Det Neri
Bernadette “Det” Villanueva Neri is a professor in the Department of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman. She coined the term naratibô as a conscious process of writing about the Filipina lesbian experience. She is a six-time Palanca awardee and she also received the Metro Manila Commission’s Professorial Chair Award for her study and video documentary “Mula Irurulong tungong Gabaldon: Isang Panimulang Pag-aaral sa Dokumentaryo bilang Alternatibong Lunsaran ng Lokal at Oral na Kasaysayan ng Isang Bayan.” She served as coordinator of the UP Diliman Gender Office (2013–2015) and deputy director of the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (2016–2017). Det has authored several illustrated children’s books, including Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin (2012), which tells the story of a child with two mothers, Ang Misteryo ng Patong-patong na Damit ni Hulyan (2021), which tackles online sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the Philippines, and Si Gren, ang Kaibigan kong Alien (2024), which explore friendship despite differences and was written for the GMA teleserye “My Guardian Alien.” She can be reached through her Instagram account @detneri.

By the end of this session, you will...
This class is for…
- Fiction writers interested in queer narratives
- Writers looking to strengthen characterization
- Readers curious about queer literature
- Anyone interested in more human-centered storytelling

