The Palanca Awards: 2,220 winning works in 64 years

The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the longest-running literary contest in the country, honored 47 literary artists in its 64th year at The Peninsula Manila in Makati City Monday night.

The awarding ceremonies started with a poetry reading by actor and playwright Joel Trinidad. He read the "Parable of the Sparrow," "Portrait of Ms. Solesby," and "We Won't be Tending Gardens" from the Poetry category's first prize winner Ana Maria Katigbak-Lacuesta's collection.

Theater stalwarts Irma Adlawan, John Arcilla, Menggie Cobarrubias, and Wenah Nagales played out Salvador Biglaen's "Balediksiyon," the second prize winner for the Dulang May Isang Yugto category.

'Bang your head' 

Master of ceremonies TV-actor Ricky Davao then introduced the night's guest of honor, "writer-editor-publisher-playwright-theater producer-visual artist-art curator-cultural visionary" Gilda Cordero-Fernando, who was given the Gawad Dangal ng Lahi award.

In her speech, the "Renaissance" woman told anecdotes about her struggles and successes as an artist. She also jokingly attributed her successes in her professional life to her "tigas ng ulo."

Fernando then gave a tip to literary neophytes: "When you are sure that you have a good original idea and convinced that it would work, bang your head against the door. It would split open faster than your head will. And there will be magic behind that door that you never dreamed possible."

2,220 winning works in 64 years

In its 64 years, the Palanca Awards has collected 2,220 winning works—569 short stories, 384 poetry collections, 226 essays, 361 one-act plays, 196 full-length plays, 60 teleplays, 62 screenplays, 164 stories for children, 34 futuristic fiction stories, 93 student essays, 38 novels, and 33 collection of poetry written for children in the Filipino, English, Regional Languages, and Kabataan categories.

In her remarks, Palanca Awards deputy director general Christine Pacheco also said that most of the entris this year were submitted through digital platforms. Technological advances have allowed more writers from different regions and even out of the country to submit their works for consideration.

Pacheco also called on the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to integrate the winning works into their curricula to expose students to more Filipino literature.

She also revealed that the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature is working on making the winning works accessible and downloadable for the public.

Aside from the winners, judges, and the who's who of Philippine literary circles, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera graced the event.

The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was established in 1950 to promote literature, education, and culture in the Philippines.

Click here for the full list of winners at the 64th Palanca Awards. — BM, GMA News