VETERAN BROADCAST journalist Horacio “Howie” Gorospe Severino will officially launch his first book in two decades at the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) on Sept. 11.
His book titled “People I Knew: And Some I Didn’t But Wrote About Them Anyway” features essays and profiles on prominent figures in politics, media, the clergy and the arts whom he covered throughout his career. It will be released under the UST Publishing House.
The event was announced by the University’s publishing arm in a Facebook post on Thursday, Aug. 27.
UST Publishing House Deputy Director Asst. Prof. Paul Castillo previously told The Flame that the book blends factual reporting with literary writing to reintroduce Severino’s previous articles to modern readers.
Severino’s much-anticipated comeback leads a diverse roster of nine new titles being rolled out by Asia’s oldest continuously operating printing press for MIBF 2026.
Other releases include works by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Sócrates Villegas, poet Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta, author Karl De Mesa, Epifanio San Juan Sr., UST National Writers Workshop alumnus John Leihmar Toledo, playwright and author Ma. Cecilia De La Rosa, and University of the Philippines Diliman professors Rommel Rodriguez, Mykel Andrada and Emil Frances Flores.
The official launch for Severino’s new title will take place from 4 to 5 a.m. at the Mini Stage on the second floor of the SMX Convention Center. It will be followed by a meet-and-greet and book signing session from 5:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The release will mark the journalist’s first book in 20 years, following his 2006 work “Investigative Reporting for Television in Southeast Asia,” which he co-authored with Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism co-founder Sheila Coronel.
Severino is a prominent figure in Philippine broadcasting as a documentarist for GMA Network’s “i-Witness,” its most awarded documentary program. He is also the editor-at-large for GMA News Online and a consultant for GMA News.
The MIBF is the country’s largest and longest-running book fair. The five-day event will run from September 9 to 13 at the SMX Convention Center Manila at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City. F
