Oro writers named in nat’l literary awards, fellowships, festival

RECENTLY, local writers brought pride to the city in several national literary awards, writing fellowships, and writers festivals.
Among the finalists to the 37th National Book Awards conferred by the Manila Critics Circle and the National Book Development Board are Jaime An Lim’s “Auguries: Poems” (UST Publishing House), Ma Elena Paulma’s “Southern Stories and Strays” (UP Press), and Jack Alvarez’s “Kagay-an at Isang Pag-ibig sa Panahon ng All-Out War” (Psicom).
Annie Gorra’s “The Mystery on 17th Street” (Anvil) was nominated for the Literature (Fiction) in English cate-gory of the 2018 Gintong Aklat Awards conferred biennially by the Book Development Association of the Philip-pines.
Meanwhile, young playwright Dominique La Victoria won third prize for her full-length play “Toward the Fires of the Revolution” at the 68th Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards.
This year, other members of writers collective Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (Nagmac) were granted writing fellowships after rigorous screening at national creative writing workshops — Ton Daposala (57th UP National Writers Workshop), Dapanas (25th Iligan National Writers Workshop), EJ Villena (3rd Amelia La-peña-Bonifacio Writers Workshop in UP Diliman), Dennis B Flores (16th San Agustin Writers Workshop in Iloilo), and Adeva Jane Esparrago, Hazel Aspera, and Mark Acero (2nd Kagis Creative Writers Workshop in Cebu).
This mid-November, young writer JC Patriana Beronio is set to represent the city at the 2018 Davao Writers Work-shop. (NAGMAC)