Alexis A.L. Abola
February 7, 2009
Alexis A.L. Abola has an MA in Creative Writing from UP Diliman and currently teaches at the English Department at the Ateneo de Manila. He has won several awards for his short fiction in English, among them Palanca Awards and the NVM Gonzalez Award.
Efmer Agustin
February 7, 2009
Efmer Agustin teaches at the Humanities Division at UP Visayas and is a reporter for the Freeman. He has attended the Iligan and Faigao workshops, and several others. He was the second place awardee for the Jimmy Y Balacuit Literary Award at the Iligan writing workshop.
Roberto T. Añonuevo
February 7, 2009
Roberto T. Añonuevo has entered the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards Hall of Fame for winning the Palanca Award for poetry in Filipino five times. He represented the Philippines in the Second ASEAN Poetry Conference Workshop in 1995 and was made President of the Linangan sa Imahen sa Retorika at Anyo (LIRA) in the same year. He is also founder of ORAGON and is a former Chairman of UMPIL, the largest formal group of Filipino writers.
Dean Francis Alfar
February 7, 2009
Dean Francis Alfar is a playwright, novelist and writer of speculative fiction. His plays have been performed in venues across the country, while his articles and fiction have been published both here and abroad. His literary awards include several Palanca Awards, the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Awards for the graphic novels Siglo: Freedom and Siglo: Passion, the Gintong Aklat Award, and the Philippines Free Press Literary Award. He has published two books and edits the annual Philippine Speculative Fiction anthology.
Genevieve L. Asenjo
February 7, 2009
Genevieve L. Asenjo has a PhD in Literature from De La Salle University. She has won several awards for her poems and stories in Hiligaynon, among them Palanca and Gawad Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino awards. She is also the recipient of the NCCA Ubod New Writers Series grant, for her fiction in Kinaray-a.
Janice Bagawi
February 7, 2009
Janice Bagawi holds a B.A. in Language and Literature degree from the University of the Philippines Baguio. She is currently finishing her M.A. in Language and Literature, also at the University of the Philippines Baguio. She is the president and founding member of UBBOG: Young Cordillera Writers, and has been a fellow to the Baguio Writers Group Creative Writing Workshop-NCCA and the UPB-1st Cordillera Creative Writing Workshop.
John E. Barrios
February 7, 2009
John E. Barrios has an MA in Education from the UP Visayas and teaches at the UP High School in Iloilo. He has written and edited a number of books and has been awarded grants from the CCP and the NCCA for his short fiction.
Ronald Baytan
February 7, 2009
Ronald Baytan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Literature of De La Salle University, where he was a former Chair from 2004 to 2006. He is an associate for nonfiction for the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center. He holds a Ph.D. in English Studies (Creative Writing) from the University of the Philippines, Diliman and is the author of The Queen Sings the Blues: Poems, 1992-2002, published by Anvil in 2007.
Christine S Bellen
February 7, 2009
Christine S Bellen writes stories, plays, musicals and screenplays for children. She teaches at the Filipino Department at the Ateneo De Manila and is the Director of the Ateneo Institute of Literary Arts and Practice (AILAP). She has an MA in Philippine Studies from UP Diliman. She has published a multitude of books and anthologies, and has paneled at several writing workshops. She has won several awards and grants.
John Bengan
February 7, 2009
John Bengan finished his B.A. in Creative Writing at the U.P. Mindanao in 2005 and was a fellow of the 43rd National Writers Workshop in Dumaguete in 2004 and the 10th Iligan National Writers Workshop in 2003. In 2005, he won the 2nd prize for the short story category in the annual Philippines Free Press Literary Awards.
Jaime Jesus Borlagdan
February 7, 2009
Jaime Jesus Borlagdan has an MA in Education and works as a consultant for the Mayor’s Office of Tabaco City Local Government. He has won the Premio Tomas Arejola for his poetry and has been widely published in national and regional publications. His first collection of Bikol poems will be published in 2009.
Josua Cabrera
February 7, 2009
Josua Cabrera is editorial cartoonist at the Sunstar Cebu. He has participated in several writing workshops and has won the Palanca award for his fiction in Cebuano and several awards for his editorial art.
Ian Rosales Casocot
February 7, 2009
Ian Rosales Casocot is an instructor at the Silliman University’s Department of English and Literature and the College of Mass Communication in Dumaguete City. He has been a fellow of a number of national writing workshops and the recipient of a number of awards, including the grand prize in the first Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards in 2006 for Prose and the first prize Palanca award for the short story in English.
Jose Jason Llagas Changcoco
February 7, 2009
Jose Jason Llagas Changcoco teaches at Global IT and is Public Relations Officer for SM City Naga. He is also a freelance writer and editor. He has been a fellow at the Ateneo, UST, Iyas and Iligan workshops, among others. He was shortlisted for the Maningning Miclat Award in 2003 and has won the Premio Tomas Arejola award and the Achievement Award for Literature from the Ateneo de Naga. He has a forthcoming book, Pagsasatubuanan: Poetikang Bikolnon, to be published by the NCCA.
Dominic Cimafranca
February 7, 2009
Dominic Cimafranca has a BS in Electronics and Communications Engineering at the University of San Carlos. He as attended the Dumaguete and Ateneo de Davao writing workshops and has published stories in several anthologies.
Franklin Cimatu
February 7, 2009
Franklin Cimatu is a correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and is a contributor for the online publications of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. He is also editor-in-chief of Silangan Magazine, which caters to OFWs in Japan. His poems and essays have been widely anthologized and he has won many awards, among them Palanca, Free Press and Procyon Awards. He was also awarded an fellowship that allowed him to work with the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
Mikael De Lara Co
February 7, 2009
Mikael De Lara Co has been a fellow at various national writers workshops and the
recipient of numerous local and international awards, including runner-up for the Meritage Press Holiday Poetry Prize in 2006 and back-to-back first prizes in the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Poetry in English (2007) and Poetry in Filipino (2008).
Kristian Sendon Cordero
February 7, 2009
has authored four collections of Bikol, Rinconada and Filipino poetry, Mga Tulang Tulala: Piling Tula sa Filipino, Bikol at Rinconada (2004), Santigwar: Mga Rawitdawit sa Bikol asin Filipino (2006) and Pusûánon: Mga Bersong Bikol with selected translations by Marne L. Kilates and H. Francisco V. Peñones Jr. (2007). He has an upcoming collection of new Filipino and Bikol poems Pagsalat Sa Pilat (2009). He has won Tomas Arejola, Homelife, and Palanca awards, and the Madrigal-Gonzales Best First Book Award in 2006. He is also a recipient of the NCCA Writers’ Prize for Poetry. He teaches Humanities, Sociology and Creative Writing in Ateneo de Naga University.
Michael Coroza
February 7, 2009
Michael Coroza finished his B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas and holds a Masters degree in Filipino Literature from the Ateneo De Manila University, where he is an assistant professor (Department of Filipino). He has already won six Don Carlos Palanca Awards and was the recipient of the Southeast Asia Writers Award (SEAWrite) in Thailand in 2007.
Conchitina Cruz
February 7, 2009
Conchitina Cruz teaches at UP Diliman. She has a MA in Writing from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under a Fulbright scholarship. She has been at the writer’s retreat in Bellagio, Italy, under a writing grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. She has published several poems locally and internationally and has published three books, the first of which (Dark Hours, 2006), won the National Book Award.
Jhoanna Lynn Cruz
February 7, 2009
Jhoanna Lynn Cruz has attended the Dumaguete and UP writers workshops and has won Palanca awards for the essay and the full-length play. She has published several works in national publications and anthologies.
Carlomar Daoana
February 7, 2009
Carlomar Daoana has a B.A. in Literature degree from the University of Santo Tomas and is currently finishing his M.A. in Creative Writing also in the same school. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of Area Magazine. He has been to various national writing workshops including the Dumaguete National Wiritng Workshop and was the grand prize winner for poetry in the 2003 Meritage Press Poetry Contest.
Adam David
February 7, 2009
Adam David is a freelance writer and editor and has written for several national publications. He has published a book, the El Bimbo Variations.
Lourd Ernest H. De Veyra
February 7, 2009
Lourd Ernest H. De Veyra has published two collections of poetry, Subterranean Thought Parade and Shadowboxing in Headphones. He has won Palanca and Free Press Awards and the very first NCCA Writers’ Prize for poetry. He fronts a spoken word-jazz-rock band, Radioactive Sago Project, which has released three full-length albums. He also writes columns for several magazines, co-hosts a Sunday radio show on NU 107, and appears in a weekly segment of TV5’s Evening News called “Word of the Lourd.”
Jean Claire Dy
February 7, 2009
Jean Claire Dy has attended the UP and Dumaguete writing workshops and has published stories and poems in several publications.
Vicente Garcia Groyon
February 7, 2009
Vicente Garcia Groyon is taking his PhD in Literature from De La Salle University, where he holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is an assistant professor. He has won numerous awards for his fiction, among them two National Book Awards (for On Cursed Ground and Other Stories and The Sky Over Dimas), the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award, and several Palanca Awards. As a film-maker, he has also won several awards for his short films and documentaries.
Ramil Digal Gulle
February 7, 2009
Ramil Digal Gulle edits various print and online publications and is a freelance writer and editor. He has participated in the UP and Dumaguete writing workshops and has won Palanca awards for his poetry and has written three books of poetry, the latest of which, Textual Relations, was nominated for the National Book Award.
Arifah Macacua Jamil
February 7, 2009
Arifah Macacua Jamil has a BA in English from UP Mindanao and an LLB from the Ateneo de Cagayan. He has published stories in several national publications.
Luis Katigbak
February 7, 2009
Luis Katigbak holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He has already won three Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for his fiction and has published two books so far: Happy Endings (UP Press, 2000) and The King of Nothing to Do (Milflores, 2006). He is currently a columnist for the Manila Bulletin.
Mookie Katigbak
February 7, 2009
Mookie Katigbak holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, NY, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of the Philippines. She has won two Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for her Poetry and was the first prize winner in the poetry category of the 2006 Philippines Free Press Awards for Literature. She has recently published her first collection of poems titled The Proxy Eros (Anvil, 2008).
Rodolfo (Jun) Lana, Jr.
February 7, 2009
Rodolfo Lana, Jr. is a member of the Palanca Hall of Fame. He has won numerous local and international awards for his screenplays, among them Best Screenplay at the Brussels International Film Festival for Sa Pusod Ng Dagat. He also directs TV shows and has been nominated at the Asian TV Awards. He is director, writer and creative consultant at the GMA TV Network.
Jason Paul Laxamana
February 7, 2009
Jason Paul Laxamana is currently a features writer for the Central Luzon Daily and organizes music events and festivals in Central Luzon. He has directed several music videos and placed 3rd in the Tagisan King Poesya (Kapampangan) organized by the Gawad Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino in 2007.
Junley Lazaga
February 7, 2009
Junley Lazaga is taking an MA in Language and Literature at the UP Baguio, where he teaches at the Department of Language, Literture and the Arts. He has participated in several regional writing workshops.
Leopoldo Lopido
February 7, 2009
Leopoldo Lopido works at the Philippine Information Agency. He has attended several writing workshops and was awarded the Jimmy Y Balacuit Literary Award at the Iligan workshop.
Monica Macansantos
February 7, 2009
Monica Macansantos has a BA in Creative Writing (magna cum laude) from UP Diliman. She teaches at the Department of Humanities in UP Los Banos. She has attended the MSU, Dumaguete and UST writing workshops and has won the Palanca Award (Kabataan Essay).
Glen Sevilla Mas
February 7, 2009
Glen Sevilla Mas has an MFA in Playwriting from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He has received several honors, among them numerous Palanca Awards. He has been named one of the 100 Outsanding Alumni of the Century by the West Visayas State University and has been a Ford International Fellow. He has participated in several national fellowships and conferences.
Phil Harold Mercurio
February 7, 2009
Phil Harold Mercurio has an MA in Education from the UP Open University and has been involved in several creative writing activities in his native Tacloban. He is also a licensed computer programmer.
Victor Dennis Nierva
February 7, 2009
Victor Dennis Nierva is currently pursuing his M.A. in Creative Writing at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. In 2007, he won the grand prize in the Premio Tomas Arejola and the National Book Award for his first book titled Antisipasyon: asin iba pang rawitdawit sa Bikol asin Ingles (Goldprint Publishing House, 2007).
Voltaire Oyzon
February 7, 2009
Voltaire Oyzon has an MA in English from Leyte Normal University, where he teaches Philosophy, Ethics, Sociology and Economics. He has been a writing fellow at the Visayas, Faigao, Iligan, and UP writing workshops. He has published a poetry collection in Waray (with English translation), An maupay ha mga Waray (NCCA 2008).
Jean Lee Patindol
February 7, 2009
Jean Lee Patindol has an MA in Conflict and Reconciliation Studies and a Master in Business Administration, both from the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod. She has published several children’s books here and abroad and has attended several writers’ workshops. She has received the PBBY Alfredo Salanga Prize twice, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award.
Allan Popa
February 7, 2009
Allan Popa has an MFA in Creative Writing from DLSU Manila, and teaches at the Filipino Department at the Ateneo de Manila. He has been the recipient of a continuing fellowship at the Master Class New York State Summer Writers Institute at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. He is widely published and anthologized and has published seven books of poetry and has won several awards, including the Free Press Literary Award, and has twice received the National Book Award, for Morpo and Samsara.
Edgar Calabia Samar
February 7, 2009
Edgar Calabia Samar is an instructor at the Filipino Department of the Ateneo De Manila University. He already has three Don Carlos Memorial Awards for both his fiction and poetry and was the recipient of the 2005 NCCA Writers Prize for his novel Walong Diwata ng Pagkahulog (Anvil).
Rica Bolipata-Santos
February 7, 2009
Rica Bolipata-Santos teaches at the Department of English at the Ateneo de Manila. She is also consultant for Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation and is the Executive Director for the Ateneo Library of Women’s Writings (ALIWW). She is a columnist at the Philippine Star and has published essays in various publications. She has won a Free Press Literary Award, as well as the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award for Love, Sesire, Marriage: Reflections of a Young Wife (Milflores Publishing).
Tara FT Sering
February 7, 2009
Tara FT Sering is a freelance writer and editor, and is managing editor of Contemporary Art Philippines. She is also a regular columnist at the Philippine Star. She has published essays and short stories in several publications and anthologies, and has published 4 novellas and a collection of short stories. She has won the Philippine Graphic and Palanca awards, as well as the National Book Award for Almost Married in 2003.
Dinah Roma-Sianturi
February 7, 2009
Dinah Roma-Sianturi has a PhD in Literature from De La Salle University, where she is associate professor of Literature. She has been recipient of several international fellowships, among them from the Japan Foundation and the Southeast Asian Studies Conflict Network, and has participated in numerous educational exchange programs with universities in Japan, Singapore and Ireland.
Angelo V. Suarez
February 7, 2009
Angelo V. Suarez is an advertising copywriter and is taking his MA in Communication at UST. He has been a fellow at several local and international workshops. He has authored two books of poetry and co-authored two others, and has also exhibited and performed at various exhibitions. He has won several awards for his poetry, among them the Bridges of Struga International Poetry Prize, Palanca Awards, and the National Book Award for The Nymph of MTV.
Ariel S. Tabag
February 7, 2009
Ariel S. Tabag has won Palanca Awards and the Gawad Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino for his poems and short stories in Iluko. He works as entertainment editor for Bannawag Magazine at the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation.
John Iremil E. Teodoro
February 7, 2009
John Iremil E. Teodoro has an MA in Creative Writing from De La Salle University. He has won several Palanca Awards for his short stories in Hiligaynon and Filipino, as well as for essays and full-length plays. He has been writing fellow for Filipino Poetry at the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing and Research Center at DLSU. He has published several books, one of which (Kung ang Tula ay Pwedeng Pambili ng Lalaki) was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Januar E. Yap
February 7, 2009
Januar E. Yap currently teaches literature and journalism at the Cebu Normal University in Cebu City. He is also the page editor of SunStar Daily, where he also maintains a regular column. He was a recipient of the NCCA Ubod New Writers’ Series, under which he published a collection of short stories titled Ang Aktibistang Gi-Syphilis. He has won a Palanca Award and has been a fellow to the National Writers’ Workshop in Dumaguete City and the National Writers’ Workshop in MSU-IIT in Iligan.
Alvin Yapan
February 7, 2009
Alvin Yapan is an assistant professor at the Ateneo De Manila University, where he finished his M.A. in Philippine Literature in Filipino. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Among his awards are four Don Carlos Palanca Memorial prizes, the 2005 NCCA Writers Prize for Fiction, and the National Book Award (2006) and the Juan C. Laya Prize for Best Novel for Ang Sandali ng mga Mata (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2006).
Lawrence Ypil
February 7, 2009
Lawrence Ypil teaches at the English Department and Fine Arts program at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he is taking his MA in Literary and Cultural Studies. He has published poems and essays in various publications and won several awards for his poetry in English, among them Palanca (Poetry in English) and Free Press Awards (Poetry).
