A life of words and community
Author and publisher Reni Roxas grew up in an entrepreneurial household. “But I myself cared little for numbers (or rather, numbers didn’t like me),” she quips. “It was words I loved. I adored sentences and paragraphs. And because entrepreneurship also ran in my blood, I somehow fell into publishing.”
Since founding Tahanan Books for Young Readers in 1991, Roxas has dedicated more than three decades to producing children’s books.
“Children’s books reflect our unique culture, history, and values, and as such, they play a vital role in nation-building,” she says.
Among the works she’s written are bilingual picture books, “Ay, Naku!” and “Meme,” which help Filipino families, especially those in the diaspora, connect with their mother tongue. “Filipino is deliciously onomatopoeic,” she says. “I’d like to think our books make learning Filipino fun,” she says.
Aside from publishing, Roxas is passionate about empowering women writers themselves. “Without question, the Philippines needs more women producing short stories, memoirs, plays, and novels,” she says. “But where can a Pinay… go to deepen her craft and writing life? That’s where Women Writing steps in.”
Roxas co-founded Women Writing in 2022. “Every woman must have… a room of her own if she is to write fiction,” she quotes Virginia Woolf. Now in its fifth year, the collective offers workshops and safe creative spaces for Filipinas.
Writing freezes time, and the most fulfillment for Roxas comes from a legacy through the written word. “Writers are some of the luckiest people in the world because they can leave a piece of themselves behind that has a chance to endure,” she reflects.
Through Tahanan Books and Women Writing, Roxas exemplifies how literature can shape culture for the better, form communities conscious of culture, and maybe even cement futures, inspiring the next generation of storytellers all the while, imaginations abound.
