1. Advices on how
to win a Palanca
Competition
Bagayan, Michael Angelo M.
12- St. Ignatius
2. “Do not write to win a Palanca or any other literary prize. Write because you want to share something that may
connect with other people,” says Dr. Jose Wendell Capili.
Write about what you really know and are passionate about,” adds Playwright John Iremil Teodoro he also said
that prizes are the wrong motivations for writing. Teodoro, language is important. “Study the art of writing. Write in
the language that you know best.”
National Artist Francisco Arcellana said “Write something that only you and you can write about," and from
National Artist NVM Gonzales, a winning piece “should have an interesting premise.”
Gemino H. Abad, Capili says that you should only submit a version of the manuscript that “makes you happy.”
“Each of the judges look for different things and you’re lucky if they find what they’re looking for in your work,”
says Dr. Michael M. Coroza.
Joshua Lim So says that the best advice he can give aspirants is to overcome their fear.
Restaurateur, advises all writers to just keep submitting their work. “Wala namang mawawala kung mag-sa-
submit kayo. Sabihin niyo na lang na nag-submit kayo ‘pa nanalo kayo. (There’s nothing to lose in submitting
your work. Only tell people you’ve submitted once you’ve won).“
“Quitters never win, and losers never quit. However, unlike in gambling, there’s nothing to lose in joining the
Palanca,” Corazon said.
3. The Past Awardees
• Dr. Jose Wendell Capili,
a Palanca awardee and
longtime professor of
creative writing and
comparative literature
at the University of the
Philippines, a sure step
to win a Palanca is not
to think about winning
it.
• Initially a biology graduate,
Teodoro took a master's
degree in fine arts major in
creative writing and wrote
his first full-length play for a
class, which won in 1997.
He has also won a National
Book Award for Non-Fiction
from the Manila Critics’
Circle. Playwright John Iremil Teodoro
• Coroza, who also won
in the Filipino short
story for children and
Filipino essay
categories, adds that
the identities of judges
are kept secret until the
day of the awarding
ceremonies
Dr. Michael M. Coroza
• Joshua Lim So, who won first prize
in the English full-length play and
third in the Filipino counterpart
category last year, says that the
best advice he can give aspirants is
to overcome their fear.
4. The Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, popularly known as the Palanca Awards, are a set of literary
awards for Philippine writers. Usually referred to as the "Pulitzer Prize of the Philippines", it is the country's highest literary honor in terms of
prestige. Winning works are entered in the competition either as previously published pieces or in manuscript form. The Palanca Awards,
organized by the Carlos Palanca Foundation, is one of the Philippines' longest-running awards programs.
The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (Palanca Awards) was established in 1950. The heirs of Don Carlos Palanca, Sr. found it
most fitting to commemorate his memory through an endeavor that would promote education and culture in the country.
As of 1 September 2018, the Palanca Awards collection consists of 2,441 winning works composed of 625 short stories,
408 collections of poetry, 250 essays, 383 one-act plays, 213 full-length plays, 60 teleplays, 74 screenplays, 181 stories for children, 34
futuristic fiction stories, 116 student essays, 42 novels, and 55 collections of poetry written for children, in the English, Filipino, Regional
Languages, and Kabataan Divisions. Instituted in 1995, the Palanca Hall of Fame award is presented to a Palanca awardee who has
achieved the distinction of winning five first prizes in the regular categories.
The Kabataan Award of Distinction is a separate honor awarded to persons below 18 years of age who have won four first prizes in the
Kabataan division.
The Palanca Awards continues to pursue avenues that help share these literary gems with the rest of the world. To date, four (4) anthologies
of award-winning poetry, short fiction and one-act plays have been published. The first set of anthologies in English and Filipino was printed
in 1976, composed of Palanca Award winning works from 1950-1970. It was then followed by three separate anthologies of one-act plays,
short stories, and poetry that won in the 1980s, with Filipino volumes issued in 1990 and English volumes in 2000. These anthologies have
also been donated to university libraries.
Adding dimension to the Palanca Awards mission of encouraging excellence in literary writing, the Carlos Palanca Foundation (the
"Foundation") also supports a scholarship program for creative writing.
He or she can have a talent to have their best to win a Palanca awards but only few of them was chosen because the judges know that they
are the best among those people.
