Victor Manibo on Touching the Work Regularly

Victor Manibo on Touching the Work Regularly

From Talking Writing by Martha Nichols, John Vogel, and Neva Talladen

November 17, 2025 · 1h 4m · Season 6 · Episode 4

About this episode

Victor Manibo discusses his drafting process for his novel The Sleepless and explores themes of hustle culture and Filipino heritage.

Victor Manibo, a 2022 Lambda Literary Emerging Voices Fellow, sits down with TW Community Manager Neva Talladen to discuss the drafting process for his 2022 science fiction novel, The Sleepless . Manibo and Talladen connect over their shared Filipino heritage and roots in New York, as they explore the rise of “hustle culture.” The Sleepless portrays a society where sleep is no longer necessary or even desired. Instead, young professionals like Jamie, the story’s main character and an aspiring journalist, spend endless hours working, driven by an insatiable pursuit of career advancement.

People in this episode

Host: Neva Talladen

Guest: Victor Manibo

Topics covered

  • drafting process
  • science fiction
  • hustle culture
  • Filipino heritage
  • career advancement

Keywords

  • Victor Manibo
  • The Sleepless
  • hustle culture
  • science fiction
  • Filipino heritage

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Sleepless

Places: New York

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