Meet the people behind Dumaguete Literary Festival
A collective of writers, organizers, and creatives building spaces for stories to be shared, ideas to be exchanged, and the local literary scene to keep growing.
Ian Rosales Casocot
Executive Director
Ian teaches literature, creative writing, and film at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines where he was Founding Coordinator of the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center. He is the author of several books, including the fiction collections Don’t Tell Anyone, Bamboo Girls, Heartbreak & Magic, and Beautiful Accidents. He has won the Palanca nine times for his fiction, plays, and children’s poetry. In 2008, his novel Sugar Land was longlisted in the Man Asian Literary Prize. He was Writer-in-Residence for the International Writers Program of the University of Iowa in 2010, and produced the film City of Literature, directed by Zhao Lewis Liu
Gayle Acar
Festival Director
Gayle Acar is an artist and owner of LibrAria Books, an independent bookshop in Dumaguete. After graduating from the UP College of Fine Arts, she pursued careers in the creative fields of music, fashion, and graphic design. She moved from Manila to Dumaguete in 2022 with her husband Ernest, and their children Aria and Elora.
Ernest Acar
Finance Manager and Marketing
Ernest Acar is a storyteller who brings brands to life through numbers, frameworks, and visual notes. As a business consultant and the CEO and Managing Partner of UNA by Backpack Solutions, he helps organizations grow through brand direction, content alchemy, business strategy, digital maturity, and customer-focused innovation. He is also a visual scribe at Just Guhit, translating conversations and ideas into visual narratives.
He serves on the Board of Directors of Arts and Design Collective – Dumaguete City, where he is also involved in partnerships and finance. Ernest is likewise part of the core team of the Duma Literary Festival, helping shape one of Dumaguete’s key cultural platforms.
Renz Torres
Hospitality and Guest Relations Officer
Renz Torres is a fictionist, event host, and food writer from Dumaguete City. He has authored the fiction collection The Hoopoe Stories, the food essay collection Curiosity Cured the Duck, and the children’s book Sami Has a Secret. He has written for several publications including Adobo, YoungSTAR, and the Dumaguete MetroPost, where he co-writes a food column with Ian Casocot called the Culinary Cuts. He was a special fellow for fiction on the 53rd Silliman University National Writers Workshop in 2014 and has won second place in the 2018 Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Essay Writing Contest. He was part of the pioneering team that opened the Dumaguete branch of the National Museum of the Philippines, working on guiding guests through the exhibits and managing their social media pages. He co-manages Duma Alt Press, an indie press for writers in Dumaguete. When he’s not working, he likes to cook and to listen to pop music.
Tara de Leon
Volunteer Coordinator
Tara de Leon is a Dumaguete-based multi-media artist, writer, and cultural organizer. She is a member of the Buglas Writers Guild and part of DumAlt.press, an independent micro-press supporting local and emerging literary voices. She also works with the Arts and Design Collective Dumaguete on community arts and creative initiatives. She was a fellow for fiction at the 58th Silliman University National Writers Workshop.
Kaycee Melon
Logistics Coordinator
Kaycee is a full-time faculty member at Silliman University, teaching Literature and writing classes in the Senior High School. Additionally, she is the Coordinator of the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center, and also the Coordinator of the Silliman University National Writers Workshop.
Noraine G. Puengan
Community Engagement
Let’s Get Lit Icon-in-Chief
Best known as Patch, is a writer, gender rights advocate and community organizer. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing in Silliman University. In 2021, Patch received a special drama fellowship in the 60th Silliman National Writers Workshop. She won the Essay Writing Competition of the Scranton Women’s Leadership Center in both 2022 and 2023, securing a two- year scholarship. She is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Literary Studies at Silliman University. At the same time she is working as a full time writer and a part time instructor of Gender and Society Studies in Negros Oriental State University. Through her work, she actively pursues her passion across multiple fields.
Lyde Villanueva
Communications Director
Lyde holds a degree in Mass Communication from Silliman University and is currently an MFA candidate in Creative Writing at De La Salle University-Manila. A fellow of the 52nd Silliman University National Writers Workshop for poetry, his work has appeared in The Sunday Times Magazine, Inquirer.net, The Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Buglas Journal, and The Tint Journal. His chapbook, Made Easy, was published in 2019, and he is a recipient of the Palanca Award for poetry.
Jan V. Barga
Technical Manager
Jan Barga is an entrepreneur, musician, driftwood artist, music event organizer, and mentor active in Dumaguete’s creative scene. A founding member of the Belltower Project, he has helped shape the local music landscape for over a decade through artist compilations and by paving the way for new collectives. He champions local music and up-and-coming artists through his work programming and producing events, including for the Dumaguete Literary Festival.