Class Course The Artist

Beyond Representation: Writing Queer Characters

By Det Neri
1 Session
July 11, 2026
10AM to 12NN
2F Comuna bldg, 238 Pablo Ocampo Sr. Ext, Makati City, 1203, Metro Manila

How do we flesh out queer characters in Fiction? In this Pride Month workshop, writer and professor Det Neri explores the foundations of queer literature through character-building. Grounded in the Filipino value of kapwa at pakikipagkapwa-tao, the session examines how identity, experience, and empathy shape compelling fictional lives.

Participants will develop characters with greater depth, complexity, and emotional truth; they are encouraged to write in English, Filipino, or a language you’re comfortable with.

This class may be taken for PHP 1500.

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.
Det Neri

By the end of this session, you will...

Understand key ideas on gender and sexuality and apply it in queer literature

Create more nuanced queer characters

Avoid common stereotypes in representation

Develop new character sketches or story drafts

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

Beyond Representation: Writing Queer Characters

How do we flesh out queer characters in Fiction? In this Pride Month workshop, writer and professor Det Neri explores the foundations of queer literature through character-building. Grounded in the Filipino value of kapwa at pakikipagkapwa-tao, the session examines how identity, experience, and empathy shape compelling fictional lives.

Participants will develop characters with greater depth, complexity, and emotional truth; they are encouraged to write in English, Filipino, or a language you’re comfortable with.

This class may be taken for PHP 1500.

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