Photographer Shaira Luna, who has made a name for herself with dreamy, nostalgia-tinted visuals, makes her book debut through a short story collection that illuminates the murky memories her intimate images seem to recall.


Out soon from Summit Books is Playing Long After Us, a visual short story collection featuring the poignant photography that has become Shaira’s trademark, this time perfectly accompanied by tender prose by FHM Philippines editor-in-chief Anton D. Umali and In Case You Come Back author Marla Miniano.


In Playing Long After Us are five love stories set in five different decades—from the 50s to the 90s, from the initial sting of that first love to the enduring pain over a lost one. These five stories were shot beautifully in different locations in Manila, California, and Australia, with one of them featuring an appearance by the members of breakthrough OPM band IV of Spades.


In his introduction, National Book Award-winning author Sarge Lacuesta writes, “Whether it is of a wet girl in a shadowy bath or a tender young couple holding hands in a city street under a summer sky, a Shaira Luna photograph refuses to be placed and escapes capture.” Readers only need to flip the pages of Playing Long After Us to see what he means: Shaira’s photos seem to have a story to share, a secret to reveal, a life of their own.


The official launch of Playing Long After Us happens at the 39th Manila International Book Fair on September 15, 7:00-8:00 p.m. at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. Shaira will grace the Summit Books booths at the 2nd floor (Booths 211-215 and 228-229) to meet with readers and sign copies which will be available onsite for P395 each.

Following the launch, Playing Long After Us will be available in newsstands, bookstores, convenience stores, and supermarkets nationwide.

For updates and more information on the book’s launch and release, follow Summit Books on Facebook and Twitter via @SummitBooks and on Instagram via @summit.books, and follow the hashtag #SummitBooksAtMIBF2018 on social media.