JHOANNA LYNN B. CRUZ is an award-winning writer who teaches literature and creative writing at the University of the Philippines, Mindanao. She completed a Master of Arts in Language and Literature and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, both with high distinction, from De La Salle University, Manila. Her first book, Women Loving. Stories and a Play published in 2010 is the first sole-author anthology of lesbian-themed stories in the Philippines. Cruz is president of the Davao Writers Guild and is Regional Coordinator for Southern Mindanao in the National Committee on Literary Arts.