What we’re about
Backstory is the story behind the story—where the protagonists have been, what they've experienced, why they are where they are. It’s the literary ingredient that thickens the plot and enlivens the narrative. It's how we get to know—and connect with—a book's characters.
But [backstory] isn't just for books.
Unearthing others' backstories is one of the best parts of living a life abroad: What brought you here? And maybe as importantly, what’s kept you here?
[backstory] bookshop is where you can get to know—and connect with—characters, both on and off the page. It's the inclusive, community-centered space where swerving paths, bold decisions, and happy accidents can intersect.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Backstory Talks: Patricia EvangelistaBackstory English Bookshop, Barcelona
We are deeply honored to welcome acclaimed journalist and documentary filmmaker Patricia Evangelista to Backstory Bookshop as part of her residency in Barcelona with the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB). Her visit is made possible through the CCCB’s international residency programme, organized in collaboration with the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and with the support of the Fundació Privada Mir-Puig.
Patricia Evangelista’s fearless reporting has given voice to those caught in the crossfire of violence, disaster, and systemic abuse. Her presence at Backstory is an important moment to engage with urgent questions of power, accountability, and resistance.
The event will feature a conversation between journalist Meaghan Beatley and the author, followed by an audience Q&A and book signing.
### About the Author
Patricia Evangelista is an award-winning investigative journalist from the Philippines whose work focuses on trauma, conflict, disaster, and human rights. She has reported extensively on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, covering both the perpetrators and the survivors of a campaign that resulted in the deaths of thousands. Her journalism has appeared in outlets such as The Atlantic and Foreign Policy, and her work has been recognized internationally for its depth, courage, and narrative power.
She is currently in residence in Barcelona through the CCCB’s international programme, which invites leading figures in culture and thought to develop new work while building connections with the city’s creative and intellectual communities.
About the book
Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country
For six years, Patricia Evangelista investigated and documented the extrajudicial killings that took place under President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs. In Some People Need Killing, she tells the story of that national campaign of violence through the eyes of those who lived and died under it—and those who killed in its name.The book’s title comes from the chilling words of a vigilante: “I’m really not a bad guy. I’m not all bad. Some people need killing.” It’s a phrase that encapsulates the moral void Patricia explores in this landmark work of narrative journalism.
A profound act of witness, Some People Need Killing is both an intimate memoir and a sweeping investigation of political terror. It is a masterful dissection of the language of violence and a call to remember the lives too easily forgotten.
Winner of the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book AwardFinalist for the Chautauqua Prize and the Moore Prize for Human Rights WritingLonglisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-FictionNamed Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, and more
