A harvest of winners at 70th Palanca Awards
The Philippines most prestigious literary competition held an awarding ceremony on 30 November at Marquis Events Place in BGC, Taguig, honoring 59 winners in 22 categories, 28 of whom were first-timers
The Palanca — or the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature — has returned for its 70th edition.
The Philippines most prestigious literary competition held an awarding ceremony on 30 November at Marquis Events Place in BGC, Taguig, honoring 59 winners in 22 categories, 28 of whom were first-timers.
Recipients included poet/musician/multiawarded filmmaker Khavn dela Cruz and lawyer Raymundo T. Pandan, who bagged the grand prizes in the Nobela and Novel categories for their novels ANTIMARCOS and Bittersweetland, respectively.
Broadcast journalist Atom Araullo won first prize in Essay for Letter from Tawi-Tawi. Silliman University writer Ian Rosales Casocot clinched his sixth Palanca for his first prize-winning short story, Ceferina in Apartment 2G.
Garnering special prizes were Edgar Calabia Samar, Natatanging Gantimpala, Nobela category for “Teorya ng Unang Panahon” and Alvin Dela Serna Lopez for the Novel category for “1762.” These special prizes are given by the Palanca awards every two years.
Daily Tribune spoke to Susan Severino Lara — Palanca winner and judge, former director of Silliman University National
Writers Workshop, and recipient of
Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas for fiction in English from UMPIL (Unyon ng Manunulat sa Pilipinas).
DT: What made the 70th Palanca Awards different from other editions?
Susan Severino Lara (SSL): The 70th Palanca awards came after a two-year hiatus, which probably explains the large number of entries, specifically in the Novel English Division. People had more time to write, more things to write about. DT: Was it hard to select a winner?
SSL: It was easy enough to come up with a short list (of four). It was more difficult, and we had a longer discussion, when the choice was down to the top two, since traditionally, there is only the grand prize for the novel, no second and third prizes. We finally made our choice for the grand prize (Bittersweetland by Rayboy Pandan) and decided to have a special prize for second place (1762 by Alvin dela Cerna).
DT: What’s your advice to writers aspiring to win?
SSL: My advice to writers is just to keep writing, honing their craft, without any thought of winning a contest. If you take your writing seriously, your work will get better and better, and get the recognition it deserves. The award is just a bonus, not the goal.