Dadduma Pay: Lecture and Book-launch
06 July 2007
22 June 2007
15 June 2007
Milflores fiction anthology deadline extended
Vicente Garcia Groyon, editor of the projected anthology of flash fiction/sudden fiction (to be published by Milflores Publishing) announces that the deadline for submission has been extended to July 15. All interested writers are therefore invited to send their stories for consideration to the address below.
Stories may be in English or Filipino, and from 500 – 750 words.. Our preference is for stories which have not been previously included in books. Stories published on line or in magazines/journals are acceptable, but please indicate where and when upon submission.
This invitation goes out specially to writers who have been a part of earlier Miflores anthologies (like Sleepless in Manila, and A Book of Maladies edited by Cristina Pantoja
Submissions should be sent to flashfic.milflores@gmail.com
Queries may also be addressed to Vince at that address.
31 May 2007
Conversations “Over a Cup of Ginger Tea”
The title of the book reads like an invitation, and this is precisely what writer Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo intends with Over a Cup of Ginger Tea: Conversations on the Literary Narratives of Filipino Women. Hidlago says what she wishes to do is “start a conversation with the reader… much as I try to do with my students when I teach literature. I try to interest them in stories, which for different reasons have fascinated me all these years.”
Published by the University of the Philippines Press, Over a Cup of Ginger Tea is a collection of “literary essays” in that they are about literature and written in a style that makes reading them “as a pleasant experience for the readers as the reading of other types of literature.” The essays range from the narratives of several generations of women writers, from Maria Paz Mendoza and Edith Tiempo to FH Batacan and Tara Sering; cover conventional realist novels and short stories, as well as fairy tales, chick lit, crime fiction and war memoirs.
Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo has worked as a writer, editor and teacher in different countries and has received many awards for both her fiction and nonfiction. She is a professor of creative writing and literature, and has been the coordinator of the UP Creative Writing Program. A former director of the UP Creative Writing Center (now the UP Institute of Creative Writing) and director of the UP Press, she is at present vice president for Public Affairs of the UP System.
Over a Cup of Ginger Tea: Conversations on the Literary Narratives of Filipino Women is published by the UP Press and available at Aeon Books on Katipunan Avenue, Popular Bookstore on T. Morato, Solidaridad, Powerbooks, National Book Store, Bound Bookshop, Fully Booked and at the UP Press bookstores in UP Diliman, Baguio and Davao.
01 April 2007
U.P. Gawad Centennial Likhaan Rules of the Contest
1.) The Contest is open from February 2007 to March 2008. It is open to all Filipino citizens of all ages (including Filipinos holding dual citizenship), except members of the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing (UP-ICW) and its staff.
2.) There are six categories for the Awards:
1. Novel or Short Story Collection in English
2. Nobela o Koleksiyon ng mga Katha sa Filipino
3. Poetry in English
4. Tula sa Filipino
5. Creative Nonfiction in English
6. Malikhaing Sanaysay sa Filipino
3.) Only original works, not published in whole or in part, in print or online, may be entered. Any translation or adaptation of another author’s work is not eligible.
4.) Authors may submit only one (1) entry per category.
5.) A translation of one’s own work submitted as an entry in one (1) category shall not be eligible in the corresponding linguistic category.
6.) A work which has been awarded a prize in another contest is not eligible.
7.) In submitting an entry, the author warrants that the work is his/her own and that he/she has absolute ownership of all intellectual property rights thereto. Together with the entry, the author should submit the Official Entry Form and the Authorization Form for the Contest.
8.) All entries shall consist of a soft copy (CD in Word or Text Format) and three (3) hard copies.
(a) Each entry must be encoded, double space, on 8-1/2 by 11 bond paper, about one-inch margin on all sides of the page. Font should be Arial, Times New Roman, or Book Antiqua, and font size 12.
(b) Page number must be consecutive at the right-hand corner, bottom of the page.
(c) Author’s real name and address must not appear on any entry; rather, the author should seal in a letter envelope both the prescribed Official Entry Form and Authorization Form, together with the author’s bio-note or brief résumé; and this envelope should be submitted together with the entries. On this sealed envelope should be written or typed the title of the entry, its category, and the author’s pen name.
9.) All entries should be legible and neat. They are all to be submitted to the Board of Judges, U.P. Institute of Creative Writing (UP-ICW), College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines , Diliman, Quezon City . The said Institute is on the second floor of the Faculty Center (FC), UP Diliman campus.
10.) All entries must be accompanied by the author’s written consent to abide by the rules of the Contest, duly signed by the author.
11.) The deadline for submission is March 31, 2008, Friday, 5 p.m. The office of the UP-ICW closes at 5 p.m. Entries sent by mail or courier should be postmarked no later than the same date of the deadline.
12.) Winning entries shall remain with, and become the property of, the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing which shall have prior right to its publication. Copies of non-winning entries may be claimed by their authors at the same Institute no later than one (1) month from the date of the announcement of the winners.
13.) In all categories for the Awards, the subject or theme is open and free. Neither is there any limit to the maximum number of pages of the entry.
(a) In the FICTION category (NOVEL or SHORT STORY COLLECTION) in English or Filipino, what is required is a book-length NOVEL or SHORT STORY COLLECTION; book-length, that is, about 200 pages or more when printed out, double space, on 8-1/2 by 11 bond paper, or as the Board of Judges for this category may determine.
(b) In POETRY in English or Filipino, what is required is also a book-length work or collection, that is, about 50 poems or more, or about 100 pages or more, or as the Board of Judges for this category may determine.
(c) As with FICTION, what is required for the category of CREATIVE NON-FICTION is a book-length work. By this category is meant biography, autobiography, or the personal essay (talambuhay o personal na sanaysay).
14.) In order that the winning entries may be accessible to the reading public, the author grants, assigns and transfers to the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing the following rights without any necessity of any payment other than the prize already awarded: (a) to publish from time to time any winning entry or selection or portion thereof as it may at its discretion determine; (b) to designate or appoint editors to edit the work or any portion thereof to suit the demands of publication; (c) to furnish a reasonable number of copies of the work to the National Library or other libraries; (d) to make the work available for downloading on the Internet or other electronic medium; and/or (e) allow scholars and students to make copies for their research.
In making the works accessible to scholars, students, and lovers of literature, the Institute only intends to promote a wider literary appreciation of the works.
15.) The exercise of the rights of the U.P. Institute of Creative Writing as regards the winning entries, such as the right to publish the work, shall not be deemed a waiver of any right of action which the Institute may take against an author should it be discovered later on that the author is not the creator or owner of the copyright to the award-winning work. Moreover, the said author likewise undertakes to indemnify the Institute for any and all damages, fees, costs and expenses that the Institute may incur on account of the said author’s violation of the intellectual property rights of another writer.
16.) The prizes for each contest category are as follows:
NOVEL or SHORT STORY COLLECTION in English P200,000.-
NOBELA o KOLEKSIYON NG MGA KATHA (sa Filipino) P200,000.-
POETRY in English P200,000.-
TULA sa Filipino P200,000.-
CREATIVE NONFICTION in English P200,000.-
MALIKHAING SANAYSAY sa Filipino P200,000.-
17.) The U.P. Institute of Creative Writing has the sole right to designate the persons who shall constitute the Board of Judges for each contest category.
18.) The decision of the majority of the Board of Judges for each contest category is final. The same majority of the Board for each contest category may decide not to award any prize if, in its judgment, no entry deserves the prize.
19.) There is only one grand prize for each category; no prize shall be divided or reduced.
20.) The names of the winners and the members of the Board of Judges for each contest category shall be announced on June 1, 2008 .
21.) All parties submitting entries to the UP Centennial Gawad Likhaan literary contest are deemed to have accepted all the rules of the contest, and agree to abide by them.
For contest forms please visit the Likhaan website at http://www.upd.edu.ph/~icw
31 March 2007
UP Centennial Gawad Likhaan launched
Likhaan: the UP Institute of Creative Writing is formally launching the UP Centennial Gawad Likhaan, a literary contest, as part of the celebrations of the UP Centennial in 2008, with the approval of the UP Centennial Commission.
Six awards—each one worth P200,000—will be offered for original, book-length works in the following categories: a novel or short story collection in English in English; a novel or short story collection in Filipino; a poetry collection in English; a poetry collection in Filipino; a full-length work or collection of creative nonfiction in English; and a full-length work or collection of sanaysay in Filipino.
The competition is open to all Filipino citizens (including Filipinos holding dual citizenship), except for the members of the UP-ICW and its staff. There will be only one prize per category. Authors may submit only one (1) 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 will also be uploaded on the UP-ICW website and on www.panitikan.com.ph, the literary portal hosted by the UP-ICW.
The UP Centennial Gawad Likhaan is being held in commemoration of the important role that the University of the Philippines has played in the shaping and nurturing of the country’s literature. To date UP has produced six National Artists for Literature and numerous other writers who have achieved recognition both nationally and internationally. In keeping with its mandate of taking the lead in the development of a national literature, the UP-ICW serves, not just the faculty and students of the UP, but the larger community of writers and the country itself. Almost all writers, established and emerging, have been fellows of the annual national writers’ workshops conducted by the UP-ICW or students in its creative writing and malikhaing pagsulat programs.
All entries for the contest should be submitted to the Board of Judges, Likhaan: the UP Institute of Creative Writing, Faculty Center, UP Diliman. Deadline for submission is March 31, 2008 at 5 pm. The names of the winners and the members of the Board of Judges will be announced in June 2008.
04 March 2007
National Artist Rio Alma launches two new collections
National Artist Virgilio Almario marks another milestone in his prolific career as he launches two new collections of poetry this March. Kung Bakit Kailangan Ang Himala, published by the University of the Philippines Press, and Tatlong Pasyon Para sa Ating Panahon, from the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, will be launched at the lobby of the Jorge Vargas Museum at the University of the Philippines, Diliman on March 9, Friday. Program begins at 6 pm.
Since the publication of his first collection of poetry more than four decades ago, Almario, better known by his pen name Rio Alma, has continuously sought to enrich literature in Filipino not only through his poetry, but also through his work in criticism, translation, and editing. His accomplishments as an educator and as a cultural manager have undoubtedly sealed his reputation as one of the moving forces behind the local literary scene, but it is perhaps through the sustained excellence of his creative work that Rio Alma remains a true inspiration. Kung Bakit Kailangan ng Himala and Tatlong Pasyon Para sa Ating Panahon, both written under a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, are but the latest additions to a long list of critically-acclaimed publications.
The works of three Filipino visual artists are also featured alongside Rio Alma's new collection. It may be recalled that in 2006, the University of the Philippines Press published the handsome volume Sonetos Postumos which brought together the creative visions of Rio Alma and National Artist for Visual Arts, Ang Kiukok. This time, in line with book launch, the Jorge Vargas Museum opens the exhibits of Mark Justiniani, Neil Doloricon, and Ferdinand Doctolero whose painting appear in Tatlong Pasyon Para sa Ating Panahon. The exhibit runs from March 9-25.
by Celeste Flores-Coscolluela
UP Press Special Projects Assistant
19 February 2007
UP Press’ Paglulunsad 2007: Unang Yugto
The University of the Philippines Press launches nine new titles this February 23 at Balay Kalinaw, University of the Philippines , Diliman. Paglulunsad 2007: Unang Yugto is the first in this year's series of mega-launches. Program begins at 6pm followed by book-signing and refreshments.
The titles to be launched are Edith L. Tiempo's Six Poetry Formats and the Transforming Image: A Monograph on Free Verse; Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo's Over a Cup of Ginger Tea: Conversations on the Literary Narratives of Filipino Women; Antonio Enriquez's Samboangan: The Cult of War; Zosimo's Quibilan, Jr.'s Pagluwas; Bagets: An Anthology of Young Adult Fiction, edited by Carla Pacis and Eugene Evasco; Textual Relations by Ramil Gulle; The Path of the Success of Cooperatives, edited by Eugenio V. Mendoza and Eulogio T. Castillo; A Guide to Families of Common Flowering Plants in the Philippines by Irma Remo Castro; and Manila Men in the New World by Floro Mercene.
These new titles will be available at 20% discount at the launch.
12 Fellows for the 46th UP National Writers Workshop named
LIKHAAN: The UP Institute of Creative Writing has selected the 12 fellows for the 46th UP National Writers Workshop to be held at the AIM Lodge, Camp John Hay, in Baguio City on March 25 to April 1, 2007.
The fellows are: Katrina P. Tuvera and Daryll Jane Delgado (fiction in English); Conchitina Cruz and Mark Anthony Cayanan (poetry in English); Lawrence Ypil, Sandra Nicole Roldan, and Adam David (creative nonfiction in English); Eugene Evasco and Eros Atalia (fiction in Filipino); Jerry Gracio and Edgar Samar (poetry in Filipino); and Jose Dennis Teodosio (drama in Filipino).
Like last year’s successful revitalized workshop, the fellows for this year are advanced writers with previous workshop experience, publications and degrees in literature. Not only will the fellows have to face the rigor of their works being discussed but will, themselves, make a presentation about their poetics.
The teaching panel for this year’s workshop will include UP ICW Director Vim Nadera, Dr. J. Neil Garcia (this year’s Workshop Director), University Professor Emeritus Gémino H. Abad, National Artist and Prof. Emeritus Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist and Dean Virgilio S. Almario, Dr. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, Dr. Jose Y. Dalisay, Jr., Mr. Charlson L. Ong, Ms. Carla Pacis, Prof. Jun Cruz Reyes, Dr. Lilia Quindoza Santiago, former UP Mindanao Chancellor Ricardo M. de Ungria, Prof. Roland Tolentino, and Prof. Rene O. Villanueva.
The fellows are advised to call the UP ICW at 922-1830 or call/SMS Ms. Eva Garcia-Cadiz at 0927-924-5242 to confirm attendance and other related matters.
12 February 2007
Panitikan.com.ph, 1,000,000 hits and counting
The Internet is the temple of the temporal. What you’re staring at your computer right now isn’t real, a solid object, an actual physical thing. It is ethereal. A website is here today, gone tomorrow. Blogs, pages, entire portals disappear into the netherworld of servers, databases, connectors and mainframes. Megabytes of data pour into homes The Matrix-like but awaken no Neos and Trinitys. Only a few sites survive; those who have built up their brand names, those who have amassed regular visitors, those which earn money.
Just a few days shy of its birthdate (February 11), panitikan.com.ph notched up its 1,000,000 hit on February 5, 2007. The visitor may have been from the Philippines. Or he or she could have been from China, Japan, the United States of America or Qatar. The mega-hit passed unbeknownst to him. It was actually history in the making.
Panitikan.com.ph began in the last few months of 2005 but had been envisioned by Vim Nadera long before he was UP ICW director. Proposals and website designs were hewn and crafted by its hopeful staff even without the guarantee of the project actually pushing through. Finally, in December of that year, the National Commission on Culture and the Arts gave the nod.
More than three hundred author profiles, five hundred literary works, and countless news articles later, panitikan.com.ph got its millionth visitor on a Monday, the weekday which has the largest percentage of visitors. It was only a matter of time. Just this year, the website’s record high reached over 8,000 hits a day, up by 2,000 from last year’s record.
Up for project renewal this year, the website plans to expand to Visayas and Mindanao even as it attempts to record the comings and goings of Filipino literati and more anthologize literary works and. This push to augment and expand bodes well for Philippine literature as panitikan.com.ph strives to be its face in the chaos and ephemera of the Internet. Posterity and certainty are values, in the realm of the Internet, which are all the more sought after.
By Arvin Abejo MangohigPanitikan.com.ph Project Coordinator
11 February 2007
First two legs of Pagpupugay successful
National Artists for Literature Edith Tiempo and Alejandro Roces recently wrapped up their Pagpupugay hometown legs last February 2 and 3 respectively.
Tiempo was honored at the Luce Auditorium in Silliman University. The Silliman University Kahayag Dance Troupe interpreted Tiempo’s works. Poets Cesar Ruiz Aquino, Ian Casocot and Matilde Hescock read their favorite poems of hers. Tiempo also delivered the keynote speech “Sharpening the Two Poetry Basic.” Over eight hundred people were there to witness the tribute to the well-loved poet and critic.
Alejandro Roces was honored at the Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro. “Of Cocks and Roces,” by the Integrated Performing Arts Guild as directed by Steven Patrick Fernandez, was presented, an obvious nod to Roces’ more popular work. The SRO crowd also enjoyed Roces’ lecture on Philippine Short Stories. NCCA Executive Director Cecile Guidote Alvarez was on hand to deliver a special message.
The Pagpupugay sa Pambansang Alagad ng Sining sa Panitikan is a project of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the UP Institute of Creative Writing and Pambansang Samahan sa Wika Inc. Virgilio Almario, Bienvenido Lumbera and F. Sionil Jose are set to deliver their own lectures in their hometowns.
Below are the schedule for the remaining lectures:
Bienvenido Lumbera
February 15, 9am
Lipa City Youth and Cultural Center, Lipa City, Batanagas
Paksa: Ang Lipa sa Aking Paglikha
Magtatanghal: Dulaang UP
F. Sionil Jose
February 23, 1:00pm
Presidencia (Rosales, Pangasinan)
Paksa: Fiction in the Philippines
Magtatanghal: Tanghalang Pilipino
February 28, 2pm (tentative)
Holy Angel University Plaza San Jose Main Building, Angeles, Pampanga
Paksa: Ang Tula Bilang Pagbuhay ng Pambansang Gunita
Magtatanghal: Barasoain Kalinangan Foundation
by Arvin Abejo Mangohig
30 January 2007
Pagpupugay: Homecoming tributes to National Artists
Living and breathing literature legends will be coming to their hometowns for the entire month of February. From Silliman to Cagayan de Oro and Batangas to Pampanga and Pangasinan, National Artists Edith Tiempo, Alejandro Roces, Bienvenido Lumbera, F. Sionil Jose and Virgilio Almario are set to be celebrated by the places which shaped their childhoods. Music, dances and tributes from other writers will be part of each program. Each National Artist will also deliver lectures on topics close to their hearts.
Part of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts’ National Arts Month, Pagpupugay sa Pambansang Alagad ng Sining sa Panitikan is coordinated by the Pambansang Samahan sa Wika Inc. and the UP Institute of Creative Writing.
National Artist Edith Tiempo will share her expertise in poetry in her talk entitled “Sharpening the Two Poetry Basic” at the Luce Auditorium, Silliman University, Dumaguete City on February 2.
A talk on “Short Stories” will be delivered by National Artist Alejandro Roces at the Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro City on February 3.
National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera will share his reminiscence of his hometown in “Ang Lipa sa Aking Paglikha.” It will be held at the Cultural Center of Lipa, Lipa City, Batangas on February 15.
Hometown influence is also the center of National Artist F. Sionil Jose’s talk entitled “A Hometown as Literature.” This will be held at the Rosales Presidencia in Rosales, Pangasinan on February 23.
National Artist Virgilio Almario will explain the functions of poetry as history in “Ang Tula Bilang Pagbuhay ng Pambansang Gunita” at the Holy Angel University, Angeles Pampanga on February 28.
by Arvin Abejo Mangohig
12 January 2007
Charlson Ong launches new book
"It's not only the finest novel of the last ten years, or since Charlson Ong's own centennial Prize classic Embarrassment of Riches. It's the grandest, richest, most compelling and rewarding novel celebrating the Chinese-Filipino ever written in these isles of migrant marvels.... Banyaga: A Song of War gives with enormous generosity, and does it all extraordinarily well: a novel of formidable art and prose, heart and passion, power, illumination, beauty, jubilation. humanity."
This is what the Gregorio Brilliantes had to say about Charlson Ong’s new book. Anvil Publishing, Inc. in cooperation with UP Institute of Creative Writing will be launching Banyaga: A Song of War on January 23, 2007, 6-10 pm, at the Conspiracy Bar, 59 Visayas Ave., Quezon City
Ong is a multi-awarded writer. He teaches at the UP Diliman and is a fellow of the UP ICW. Among his other books are Men of the East and Other Stories (1990 and 1999), Woman of Am-Kaw and Other Stories (1993) and Conversion and Other Fictions (1996).
For more details, contact Lina Gutierrez 637-5141 or Joyce Bersales 747-1622
10 January 2007
UP ICW welcomes 2007 with Panayam lecture series
The UP Institute of Creative Writing opens 2007 with the return of its Panayam lecture series. Scheduled for the first quarter of the year are lectures from multi-awarded writers Jun Cruz Reyes, Rene O.Villanueva and Charlson Ong.
Panayam Schedule
May Kuwento ang Tula
Jun Cruz Reyes
January 25, 2007, 2p.m.Saan Nagpupunta ang Araw Kung Gabi
Rene O. Villanueva
February 9, 2007, 2p.m.
Writing the Other in Philippine Literature
Charlson Ong
March 9, 2007, 2p.m.
The lectures will be held at the Pulungang Claro M. Recto at the Faculty Center, Bulwagang Rizal, UP Diliman, Q.C.