U.P. Centennial Literary Contest deadline extended

The deadline for submission of entries to Gawad Likhaan: The University of the Philippines Centennial Literary Prize has been extended to April 30, 2008, Wednesday, at 5 p.m.

Gawad Likhaan was created by the UP Centennial Commission to celebrate the University’s 100th year. It is administered by Likhaan: The UP Institute of Creative Writing (UP-ICW).

There are six awards, each one worth Php 200,000, for original, book-length works in English or Filipino in three categories: the novel or short story collection; poetry collection; and full-length work or collection of creative nonfiction or sanaysay.

The competition is open to all Filipino citizens (including Filipinos holding dual citizenship), except for members of the UP-ICW and its staff.

Only one prize per category will be awarded. Authors may submit only one entry per category. Works which have already been awarded a prize in other contests are not eligible. Subject or theme is open.

The complete rules are available at the UP-ICW office in UP Diliman. They have also been uploaded at Likhaan’s website, www.upd.edu.ph/~icw/ and http://panitikan.com.ph/, the Philippine literary portal hosted by the Institute.

All entries to the contest are to be submitted to the Board of Judges, Likhaan: The UP Institute of Creative Writing, Faculty Center, UP Diliman. The names of the winners and the members of the board of judges will be announced towards the end of June 2008.

Milflores Publishing releases new modern tale collection

Milflores Publishing’s latest release is a collection of modern wonder tales titled Tales of Fantasy and Enchantment.

Edited by prizewinning fictionist and essayist Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, the book brings together some of the most gifted young Filipino writers, in what the editor describes as “the more interesting performances of the modern tale in the country today.” They include modern fairy tales, reworked folk tales, refashioned legends, ghost stories, gothic tales, horror stories, futuristic fiction and fan fiction. The best part of the collection is that many of the stories are not just scary or marvelous, but funny.

Many of the contributing authors are familiar names. Vicente Garcia Groyon and FH Batacan are winners of the Carlos Palanca Grand Prize for the Novel. Prizewinning writers Dean Francis Alfar and Nikki Alfar edit the celebrated Philippine Speculative Fiction series. Marivi Soliven Blanco is the author of several best-selling Milflores essay collections. Tara FT Sering started Philippine chick lit. Ma. Romina M. Gonzalez, Cyan Abad-Jugo, Ian Rosales Casocot, Karl de Mesa, and Anna Sanchez have all published fiction collections and won their share of awards. Emil Flores, Gizela M. Gonzalez, Bj A. Patiño, Jose Claudio B. Guerrero, Natasha B. Gamalinda, Andrea L. Peterson, Carljoe Javier and Samantha Echavez have been published in other books and magazines, both local and foreign.

Most of these authors are UP alumni. Like the editor, Emil Flores, Butch Guerrero and Anna Sanchez are also teaching in the Dept. of English and Comparative Literature of the UP Diliman College of Arts and Letters. Guerrero is also deputy director of the UP Press. The rest were writing fellows in the UP National Writers’ Workshop conducted every year by the UP Institute of Creative Writing.

“These are contemporary fables which weave old legends and wonder tales with the new myths growing out of today’s popular culture,” says Hidalgo, who began writing and publishing her own modern tales in the early 90s with Tales for a Rainy Night and Where Only the Moon Rages.

The book’s cover design is by Mary Mariel P. Singson.

Tales of Enchantment and Fantasy sells for P350 in all National Bookstore and Powerbook branches, the UP Press Bookstore, Popular Bookstore, La Solidaridad, and Books for Less. Interested parties may also email mailto:mmilflores@pldtdsl.net or call 7216431.