IT was a night of celebrating literary excellence as the 68th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature honored the authors of the competition’s winning entries recently at the Peninsula Manila in Makati City.
A total of 54 writers, 28 of which were first-time awardees, were chosen as this year’s batch of winners. Two authors each bagged prizes in two separate categories. A total of 20 regular categories were opened this year. The winning entries were evaluated and chosen by an elite roster of literary personalities from various fields. Among those winners is SunStar Cebu editor Januar E. Yap. Yap’s masterpiece “Baradero” won first place in the Short Story-Cebuano category of the Regional Division. This is his third Palanca Award after winning in 2015 and 2000 in the same category.
This year’s awarding ceremony had as speaker and guest of honor multi-awarded writer Alfred “Krip” Yuson. He was conferred the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi for his contributions to the Philippine literary scene, including novels, poetry collections, short fiction, essays, and children’s stories. Yuson is a recipient of 13 Palanca Awards across various categories and was elevated to the Palanca Hall of Fame in 2001.
Named after businessman and philanthropist Don Carlos Palanca Sr., the Palanca Awards continuously seeks to cultivate Philippine Literature by providing incentives for writers and serving as a treasury of these literary gems. It is considered the gold standard in writing excellence, highly-coveted by Filipino writers, young and old alike.
Here are some of the winners of the 68th Palanca Awards:
SHORT STORY – CEBUANO
First prize - Januar E. Yap (Baradero)
Second Prize - Dave T. Pregoner (Sunog)
Third Prize - Leoncio P. Deriada (Dili Baya ko Bugoy)
SHORT STORY – HILIGAYNON
First Prize - Early Sol A. Gadong (Sa Lum-ok Sang Imo Suso)
Second Prize - Alice Tan Gonzales (Haya)
Third Prize - Dulce Maria V. Deriada (Candelaria)
SHORT STORY – ILOKANO
First Prize - Ariel Sotelo Tabag (Gasanggasat)
Second Prize - Paul Blanco Zafaralla (Sarming)
Third Prize - Jaime M. Agpalo Jr. (Nakakidem-a-Simumulagat)
ENGLISH DIVISION SHORT STORY
First Prize - Joe Bert Lazarte (Describe the Rapture)
Second Prize - Francis Paolo M. Quina (Pigs)
Third Prize - Matthew Jacob F. Ramos (The Final Bullet)
ESSAY
First Prize - Jefry Canoy (Buhay Pa Kami: Dispatches from Marawi)
Second Prize - Ronnie E. Baticulon (Some Days You Can’t Save Them All)
Third Prize - Chuck D. Smith (Origin Story)
POETRY
First Prize - Rodrigo V. Dela Peña Jr. (Self-portrait with Plastic Bag)
Second Prize - Shane Carreon (The Gods who Dissolved under our Tongues and other Poems)
Third Prize - Jose Luis B. Pablo (To Desire in Liturgy)
POETRY WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN
First Prize - Maria Amparo Nolasco Warren (Lola Elina Maria’s Savory-Sweet Cookbook of Poetry)
Second Prize - Sigrid Marianne P. Gayangos (Of Monsters, Math and Magic)
Third Prize - Roselle Eloise B. Bunayog (Brave, Undying Warriors)
ONE-ACT PLAY
First Prize - Katrina M. Bonillo (Burying Mamang in Sugar)
Second Prize - Joe Bert Lazarte (Senator Pancho Aunor’s Blue Balls of Despair and Disillusionment)
Third Prize - Luciano Sonny O. Valencia (Leavings)
FULL-LENGTH PLAY
First Prize - Beryl Andrea P. Delicana (Mango Tree)
Second Prize - Patrick James M. Valera (Symphony)
Third Prize - Dominique La Victoria (Toward the Fires of Revolution) PR