This 2021, you can expand your reading list and consider these Filipino writers and publishers. With the country’s notoriously fickle internet connectivity and the continuing danger of physical contact, I find books a safe remedy to the growing loneliness of lockdown. Many local cultural workers and institutions, despite the punishing circumstances of this current crisis, are putting out work, which deserve a much larger audience. This 2021, you can expand your reading list and consider these Filipino writers and publishers. National Publishers The country’s biggest publishers often still have books worth checking out. Anvil Publishing has repackaged several Filipino classics for a contemporary audience, including Manuel Arguilla, Lope K. Santos, and the always fabulous Nick Joaquin. Books from the dearly departed Visprint Inc — Bob Ong’s bestsellers, Agay Llanera’s heartfelt “Choco Chip Hips,” “Kikomachine,” and “Trese” comics — have found a second life in Avenida Books.