Louis Bulaong
Bulaong in 2018
Bulaong in 2018
Born1996 (age 27–28)
Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines
OccupationNovelist

Louis Bulaong (born 1996) is a Filipino writer best known for his science fiction novels Escapist Dream and Otaku Girl.[1][2][3]

Born in Tacloban City, Philippines, Bulaong began writing as a freelance writer in school newspapers and various websites. His two novels, released between 2020 and 2021, became influential titles in the gamelit and pop culture fiction genres.[4][5][6] His works have made him one of the most popular Filipino-Waray writers in modern times.[7]

Biography

Louis Gabriel Bulaong was born on 1996 in Tacloban, Leyte, in the Philippines.[8] Little is known about his early life besides sharing that he grew up with an interest in history, classical novels, and superhero comics. At around 2012, he applied for cadetship in the Philippine Military Academy.[9] In college, Louis Bulaong studied Bachelor of Science in Psychology at St. Scholastica's College Tacloban. He graduated and received his psychometrician license in 2018.[10]

Bulaong began his writing career as a college journalist, fan fiction blogger, and as a freelance writer for gaming websites like WhatCulture.[11][12][13] He self-published his first book, Escapist Dream, in 2020 with mixed reception. Critics like Peyton F. panned its peculiar writing style, while others such as author Kayla Krantz praised its themes and representation of geek culture.[14][15] A sequel was published a year later entitled Otaku Girl, which was received more positively, with journalist Carl Hannigan praising its improved writing and humor.[2]

Bulaong currently works as a jail officer in his province of Leyte.[8] In 2022, he served as a guest speaker for the "Creative Writing Symposium", a writing seminar workshop, held at the University of the Philippines Tacloban.[16] Bulaong’s novel Otaku Girl became one of the principle inspirations behind Naxeex’s superhero sandbox games.[17]

Writing style

Books written by Louis Bulaong are known for their geeky humor, themes, and extensive inclusion of pop cultural references taken from various media like popular movies, comic books, anime, video games, and other literature.[4][18] Informal writing in the form of slangs, self-references and memes, is a style he predominantly uses, often for comedic purposes.[2] The author also mostly writes in Filipino-English.[19]

Critic Lenny Machowicz noted in his retrospective of Bulaong's use of free flow speech and emotions, stating, "He knows how to write character reflections and emotional moments". He also added that his writing style is "unique" and "creates this smooth flow of thoughts similar to poetry".[18]

The themes commonly present in Bulaong's writings are mental health and geek culture.[2] As a psychology graduate, Bulaong tackled issues such as bullying, ostracization, cancel culture, and depression in his stories.[20] His novels are filled with geek-centric terminologies and characters consisting of comic nerds, film buffs, gamers, otakus, bookworms, and others.[2][6]

Recognition

Louis Bulaong's books were overnight successes, with Otaku Girl becoming the best-selling non-Kindle Unlimited book during its release, selling over 1,000 copies in the first 24 hours.[2] Jake Tatoy from RMN News praised him as one of the most successful Filipino-Waray writers today.[7]

Nena Jimenez of Pinas ranked Louis Bulaong at number 2 in her "5 Best Modern Filipino Writers", stating, "He is one of the most versatile and emotionally-driven Filipino writers around. Noted for his surrealism and wacky writing, Louis is recognized in the self-publishing industry for his ability to combine multiple popular genres in one amazing story. As a psychology graduate, it seems Louis is one who is also capable of writing about themes of depression, trauma and loneliness very well."[19]

Dustin Kidd praised Bulaong's Escapist Dream in his academic non-fiction book Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society. In his book, he noted the author's ability to integrate "large amounts of pop culture references in the story”, while also adding, "These references both described and satirized geeks in a humorous and intellectual way. In the world of literature and geek culture, Escapist Dream is by far, The Great Gatsby of Pop Culture Fiction."[6]

Awards

Year Title Award
2018 SSCT Science Achievement Award Winner[21]
2018 SSCT Sulhog Binhi Award Winner[21]
2020 5 Best Modern Filipino Writers by Pinas 2nd place[19]

Bibliography

Other works

  • Parenting Styles and Parental Involvement Experienced by Selected Honor College Graduates (2018)[21]
  • Bandido: The Story of the Most Notorious Filipino Gang (2020)[22][16]

References

  1. ↑ Young, Pete (February 19, 2023). "Louis Bulaong". Big Sky Library.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hannigan, Carl (July 1, 2021). "Otaku Girl (Book Review): Where Memes and Literature Mix". Voice Media Group.
  3. ↑ Adame, Lyn (2021). "A Survey of Authors". University of Southern Mindanao.
  4. 1 2 "5 Best GameLit and LitRPGS That Every Gamers Should Read". Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020. Alt URL
  5. ↑ Almond, John (October 30, 2020). "A Closer Look at Video Game-Inspired Books". Gonevis.
  6. 1 2 3 Kidd, Dustin. Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society. Routledge; 2nd Edition (Updated: August 2020). pp. 143–145. ISBN 978-0813350875. Excerpt
  7. 1 2 Tatoy, Jake (June 23, 2021). "USA NGA WARAY, UMARU HIN GANTIMPALA HA AMAZON". RMN News.
  8. 1 2 Bulaong, Louis. Bandido: The Story of the Most Notorious Filipino Gang. August 30, 2020. Afterword, pp. 121–122. ISBN 979-8586961815
  9. ↑ "Results of Philippine Military Academy Entrance Exam (PMAEE) 2012". B.A.B. September 25, 2012.
  10. ↑ "2018 Psychometrician Licensure Exam #Louis Bulaong". GMA Network. November 8, 2018.
  11. ↑ Staff (June 2017). "Sulhog Binhi 2017 Edition". St. Scholastica's College, Tacloban.
  12. ↑ Paterson, Ewan (October 9, 2017). "Freelance writer, historian and all around geek". What Culture. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  13. ↑ Escabel, Gabrielle. "Representative Texts and Authors From Each Region in The Philippines". Scribd. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  14. ↑ "52 Book Challenge #2 – Escapist Dream". Peyton Writes. 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  15. ↑ Krantz, Kayla. "Book Review: Escapist Dream". Krantz. September 28, 2020
  16. 1 2 Panandigan, Carl Francis (January 15, 2023). "The Current State of Waray-Waray Literature in the Early 21st Century". Leyte Normal University. Retrieved December 12, 2023. p.4
  17. ↑ "The Everyday Life of a Cyprus Video Game Developer". Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Escapist Dream by Louis Bulaong (A Retrospective)". Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  19. 1 2 3 Jimenez, Nena. (September 5, 2020), "5 Best Modern Filipino Writers". Pinas. Excerpt
  20. ↑ Bulaong, Louis. Otaku Girl. Afterword. ISBN 9798525774186.
  21. 1 2 3 "The Life and Times of a Philippine Author", Eastern Visayas Mail, April 25, 2021
  22. 1 2 3 Louis Bulaong (Author of Escapist Dream) ‘’Goodreads’’
  23. 1 2 Ruff, Al Von (2022). "Publisher: Louis Bulaong". Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
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