Victor Manibo
@victormanibo.com
Author of THE SLEEPLESS (2022), ESCAPE VELOCITY (2024), DEAD NOTE (5/15/2025), and THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED (11/25/2025) • Lambda Literary Fellow • NYC via MNL • he/him 🏳️🌈
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Victor Manibo
@victormanibo.com
· Nov 8
What a writer finds beautiful and moving, what they write about as aesthetically pleasing, what they struggle to and manage to get in front of a reader as a thing of beauty—all of that, independent of the “message” or “moral” or “theme”, is political
My deepest thanks, Clay! What a spectacular night. I’m so glad we got to do this
Just want to say thanks to both Victor Manibo and The Strand Bookstore for letting me join in the fun tonight for the release of THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED, which hits shelves tomorrow. This lush gothic horror is gorgeous and grotesque and so good @erewhonbooks.bsky.social @strandbookstore.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 8:06 PM
My deepest thanks, Clay! What a spectacular night. I’m so glad we got to do this
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Just want to say thanks to both Victor Manibo and The Strand Bookstore for letting me join in the fun tonight for the release of THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED, which hits shelves tomorrow. This lush gothic horror is gorgeous and grotesque and so good @erewhonbooks.bsky.social @strandbookstore.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Just want to say thanks to both Victor Manibo and The Strand Bookstore for letting me join in the fun tonight for the release of THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED, which hits shelves tomorrow. This lush gothic horror is gorgeous and grotesque and so good @erewhonbooks.bsky.social @strandbookstore.bsky.social
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Last picture from last night’s Strand event, compliments of Christy. Think it’s my favorite because it shows how much fun you can have talking about books you love. @strandbookstore.bsky.social @victormanibo.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Last picture from last night’s Strand event, compliments of Christy. Think it’s my favorite because it shows how much fun you can have talking about books you love. @strandbookstore.bsky.social @victormanibo.com
Reposted by Victor Manibo
The JAB team had a great time at the launch event for THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED at The Strand✨
@victormanibo.com and @claymcleod.bsky.social discussed the journey of pivoting into horror writing, weaving colonialism into the Gothic, and... sexy gravedigging (you'll have to read the book for this one)
@victormanibo.com and @claymcleod.bsky.social discussed the journey of pivoting into horror writing, weaving colonialism into the Gothic, and... sexy gravedigging (you'll have to read the book for this one)
November 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
The JAB team had a great time at the launch event for THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED at The Strand✨
@victormanibo.com and @claymcleod.bsky.social discussed the journey of pivoting into horror writing, weaving colonialism into the Gothic, and... sexy gravedigging (you'll have to read the book for this one)
@victormanibo.com and @claymcleod.bsky.social discussed the journey of pivoting into horror writing, weaving colonialism into the Gothic, and... sexy gravedigging (you'll have to read the book for this one)
Reposted by Victor Manibo
HAPPY THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED DAY @victormanibo.com
what's this? a blog post
I wrote some words about THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED by @victormanibo.com because if there's a gothic you want to add to your TBR, this sure is it
jowritesfantasy.me/2025/08/31/a...
I wrote some words about THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED by @victormanibo.com because if there's a gothic you want to add to your TBR, this sure is it
jowritesfantasy.me/2025/08/31/a...
ARC Review: THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED by Victor Manibo (2025)
OUT ON NOVEMBER 25th, 2025: An adult gothic horror about a family grappling with the death of its patriarch, whose ties to the Marcos regime makes this a modern gothic which understands the genre a…
jowritesfantasy.me
November 25, 2025 at 4:12 PM
HAPPY THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED DAY @victormanibo.com
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Happy #bookbirthday to THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED by @victormanibo.com! 🎉
"Manibo has written a chilling gothic tale, using classic tropes to explore history, corruption, and injustices, both of the nation and the family"
—Library Journal
awfulagent.com/ebooks/the-v...
"Manibo has written a chilling gothic tale, using classic tropes to explore history, corruption, and injustices, both of the nation and the family"
—Library Journal
awfulagent.com/ebooks/the-v...
The Villa, Once Beloved – JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc
awfulagent.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Happy #bookbirthday to THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED by @victormanibo.com! 🎉
"Manibo has written a chilling gothic tale, using classic tropes to explore history, corruption, and injustices, both of the nation and the family"
—Library Journal
awfulagent.com/ebooks/the-v...
"Manibo has written a chilling gothic tale, using classic tropes to explore history, corruption, and injustices, both of the nation and the family"
—Library Journal
awfulagent.com/ebooks/the-v...
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Can someone go in my stead? This book fucking ruled and I wish Victor a very happy release week
LAUNCH EVENT! Join me at the Strand as we usher into the world my gothic horror child, with one of my horror idols @claymcleod.bsky.social (Jsyk, his delicious new book Acquired Taste pairs well with mine, so go pick it up).
More book tour stops coming soon but if you’re in NY, grab your tix now ⬇️
More book tour stops coming soon but if you’re in NY, grab your tix now ⬇️
November 24, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Can someone go in my stead? This book fucking ruled and I wish Victor a very happy release week
TONIGHT TONIGHT
LAUNCH EVENT! Join me at the Strand as we usher into the world my gothic horror child, with one of my horror idols @claymcleod.bsky.social (Jsyk, his delicious new book Acquired Taste pairs well with mine, so go pick it up).
More book tour stops coming soon but if you’re in NY, grab your tix now ⬇️
More book tour stops coming soon but if you’re in NY, grab your tix now ⬇️
November 24, 2025 at 3:35 PM
TONIGHT TONIGHT
Reposted by Victor Manibo
COVER REVEAL: My next book is a standalone science fiction cyberpunk thriller starring aging corporate samurai. The Last Contract of Isako will be out on May 5, 2026 from @orbitbooks.bsky.social. Can't wait to share it with you. Thank you to @tommypocket.bsky.social for this kickass cover ⚔️
November 22, 2025 at 1:13 AM
COVER REVEAL: My next book is a standalone science fiction cyberpunk thriller starring aging corporate samurai. The Last Contract of Isako will be out on May 5, 2026 from @orbitbooks.bsky.social. Can't wait to share it with you. Thank you to @tommypocket.bsky.social for this kickass cover ⚔️
Reposted by Victor Manibo
I've just started reading the ARC and it is excellent, as expected.
COVER REVEAL: My next book is a standalone science fiction cyberpunk thriller starring aging corporate samurai. The Last Contract of Isako will be out on May 5, 2026 from @orbitbooks.bsky.social. Can't wait to share it with you. Thank you to @tommypocket.bsky.social for this kickass cover ⚔️
November 22, 2025 at 8:22 AM
I've just started reading the ARC and it is excellent, as expected.
Reposted by Victor Manibo
The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo is a compelling gothic horror complete with an atmospheric estate, a mysterious family legacy involving a curse, and an innocent young woman at the center. #BookSky TY #NetGalley, @kensingtonbooks.bsky.social, & @rbmediaco.bsky.social for the ARCs.
The Villa, Once Beloved — CandiKat Horror
The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo is a compelling gothic horror complete with an atmospheric estate, a mysterious family legacy involving a curse, and an innocent young woman at the center.
candikathorror.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:55 PM
The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo is a compelling gothic horror complete with an atmospheric estate, a mysterious family legacy involving a curse, and an innocent young woman at the center. #BookSky TY #NetGalley, @kensingtonbooks.bsky.social, & @rbmediaco.bsky.social for the ARCs.
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Be on the Look Out For ... THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED by Victor Manibo, releasing later this month!
Look Out For … The Villa, Once Beloved by Victor Manibo
“With his horror fiction debut, Manibo presents a cursed family manor, tapping into the Philippines’ oppressive history with a nightmarish gothic tale.” Villa Sepulveda, a Spanish…
www.thisishorror.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Be on the Look Out For ... THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED by Victor Manibo, releasing later this month!
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Authors this round include @kashinggiwa.bsky.social, @colinthecopywriter.bsky.social, @peterclines.bsky.social, @amalelmohtar.com / @maxgladstone.bsky.social, @jeremyteg.bsky.social, @victormanibo.com, @alexsegura.bsky.social, and more!
transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...
transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...
11 new SF/F books to check out this November
Hidden secrets, uninhabitable planets, secret worlds, and quite a bit more to check out
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
November 20, 2025 at 2:12 PM
BROOKLYN! Join me and bestselling author @ryanlasala.bsky.social in celebrating the launch of THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED on 12/9, 6 PM at The Twisted Spine! More info ⬇️
November 19, 2025 at 6:56 PM
BROOKLYN! Join me and bestselling author @ryanlasala.bsky.social in celebrating the launch of THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED on 12/9, 6 PM at The Twisted Spine! More info ⬇️
Reposted by Victor Manibo
For this month's newsletter, I wrote about inventing neologisms and what Ursula K. Le Guin called "box-words," with examples from China Miéville's excellent novel EMBASSYTOWN. Includes an assist from Samuel Delany, who helped me see how to introduce terms to readers without unnecessary exposition.
#57: Worldbuilding with Neologisms and "Box-Words"
China Miéville, Ursula K. Le Guin, Samuel Delany
mattbell.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:34 PM
For this month's newsletter, I wrote about inventing neologisms and what Ursula K. Le Guin called "box-words," with examples from China Miéville's excellent novel EMBASSYTOWN. Includes an assist from Samuel Delany, who helped me see how to introduce terms to readers without unnecessary exposition.
Reposted by Victor Manibo
We ask you to kindly lay down your Edmund Fitzgerald commemorative baseball hats and tune into @emilyhughes.bsky.social's November Horror Highlights, where she asks for 2026 horror recommendations and provides a few new release suggestions of her own!
Abandoned Mines and Secret Societies: Horror Highlights for November 2025 - Reactor
Spooky Season doesn't have to end with October!
reactormag.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:18 PM
We ask you to kindly lay down your Edmund Fitzgerald commemorative baseball hats and tune into @emilyhughes.bsky.social's November Horror Highlights, where she asks for 2026 horror recommendations and provides a few new release suggestions of her own!
Reposted by Victor Manibo
my November horror highlights column is live at @reactorsff.bsky.social! feat. @beatriceiker.bsky.social, @victormanibo.com, @peterclines.bsky.social, and more!
We ask you to kindly lay down your Edmund Fitzgerald commemorative baseball hats and tune into @emilyhughes.bsky.social's November Horror Highlights, where she asks for 2026 horror recommendations and provides a few new release suggestions of her own!
Abandoned Mines and Secret Societies: Horror Highlights for November 2025 - Reactor
Spooky Season doesn't have to end with October!
reactormag.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
my November horror highlights column is live at @reactorsff.bsky.social! feat. @beatriceiker.bsky.social, @victormanibo.com, @peterclines.bsky.social, and more!
Reposted by Victor Manibo
AMAZING lineup for the in-person SF launch of WE WILL RISE AGAIN, the speculative fiction anthology about activism co-edited by @annaleen.bsky.social @drkarenlord.bsky.social and yours truly!
Join EFF at The Booksmith on Dec 2 at 7 PM in San Francisco to celebrate We Will Rise Again, a new collection of speculative stories exploring progressive social change from writers around the world. www.eff.org/event/we-wi...
We Will Rise Again at The Booksmith
The Booksmith is proud to be celebrating the release of We Will Rise Again with Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders, Reo Eveleth, Cindy Cohn, Andrea Dehlendorf, and Vida James.When:Tuesday, December
www.eff.org
November 18, 2025 at 2:17 PM
AMAZING lineup for the in-person SF launch of WE WILL RISE AGAIN, the speculative fiction anthology about activism co-edited by @annaleen.bsky.social @drkarenlord.bsky.social and yours truly!
Reposted by Victor Manibo
As promised, here is the cover for Muñeca, out June of 2026!
Described thusly: A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788211...
Described thusly: A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788211...
November 18, 2025 at 12:16 AM
As promised, here is the cover for Muñeca, out June of 2026!
Described thusly: A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788211...
Described thusly: A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process.
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788211...
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Find your next favorite #HorrorAuthors with these #horror #NewReleases
@victormanibo.com
@gavingsmith.bsky.social
@conradjones.bsky.social
@titanbooks.bsky.social @erewhonbooks.bsky.social @poisonedpenbooks.bsky.social
@victormanibo.com
@gavingsmith.bsky.social
@conradjones.bsky.social
@titanbooks.bsky.social @erewhonbooks.bsky.social @poisonedpenbooks.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Keeping Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner is an unforced error for reasons concerning her specifically, the NYPD broadly, and the moment that we're in politically. An ICE collaborator cannot be trusted to protect New Yorkers. @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social should make her a different offer.
Mamdani's NYC Can't Afford NYPD Commissioner Tisch
With ICE on its way, how can we expect an ICE collaborator to protect New Yorkers? Here's a compromise: make Tisch sanitation commissioner again
www.forever-wars.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Keeping Jessica Tisch as NYPD commissioner is an unforced error for reasons concerning her specifically, the NYPD broadly, and the moment that we're in politically. An ICE collaborator cannot be trusted to protect New Yorkers. @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social should make her a different offer.
Ends today!
My tropical Gothic horror novel THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED is almost here and now you can get a chance at a finished copy before pub date, thanks to this Goodreads giveaway! Entry details below
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Ends today!
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Reposted by Victor Manibo
Happy paperback day to Dead Girls Don’t Dream! Now with a bonus playlist in the back, which are all songs I both listened to incessantly while writing this, and songs that are thematically or vibe-ally resonant. Available wherever books are sold, and signed copies thru @astoriabookshop.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Happy paperback day to Dead Girls Don’t Dream! Now with a bonus playlist in the back, which are all songs I both listened to incessantly while writing this, and songs that are thematically or vibe-ally resonant. Available wherever books are sold, and signed copies thru @astoriabookshop.bsky.social