December 13, 2006

Bikolano poet wins Best First Book award
by Arvin Abejo Mangohig

By the time Kristian Cordero’s name was announced as 2006 Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award winner, everyone at the Claro M. Recto Hall knew that the awarding was to be an event of many firsts. It was the first time a volume of poetry won. It was the first time a trilingual book won. It was the first time a book published by a small press won.

It was also the first time the winner was not known beforehand. Instead, the UP Institute of Creative Writing gathered together the five nominees whose first books were shortlisted by the panel of judges. Cordero, Manolito Sulit, Allan Derain, Jimmuel C. Naval and Jaime Dasca Doble participated in the forum “Breaking into Print.” Each author related how his first book took form. Sulit was wryly comedic; Derain emphasized the importance of learning, Naval felt belatedness and elation and Doble discussed nominative integrity, truthfulness to one’s self.

But it was Cordero’s sincere portrayal of writing his poems amidst the destruction of Bikol that won over the audience which included National Artists for Literature Virgilio Almario and Bienvenido Lumbera and ICW Associates J. Neil Garcia, Lilia Quindoza Santiago and Charlson Ong. A hush fell over the Recto Hall as Cordero related moments of creativity in the face of the storm battering the region. Mga Tulang Tulala: Piling Tula sa Filipino, Bikol at Rinconada, then, is a testament not only to the emerging success of Bikol literature but also to the artist’s ability to triumph over the external life in the face of the most heart-wrenching of circumstances.

This year’s panel of judges consisted of Rene Villanueva, Malou Jacob and Luna Sicat Cleto, herself a winner of the Best First Book Award in 2004. The first ever winner, Sarg Lacuesta also gamely participated in the forum, observing that the award somehow shortened the gestation period for his second book. ICW Director Vim Nadera and Likhaan Foundation treasurer Linda Panlilio were on hand to award the P50,000 check to the pleasantly stunned Cordero. Lumbera read the Madrigal-Gonzalez family’s congratulatory message.

The unanimous decision of the 2006 judges bodes well for Bikol literature and writing from the regions in general. The Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award and its like are essential to the renaissance of Philippine literatures. A little fame and a little fortune are nice but recognition and respect are what artists deserve. As Lacuesta seriously joked, a Best Second Book Award was not such a bad idea at all.

Tag: CONTESTS

December 11, 2006

Vocalese (Poems) launch at Conspiracy Bar

Aldus Santos, independent poet and singer-songwriter for the critically-acclaimed rock act The Purplechickens will launch his first poetry book entitled, Vocalese (Poems), on December 12, 2006 at Conspiracy Bar & Garden Cafe located along Visayas Avenue in Quezon City.

Enjoy a night of poetry reading and special performances by friends like Outerhope, Vin Dancel (of the now defunct Twisted Halo), and Cynthia Alexander.

Be one of the first few to get a copy of Vocalese (Poems), which will be sold at the venue for a discounted price.

Event is from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm only.

Entrance to the launch is free. However, beyond 9 p.m., patrons who are just about to get in will have to pay the cover charge for the second event: the Bikolano Poets’ Kabanggihan (Part 2). Proceeds of the said event will go to the victims of Reming in Albay and other affected areas. The booth selling copies of Vocalese (Poems), will continue to hold shop beyond 9pm though, for your information.

Tag: BOOK LAUNCH

December 11, 2006

College Editors Guild alumni gathering

The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) will be having its alumni gathering on December 16, 2006 at the residence of Former Senator Helena Benitez in Mira-Nila, # 26 Mariposa St., Cubao, Quezon City. The gathering dubbed as Diamond Anniversary Grand Alumni Reunion is a celebration of the CEGP on its 75 years of existence

The CEGP is the oldest and the widest existing youth organization in the Philippine history. It is known as the national center for the advancement of campus press freedom and excellence in campus journalism.

For inquiries, please call Telephone number (02) 5243927 (CEGP office) or mobile numbers 09182433779 (Jose); 09198577170 (Rowie); or visit the alumni gathering blogsite www.cegpdiamond.blogspot.com

Tag: EVENT

December 11, 2006

Irish Patatas Workshops

Fantasy Writing

January 30, 31 & February 1
Workshop Fee: P 3,000

Food Writing and Cooking Show Development

January 27 to February 10. Three Saturdays, 1-6 pm.
Workshop Fee: P 4,000

Melodrama and Korean Dramas

January 14, 21, & 28, Sundays, 2-9 pm
Workshop Fee: P 5,000

Mainstream Fiction Writing Workshop

January 14, 21, & 28, Sundays, 9am-2pm
Workshop Fee: P 4,000

For Registration & Inquiries Contact:

Email: artzy_chips@yahoo.ie
+639208793237

For more details click: http://the-chips1.tripod.com

Tag: WORKSHOP

December 8, 2006

UP Main Library Launches New Book

The University of the Philippines Diliman, Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas, College of Arts and Letters, UP Center for Women's Studies, UP Main Library, and The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University Press the launching of Albina Peczon Fernandez's Ten: Coming Home and Nine More Short Stories.

The launch will be on Monday, December 18, 2006, 2:00 – 4:00 pm at the Special Collection Room of the UP Main Library. Fernandez is an Associate Professor at the College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman. She has a Doctorate in Philosophy in Philippine Studies.

For more details, call Dhang or Marci at 920-6880 or 920-6950 or fax: 920-6880.

For more information on the author and the book: visit this page.

Tag: BOOK LAUNCH

December 4, 2006

READ OR DIE UPDATES

PINOY READERS' CHOICE AWARDS 2007

The shortlists for the Pinoy Readers' Choice Awards have been released. As it is, we've made a
couple of significant revisions to the awards mechanics:

1) We've added a category for Best Komiks (or Best Comic Book) as a way or showing our support to the Philippine comic book industry and to promote the idea that komiks is worth reading. The shortlist for this category was created by the Secretariat.

We would like to thank Mr. Gerry Alanguilan for his encouraging feedback when the subject of hosting a comic book category for the Pinoy Readers' Choice Awards was broached.

2) We have removed the category for Young Adults/Children's Literature. Instead, we will be giving out a separate award--the Gawad Kabataan Para Sa Panitikan (or the Young Filipino Readers Award)--for this genre. The Gawad Kabataan is an award for children's literature
in the Philippines the results of which will be decided--as in the case of the Pinoy Readers' Choice Awards--by the children and young people who read them.

While the mechanics, procedures, and nominations list for the Gawad Kabataan will be launched during RodCon, the actual results for the awards will not be released until RodCon 2008. More information to follow.

SHORTLISTS

While several readers did send nominations for the Pinoy Readers Choice Awards, a lot more confessed to their inability to actually come up with options. So this year's shortlist is less a popularly constituted list of nominations and more of a reading list/pre-emptive survey of what Filipinos read and/or must read. We did include nominations submitted through the website, but the character, so to speak, of the final lists is our responsibility. We hope that next year's shortlists will be entirely composed of reader nominations.

Please support the awards through voting for a nominated Filipino author. The links to the shortlists also contain the polls and voting forms.

We are working with partner bookstores and publishers so that books included in this shortlist will be featured specially in RodCon-affiliated venues by December. Furthermore, we will be holding discussion forums on the nominated books in RodCon-affiliated venues. More information to follow in our next newsletter. Otherwise, please visit our website. Look out for author interviews, more detailed profiles, and excerpts from/previews of the nominated books.

Best Fiction
"Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?" by Lualhati Bautista
"Ermita" by F. Sionil Jose
"Salamanca" by Dean Alfar
"Smaller and Smaller Circles" by F.H. Batacan

Best Non-Fiction
"ABNKKBSANPLAKo?" by Bob Ong
"Public Lives: Essays In Selfhood and Social Solidarity" by Randy David
"Rizal Without The Overcoat" by Ambeth Ocampo
"Twisted" (Volume 1) by Jessica Zafra

Best Poetry
"Dust Devils" by Virgilio Almario
"Hunos" by Allan Popa
"Minatamis at Iba Pang Mga Tula ng Pag-Ibig" by Joi Barrios
"Sunlight On Broken Stones" by Cirilo Bautista

Best Komiks
"After Eden" by Arnold Arre
"Pugad Baboy" (Volume 1) by Pol Medina
"Wasted" by Gerry Alanguilan
"ZsaZsa Zaturnah" by Carlo Vergara

Once again, the results for the awards will be decided by vote (online and text, though the latter option is still under negotiation).

If you have questions about the awards, please email us. You may also post your reactions in the Pinoy Readers' Choice Awards forum.

ANNOUNCING: PORTRAIT OF THE FILIPINO AS READER

As part of our goal to promote reading and readers in Philippine society, Read or Die is hosting a
photography competition and exhibit called "Portrait of the Filipino as Reader." Through visual media, we want to showcase the different faces of the Filipino as a reader in a world which challenges our definitions and perceptions of literacy and what it really means to read.

If you want to join the photography competition, please read the guidelines or contact us at rodcon.sec@gmail.com.

ANNOUNCING: Call for illustrations for READ THIS!

Read or Die will print customized postcards with illustrations from volunteer artists. These postcards will be given away for free to convention attendees to fill out with book recommendations for their friends and family members, or they can choose names from a directory of fellow readers requesting postcards. Stamps will be available in the convention so that attendees can mail the postcards right then and there.

We are encouraging Filipino artists to submit their illustrations. Artists whose works are chosen for the postcard exchange will be notified through email and phone by December 31, 2006 and will receive free two-day passes to the convention as well as RodCon goodie bags. Illustrations will be duly credited.

If you are interested in helping out with the postcard exchange, please read our guidelines.

Tag: EVENTS

December 4, 2006

RESIL MOJARES BOOK LAUNCHED

"Brains of the Nation" by Dr. Resil Mojares was launched last Thursday, November 30, at the Social Development Complex AVR, Ateneo de Manila University campus in Loyola
Heights.

"Brains of the Nation" looks closely at the lives and works of Pedro Paterno, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, and Isabelo de los Reyes, as Dr. Mojares portrays a generation that created the
self-consciousness of the Filipino nation.

As it traces the production of modern knowledge, the book explores the historical conditions that shaped the emergence of a modern Philippine intelligentsia and the unfinished, strange,
wondrous itineraries diverse intellectuals took in engaging Western knowledge and dealing with the local realities of the country from, of, and for which they tried to speak.

Dr. Mojares is Professor Emeritus at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, and is author of several books on history and culture.

"Brains of the Nation: Pedro Paterno, T.H. Pardo de Tavera, Isabelo de los Reyes and the Production of Modern Knowledge" is now available at Solidaridad (523-0870), Popular Bookstore (372-2162), branches of Fully Booked (756-5001) and at the Ateneo Press (426-5984; unipress@admu.edu.ph).

The Ateneo de Manila University Press is located at Bellarmine Hall, ADMU Campus, Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines. They can be reached through telephone at (632) 426-6001 loc. 4610, or through msanagustin@ateneo.edu.

Website: http://www.ateneopress.org

Tag: EVENT | BOOK LAUNCH

December 4, 2006

HUMAN RIGHTS AND POVERTY
Writing Contest for International Human Rights Day 2006 for Children and Youth (8-18 years old)

Guidelines and Contest Rules

Background

More than one in six people in the world live in poverty – that is, on less than $1 per day. But poverty is not only about having no money. It is also about not having the materials and resources to fulfill a person’s basic needs – it is about human rights.
Human Rights Day 2006 will focus on fighting poverty as a matter of obligation, not of charity.
Poverty is frequently a consequence as well as a cause of human rights abuses. Without access to such things as employment, basic healthcare, education and essentials like food, clothing and water, many poor people lack the means to change their lives for the better and are condemned to live a life of poverty.
Discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender or other reasons can prevent people from gaining adequate access to services and to participate in the political process in their country.
Although standards of living vary greatly among nations and within nations, the effects of poverty and denial of basic human rights remain constant: hunger, homelessness, little or no education and lack of basic resources.

Eligibility

To enter the Human Rights and Poverty writing competition you must:

1) be between the ages of 8 – 18;
2) send your entry by e-mail (see instructions below).

Topics

Poverty is frequently a consequence as well as a cause of human rights abuses. Choose one of the following two topics to write about:

1. Pick one article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and use an example from real-life to illustrate how the violation of this right is a consequence of living in poverty. Include any suggestions you may have on how poverty can be reduced so that this right is not violated; Or,

2.Pick one article from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and use an example from real-life to illustrate how the violation of this right can cause poverty. Include any suggestions you may have on what can be done to protect this right so that it does not lead to poverty.
Entries should be one page only (maximum 800 words).
Entries can be written in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese or Arabic. Articles not written in one of these languages will not be judged.

Evaluation of Entries

Entries will be judged on:

• writing style
• originality
• how well you answered the question listed above

Three winning entries will be chosen from each of the following regions:
1) Latin America and the Caribbean,
2) Arab States,
3) Asia and the Pacific,
4) North America,
5) Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States,
6) Africa.

One winning entry will be chosen in each of the following age groups in each region: 8-12 year olds, 13-15 year olds and 16-18 year olds.

Prize

Each winner will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, together with a prize pack. All winning entries will be published on the UN Cyberschoolbus website.

Deadline

Entries for the Human Rights and Poverty Writing Contest 2006 must be received by email no later than International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2006. Winners will be required to provide proof of their date of birth.

How to submit your entry:

The following items must be submitted to enter the contest:
1. Full Name, Home Address (in case we need to mail something to you), e-mail address, and date of birth.
2. One essay (not more than 800 words) on one of the two topics described above.

Please note that the essay you submit for this contest becomes the property of the UN Cyberschoolbus and cannot be returned. E-mail your submission to: cyberschoolbus@ un.org (please put “Human Rights Day 2006” in the subject header).

Tag: CONTEST

December 4, 2006

ANVIL EVENTS FOR DECEMBER

Want to have a literary Christmas? Anvil Publishing, Inc. is holding a Christmas booksale from November 30 - December 9, 2006. Get the lowest prices on Children's books, Pocket books/Novels, Reference books/Dictionaries, Rare Filipiniana titles and Cookbooks

They are open weekdays: 12nn-6pm and on weekends/holidays: 9am - 5pm at 8007-B Pioneer St. Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City. For more inquiries, please call 637-51-41.

Young Blood 3 will be launched on December 9, 2006. A seminar will be held from 1-5 p.m. and the Book Launching proper will be on 6 p.m. This will be at PowerBooks, Greenbelt 4. Fans of the Inquirer column and the reading public are invited.

Tag: EVENT | BOOK LAUNCH

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