shorter, snappier version
Guilty Reads is a (confession) room for creatives and storytellers who love fun, chaotic energy (in a good way), and keeping it real. What started with one kilig anthology turned into a support system for each other throughout the years. When we’re not busy navigating adulthood and digging deep into our various interests, we do passion projects, fun collaborations, and manuscript editing. To not forget our whys, our main vision is world domination, but if we’re keeping it lowkey, we just share our motto circa 2017: “angat ng isa, angat ng lahat.”
the longer version
Guilty Reads started because of a yearning for kilig.It was the year 2017 when the founder, Rayne, launched a call for submissions as a joke and self-published it as a book – #APSHRavctthINSU, an anthology of love stories revolving around her as the female lead. The willing victims (aka writers involved) were people she met from Wattpad, and it became the perfect recipe to form a community around one central theme–Rayne–storytelling! We mean, deepening the love for storytelling, yes! :)In 2020, the floodgates opened to invite more creatives and storytellers looking for a serious community, yet they landed in a somewhat fun group with chaotic activities. With a bigger circle came expanded themes of exploring designs, perspectives, and authenticity. We watched each other giggle with our crushes and cry through growing pains.Years later, with 30 members in, we’re still active in project collaborations, editing manuscripts for other authors, and hyperfixating on various interests while navigating adulthood. Our goal remains the same–keep digging into who we are and what we can offer the world while expanding our horizons, without forgetting our “whys” in the process.“Angat ng isa, angat ng lahat” carried us through phases of creative blocks, blank pages, and writing slumps. (yes, we know they’re the same thing, we love synonyms in threes here xD) Years later, we’re still living by this philosophy in our own authentic (sometimes chill, sometimes chaotic), fun way.Note: For branding purposes, this is explicitly substance and line edited to communicate our specific tone. Fret not, we can comb through manuscripts and projects with a heart to bring the best out of them.
original text: rayne mariano
revision: kyrra saoy and rayne marianofeedback: d. lavigne, yanna tuna, precious maye, chiisai, maureen kim, justine montoya, zyron zester, endee, floe adohira
