-issue of Wilfrido Nolledo’s But for the Lovers. After a while, he had to leave for similar reasons. “I really had to fulfill this deal with myself, that I had to rest,” says Don. “Because working in a newsroom for almost 8 years can take a toll on my health, so I had to take a step back. I have to take care of my health first before I can go back to work.”
To Don, bookmaking seems like a more equitable way to live off his current skill set, though he isn’t totally out of the magazine world. For Pride month last year Vogue Philippines tapped him to write a cover story on Bretman Rock.He has another book in the woodwork. Not for himself, but for a client that requires a non-disclosure agreement. It’s easy to tell he’s shifted his headspace in that respect. He doesn’t hesitate to divulge a few trade secrets about making marketing plans, choosing authors, and growing a reader base. Generosity with knowledge comes as second nature to him. Though his new path took some adjustment, the core objective still remains: to say something new.
“May certain level of authority in setting the cultural agenda,” Don tells me. The Life team always wanted to represent underrepresented demographics and voices. Even when writing weekly shopping and event guides, you’d have to consider, Are there enough queer people on this list? How about brands outside of Manila? A sports or entertainment daily was also an opportunity to wax a little poetic about your personal connection to the topic. You were often encouraged to think a little out of ‘the box’ — be it the conventions of the form, or the bubble of your own perspective.
By the time CNN Philippines and all of its verticals had shut down on January 31, 2024, Don was no longer part of the Life editorial board. He had initially taken a step back to focus on writing his first book, Brief Histories, in 2021. A chunk of the essay collection are expanded works from his Philippine Star column of the same name, where he navigates modern gay life, usually by interfacing with the anime, video games, and albums that made him. He makes sense of the world that way. Media was a mirror into the possibilities of the self.
Don worked closely with Katrina Stuart Santiago and Oliver Ortega, releasing the book under their independent press Everything’s Fine. “I've known Don for far too long,” Katrina remarks in an email to me. The two had met during Don’s time as a staffer in Rogue Magazine — before Katrina eventually made her departure from mainstream publishing. Their paths crossed again whenever he’d give her stories she “couldn’t say no to” for CNN Life, and once more when they were in the talks for him publishing his first book.
The book had gone through many incarnations, both cosmetically, and content-wise. Don learned to give into the process and know when to let go of his sense of control. After months of editing and revising, the book came out in November 2022. “It is exactly the book I would've wanted to read from Don at the point in which we published it. And, I feel, a book that needed to be written first, before he moves on to writing other books,” says Katrina. Don had initially created two different drafts for two entirely different books: one was a collection of film-related writings, and the other was his more personal work. It isn’t difficult to see why he went with the latter. The book is a warm, fuzzy, sometimes self-deprecating, glimpse into his lore. Something like finally breaking through to a cool older cousin in the warm lamplit glow of your family room late at night. It’s now nearly impossible to find in-store or online.
Ever since releasing Brief Histories, Don became interested in the process of bookmaking himself. He officially left CNN Life one year later, in June 2023 — not just in pursuit of his new ambitions but also from the acknowledgement that the work was taking a toll on his body. He was enlisted as an editor for a new publisher, Exploding Galaxies, just in time for their maiden release: a re-issue of Wilfrido Nolledo’s But for the Lovers. After a while, he had to leave for similar reasons. “I really had to fulfill this deal with myself, that I had to rest,” says Don. “Because working in a newsroom for almost 8 years can take a toll on my health, so I had to take a step back. I have to take care of my health first before I can go back to work.”
To Don, bookmaking seems like a more equitable way to live off his current skill set, though he isn’t totally out of the magazine world. For Pride month last year Vogue Philippines tapped him to write a cover story on Bretman Rock.He has another book in the woodwork. Not for himself, but for a client that requires a non-disclosure agreement. It’s easy to tell he’s shifted his headspace in that respect. He doesn’t hesitate to divulge a few trade secrets about making marketing plans, choosing authors, and growing a reader base. Generosity with knowledge comes as second nature to him. Though his new path took some adjustment, the core objective still remains: to say something new.
“Isn’t that ironic? Writing ended up paying the bills.”
“She built some kind of world in that book that she gave you access to, and it was just up to you if you would subscribe to it or be part of it,” Don could just go on-and-on about Jessica Zafra, who was basically his entry-point into a pop culture rabbit hole. (Later on, she became something of a mentor to him.) His first (or maybe just favorite) work of hers was Twisted 6, the one where she writes about Requiem of a Dream and Todd Rundgren, which sent him straight to his nearest Video City branch to soak it all up.
He spent his formative years developing his own tastes and sensibilities for pop culture and culture writing. Most of it was spent wandering the aisles of his local National Bookstore after school. It was tucked somewhere between the Duty Free shop and Meat Plus Cafe at the Freeport Zone. If muscle memory would take him anywhere, it’d be the fantasy section. He tells me, “I remember fishing a Sandman: The Doll's House out of the bargain bin and had it signed by Neil Gaiman when he came to Subic for the ad congress. I consider it my lucky book.”
In high school, Don took on an internship program at the City Hall to support his family’s livelihood. He worked under their Communications Office, tasked with archiving any news clippings that mentioned the Olongapo and Subic area. That’s how he fell in love with the paper. He started following columns in Young Star, Philstar Supreme, and Inquirer Super. Spaces he’d later on inhabit. Don has a knack for finding full-circle moments that way. Soon enough, he’d amass a formidable library of glossies too. Issues of Vogue and that he’d find at Booksale at a fraction of their SRP.
He signed up for Tumblr the moment that he read Gino de la Paz’s Philippine Star - Supreme column about it. It was 2007. The platform was used like a spiritual successor to LiveJournal, where you could earnestly blab about your interests in longform. From there, a whole new world opened up. He became a founding contributor for the Pelikula Tumblr, which by the good graces of our tech overlords, is still up on the internet.
From there, Don quickly found his footing in the publication world. But when the time came to choose a career path, he had to make a very panganay decision. Nursing seemed to be a more practical choice. “That was supposed to be lucrative, that was supposed to send me abroad, and send dollars, whatever.” And it wasn’t something he was totally against. He learned to love the vigor of long double-shifts. In the inscription of his signed copy of Sandman, Neil Gaiman wishes him luck in his board exams for nursing. He passed on his first try. It’s just that there was an inevitable tug of fate that led him back to publishing. After college, Don started working for the city again, at the last post he held in high school. Only this time a full-time position. When he found a job posting for the Philippine Star, he decided he’d shoot his shot.
“Isn’t that ironic? Writing ended up paying the bills,” Don says.
He spent his formative years developing his own tastes and sensibilities for pop culture and culture writing. Most of it was spent wandering the aisles of his local National Bookstore after school. It was tucked somewhere between the Duty Free shop and Meat Plus Cafe at the Freeport Zone. If muscle memory would take him anywhere, it’d be the fantasy section. He tells me, “I remember fishing a Sandman: The Doll's House out of the bargain bin and had it signed by Neil Gaiman when he came to Subic for the ad congress. I consider it my lucky book.”
In high school, Don took on an internship program at the City Hall to support his family’s livelihood. He worked under their Communications Office, tasked with archiving any news clippings that mentioned the Olongapo and Subic area. That’s how he fell in love with the paper. He started following columns in Young Star, Philstar Supreme, and Inquirer Super. Spaces he’d later on inhabit. Don has a knack for finding full-circle moments that way. Soon enough, he’d amass a formidable library of glossies too. Issues of Vogue and that he’d find at Booksale at a fraction of their SRP.
He signed up for Tumblr the moment that he read Gino de la Paz’s Philippine Star - Supreme column about it. It was 2007. The platform was used like a spiritual successor to LiveJournal, where you could earnestly blab about your interests in longform. From there, a whole new world opened up. He became a founding contributor for the Pelikula Tumblr, which by the good graces of our tech overlords, is still up on the internet.
From there, Don quickly found his footing in the publication world. But when the time came to choose a career path, he had to make a very panganay decision. Nursing seemed to be a more practical choice. “That was supposed to be lucrative, that was supposed to send me abroad, and send dollars, whatever.” And it wasn’t something he was totally against. He learned to love the vigor of long double-shifts. In the inscription of his signed copy of Sandman, Neil Gaiman wishes him luck in his board exams for nursing. He passed on his first try. It’s just that there was an inevitable tug of fate that led him back to publishing. After college, Don started working for the city again, at the last post he held in high school. Only this time a full-time position. When he found a job posting for the Philippine Star, he decided he’d shoot his shot.
“Isn’t that ironic? Writing ended up paying the bills,” Don says.
When we finally met in person, I asked Don to bring five pieces of physical media that he considers formative. A decision that feels both cheesy and necessary. We met outside of Fully Booked BGC. The de-facto flagship. Once upon a time, it offered five glorious floors of retail space, including a small cinema in the basement floor. The building, designed by Michaela Benedicto, first opened in 2007. It was an enormous, all-encompassing temple to the love of physical media. As I grew older, I noticed the signs of slow decline as most of the CD section was suddenly marked down into the 50-to-100 range. What had once been a section exclusively for coffee table books is now a venue for church meetings. The basement and top floors are now almost exclusively used for storage.
I thought meeting outside Fully Booked would be a cute metaphor but the noise from the rush hour traffic proved challenging. Don — a consummate professional and veteran journalist — graciously offered to provide a backup recording. I tell him it makes me nervous to interview another writer, especially one of his caliber. He tells me he’s not used to being the subject, but that started to change when Brief Histories came out. We chatted and brought out his books and albums. I begin to imagine of those hip and snappy YouTube interview formats that publications use to get clicks. We’d sit across from each other in a sound stage, or maybe a hip sunlit office in Escolta, and talk about his selection. Something with a title like:
I thought meeting outside Fully Booked would be a cute metaphor but the noise from the rush hour traffic proved challenging. Don — a consummate professional and veteran journalist — graciously offered to provide a backup recording. I tell him it makes me nervous to interview another writer, especially one of his caliber. He tells me he’s not used to being the subject, but that started to change when Brief Histories came out. We chatted and brought out his books and albums. I begin to imagine of those hip and snappy YouTube interview formats that publications use to get clicks. We’d sit across from each other in a sound stage, or maybe a hip sunlit office in Escolta, and talk about his selection. Something with a title like:
Printed Matter: Don Jaucian
Fragmented by Up Dhardma Down (2006)
Out of Print: Now tell me about this one.
Don Jaucian: I bought this when I was taking my nursing licensure exams. I was staying in this dingy dorm room with a bunk bed near España. And I treated this like another lucky charm when I was taking the exam. You keep hearing about how difficult it is. You’re under pressure to pass the first time you're taking it.
Did you feel like nursing was for you at the time?
There was a certain time when I was in school that I felt that it was really for me. One of my favorite experiences was in a mental hospital in Bataan. I think I developed a certain I don't want to say passion, but like, affinity for psychiatric nursing. It was a discipline of nursing that really spoke to me. Because it takes a lot of compassion, and understanding people at a psychological level. Why do people do things? I think that’s part of the reason I love watching movies.
Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love (1997) and the Titanic Original Soundtrack (1997)
Don Jaucian: I'm a super fan of the Titanic. I mean, I think this was really the pop culture explosion for me. I always waited for it to play on MTV. Even the radio. I don't know if I liked it because of the movie, or because of the song, or because of the singer. In some way or another, I super liked it. And that opened me up to a whole new world of music.
This soundtrack started my... Not really obsession, but like... After every movie that I’ve watched, I wanted to listen to the score. Even now, I keep a playlist of scores that I like listening to.
Out of Print: Now tell me about this one.
Don Jaucian: I bought this when I was taking my nursing licensure exams. I was staying in this dingy dorm room with a bunk bed near España. And I treated this like another lucky charm when I was taking the exam. You keep hearing about how difficult it is. You’re under pressure to pass the first time you're taking it.
Did you feel like nursing was for you at the time?
There was a certain time when I was in school that I felt that it was really for me. One of my favorite experiences was in a mental hospital in Bataan. I think I developed a certain I don't want to say passion, but like, affinity for psychiatric nursing. It was a discipline of nursing that really spoke to me. Because it takes a lot of compassion, and understanding people at a psychological level. Why do people do things? I think that’s part of the reason I love watching movies.
Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love (1997) and the Titanic Original Soundtrack (1997)
Don Jaucian: I'm a super fan of the Titanic. I mean, I think this was really the pop culture explosion for me. I always waited for it to play on MTV. Even the radio. I don't know if I liked it because of the movie, or because of the song, or because of the singer. In some way or another, I super liked it. And that opened me up to a whole new world of music.
This soundtrack started my... Not really obsession, but like... After every movie that I’ve watched, I wanted to listen to the score. Even now, I keep a playlist of scores that I like listening to.
Newsweek Extra: The 100 Best Movies Ranked by the American Film Institute (1998)
Don Jaucian: So this was, I think, 97? Oh, about 97 or 8. Shit, where's the date? Shit, it's gone.
There's actually a Martin Scorsese article here that I took out, because... I kept a journal of news clippings of Titanic. It's gone now. But the first page of the Martin Scorsese article has the picture of James Cameron with Cate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. It's like a film school in a box.
Out of Print: It makes me miss almanacs. Even the kids ones!
Don Jaucian: A lot of these movies, I still haven't seen. Even Jaws!
Oh me too. What's the biggest blockbuster that you haven't seen?
That, and Citizen Kane. Forrest Gump. Casablanca, I slept through.
I’m too afraid to mention that I’ve never seen the Titanic in its entirety, and mostly know each sequence by Tumblr gifs and cultural osmosis. However, this goes on for both of us for a while.
Don Jaucian: So this was, I think, 97? Oh, about 97 or 8. Shit, where's the date? Shit, it's gone.
There's actually a Martin Scorsese article here that I took out, because... I kept a journal of news clippings of Titanic. It's gone now. But the first page of the Martin Scorsese article has the picture of James Cameron with Cate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. It's like a film school in a box.
Out of Print: It makes me miss almanacs. Even the kids ones!
Don Jaucian: A lot of these movies, I still haven't seen. Even Jaws!
Oh me too. What's the biggest blockbuster that you haven't seen?
That, and Citizen Kane. Forrest Gump. Casablanca, I slept through.
I’m too afraid to mention that I’ve never seen the Titanic in its entirety, and mostly know each sequence by Tumblr gifs and cultural osmosis. However, this goes on for both of us for a while.
Ang Kagila-Gilalas Na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah: Collected Edition ni Carlo Vergara (2002)
Don Jaucian: Zsazsa Zaturnnah was my first Queer book na minahal ko. Copya ata ng boyfriend ko? Wala na akong recollection kung paano ko siya nabasa. This is a very mature book, but parang it was my first time seeing queer bodies on a page. So sensually drawn diba?
I've never heard of this.
It's about — You've never heard of Zsazsa Zaturnnah? Parlorista siya nagiging si Zsazsa Zaturnnah siya pag kumain siya ng bato. He's basically a queer Darna tapos may pagka trans!
Ang ganda. Parang need niya ng reissue. May love team pa. Si Dodong is drawn like the man of your dreams. Parang ganun pa yung type ko when I was growing up. Kasi comic book siya, very shocking to see a visual depiction of queer life instead of just imagining it.
Don Jaucian: Zsazsa Zaturnnah was my first Queer book na minahal ko. Copya ata ng boyfriend ko? Wala na akong recollection kung paano ko siya nabasa. This is a very mature book, but parang it was my first time seeing queer bodies on a page. So sensually drawn diba?
I've never heard of this.
It's about — You've never heard of Zsazsa Zaturnnah? Parlorista siya nagiging si Zsazsa Zaturnnah siya pag kumain siya ng bato. He's basically a queer Darna tapos may pagka trans!
Ang ganda. Parang need niya ng reissue. May love team pa. Si Dodong is drawn like the man of your dreams. Parang ganun pa yung type ko when I was growing up. Kasi comic book siya, very shocking to see a visual depiction of queer life instead of just imagining it.
Rogue Maiden Issue (2007)
Don Jaucian: I have the first issue of Rogue.
Out of Print: Like your first byline sa Rogue?
No, this is the first ever issue of Rogue from 2007. Not the first issue of Rogue na nabili ko, but I think wala sa akin yung copya ko. It was so hard to get this. Nabigay lang sakin because I worked in Rogue. Nakita ko lang sa bahay ng boss ko and he was like, “Oh do you want this?”
He knew I was a Rogue superfan. The team would ask me, “Oh yung Bongbong Marcos story. Ano issue na may ganun? What year?” And I knew the answer. The truth is, I did take a demotion from my last job to start working there. I already had an editorial positon at the Philippine Star but I left to become an editorial assistant at Rogue.
Any highlights from your time there?
We did a feature similar to Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Portfolio series that I wrote. It was on character actors like Joel Torre, Jaclyn Jose, and Angeli Bayani. Ang fun ng shoot kasi nandun silang lahat.
What do you consider to be the “Golden Age” of publishing?
Definitely the 2000s. And that was the time I was there! There was definitely more variation. It wasn’t just fashion magazines. There was a gay tabloid that I wanted to get but di ko ma-summon ang willpower. May nakahubad na lalaki sa cover. They really made magazines for everything. Visiting a newsstand felt like entering a universe of new things!
Don Jaucian: I have the first issue of Rogue.
Out of Print: Like your first byline sa Rogue?
No, this is the first ever issue of Rogue from 2007. Not the first issue of Rogue na nabili ko, but I think wala sa akin yung copya ko. It was so hard to get this. Nabigay lang sakin because I worked in Rogue. Nakita ko lang sa bahay ng boss ko and he was like, “Oh do you want this?”
He knew I was a Rogue superfan. The team would ask me, “Oh yung Bongbong Marcos story. Ano issue na may ganun? What year?” And I knew the answer. The truth is, I did take a demotion from my last job to start working there. I already had an editorial positon at the Philippine Star but I left to become an editorial assistant at Rogue.
Any highlights from your time there?
We did a feature similar to Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Portfolio series that I wrote. It was on character actors like Joel Torre, Jaclyn Jose, and Angeli Bayani. Ang fun ng shoot kasi nandun silang lahat.
What do you consider to be the “Golden Age” of publishing?
Definitely the 2000s. And that was the time I was there! There was definitely more variation. It wasn’t just fashion magazines. There was a gay tabloid that I wanted to get but di ko ma-summon ang willpower. May nakahubad na lalaki sa cover. They really made magazines for everything. Visiting a newsstand felt like entering a universe of new things!
I don't think I'd be writing for Out of Print if Don hadn't tapped me for my first Life assignment. I don’t know if I’d still be writing at all. What was once a secret ambition turned into an accidental side-hustle in my early college days. I applied to Young Star as a graphic designer in 2018. Didn’t make the cut. So I applied again as a social media intern.
Next thing I know, I was cramming dailies while pretending to take notes during class hours. Gaby was the first editor I worked closely with (a former Young Star intern herself,) and with her guidance, I published over 20 articles in the span of the year. Not all of them were stellar, but not many would know because the website was suddenly shut down in 2020. I thought I’d make the editorial board by the time I graduated. Nowadays, a majority of my monthly income is from working at a hip new cafe on the 3rd floor of Fully Booked BGC. I joke that I’m mainly there for the free food.
“It’s almost impossible to subsist on writing alone,” Don tells me. But there are a few things that give him hope about the future of publishing. Everything’s Fine is one of them, as one of the few publishers “who are more aware of the fact that the work has to be more humane to the people who create them.” Print has been having a resurgence, especially among independent creators. In 2023, Everything’s Fine established a brick-and-mortar space in Makati City. Spruce Gallery, an independent magazine shop in Ortigas, opened its doors later that year. Not to mention the illustrious zine community that has long existed and will never cease to exist.
Don has been freelancing since his departure from Exploding Galaxies. He tells me, “I want to know that the next nine-to-five I have is something that I won't regret. Something that will last.” In the meantime, he tells me he’s been indulging in his inner child with a Disney Plus subscription. I notice he lights up the most when we nerd out about Hannah Montana, X-Men, and the underrated classic Ice Princess. He’s been doing his best to enjoy his time off, “I sleep when I think my body wants to sleep in the middle of the day kahit na nakatulog ako for eight hours, natutulog lang ako. Fun naman siya. It’s weird enough that I have control of my time."︎
Next thing I know, I was cramming dailies while pretending to take notes during class hours. Gaby was the first editor I worked closely with (a former Young Star intern herself,) and with her guidance, I published over 20 articles in the span of the year. Not all of them were stellar, but not many would know because the website was suddenly shut down in 2020. I thought I’d make the editorial board by the time I graduated. Nowadays, a majority of my monthly income is from working at a hip new cafe on the 3rd floor of Fully Booked BGC. I joke that I’m mainly there for the free food.
“It’s almost impossible to subsist on writing alone,” Don tells me. But there are a few things that give him hope about the future of publishing. Everything’s Fine is one of them, as one of the few publishers “who are more aware of the fact that the work has to be more humane to the people who create them.” Print has been having a resurgence, especially among independent creators. In 2023, Everything’s Fine established a brick-and-mortar space in Makati City. Spruce Gallery, an independent magazine shop in Ortigas, opened its doors later that year. Not to mention the illustrious zine community that has long existed and will never cease to exist.
Don has been freelancing since his departure from Exploding Galaxies. He tells me, “I want to know that the next nine-to-five I have is something that I won't regret. Something that will last.” In the meantime, he tells me he’s been indulging in his inner child with a Disney Plus subscription. I notice he lights up the most when we nerd out about Hannah Montana, X-Men, and the underrated classic Ice Princess. He’s been doing his best to enjoy his time off, “I sleep when I think my body wants to sleep in the middle of the day kahit na nakatulog ako for eight hours, natutulog lang ako. Fun naman siya. It’s weird enough that I have control of my time."︎
Andi Osmeña is a designer, writer, and nightlife organizer.