diff --git a/quartz/plugins/filters/explicit.ts b/quartz/plugins/filters/explicit.ts
index 30f0b37..48f92bd 100644
--- a/quartz/plugins/filters/explicit.ts
+++ b/quartz/plugins/filters/explicit.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,11 @@ import { QuartzFilterPlugin } from "../types"
 export const ExplicitPublish: QuartzFilterPlugin = () => ({
   name: "ExplicitPublish",
   shouldPublish(_ctx, [_tree, vfile]) {
-    const publishFlag: boolean = vfile.data?.frontmatter?.publish ?? false
+    const publishProperty = vfile.data?.frontmatter?.publish ?? false
+    const publishFlag =
+      typeof publishProperty === "string"
+        ? publishProperty.toLowerCase() === "true"
+        : Boolean(publishProperty)
     return publishFlag
   },
 })