Young writers are invited to take part in a special creative writing fellowship as part of the third staging of the Benguet Indigenous Youth Arts Guild (Biyag) on April 13 to 14.
Organized by the province of Benguet, the event dubbed “Ped-agan” serves as a venue of exchanges between experts and promising writers aged 18 to 30 years old, who will hone their creative writing skills.
Prospective fellows in each genre need to submit original or unpublished works in poetry where applicants must submit a collection of five poems; short story, where submissions can be either one short story or two short stories for children; and essay, where participants must submit two original essays.
Organizers said while literary pieces in English and Filipino are accepted, they highly encourage submissions in Benguet languages such as those written in Ibaloy, Iowak, Kankana-ey, Kalanguya, and Karao. For submissions in Benguet languages, a corresponding English or Filipino translation is required.
Three distinguished fellows will be honored as poet, essayist, and short story writer of the year, adding a layer of prestige to the event, the organizers said.
Submissions must be received by March 22 and manuscripts should be computerized in MS Word, double-spaced, on short bond paper, with a one-inch margin on all sides.
Also, the font should be either Times New Roman or Arial, with a font size of 12; the upper right margin of each page should contain the page number and applicants must submit a curriculum vitae together with their literary works.
Young writers may email their manuscripts and CV to [email protected].
The organizers said only original and previously unpublished works will be considered. – Ofelia C. Empian
