FROM The Peter Solis Nery Foundation for Hiligaynon Literature and the Arts, Inc., the first good news for literature in 2021: We are opening a special writing category for literature dedicated to COVID-19 and the pandemic it created in 2020.
It is a competitive writing category, but it’s not like anything you have seen in the previous Peter’s Prize. Because, well, the pandemic was also something that we haven’t seen in our lifetime until it hit us last year.
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So, what’s new?
Firstly, and this is a big one: The entries will compete in three languages, but for the same prize. Which means, works in English will compete with works in Filipino as well as works in Hiligaynon. Or in any combination of the three named languages!
Crazy, right? Well, we must remember and understand that the pandemic didn’t have a favored language. The world, the rich and the poor, the young and the old, and all races, were all struck by COVID-19’s virulence.
The Foundation stands by its mission to promote literature in Hiligaynon, and so it is a language that necessarily needs to be there. But this contest is about the pandemic, so we will entertain English and Filipino, too.
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Consider also that in 2020, I discovered my voice in Filipino as I ministered to young Filipinos online. I thought that the modern Filipino language is worth a look in the next Peter’s Prize competition.
And then, there were those people who took up my challenge to produce literature while the countries were in lockdown. I want to reward those people by giving them a chance at the prize even if they are English-writing Filipinos in other parts of the world.
In the end, because I am trilingual, and I have competent multilingual judges to help me out, we will only choose the best literature, regardless of the language in which it is written.
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Oh, and yes, if I wasn’t very clear above, here I go again: You can write your entry in any of the three languages; or any combination of two languages; or even a combination using all the three languages.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept entries written in other languages (Kinaray-a, Ilocano, Cebuano, Waray, Bicolano, Chavacano, French, Slovak, et cetera) at this time. Please respect the Foundation’s bias to Hiligaynon literature (even if we accept English and Filipino without bias for this particular category).
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Secondly, and this is another big one: The genre is rather wild. We can call it “Chapbook” because we would require each entry to be a material that is 30-36 pages long.
You can research what “chapbook” means, but for our contest, it means written text or computer manuscript that can fit the 30-36 pages requirement.
In manuscript form, it is 30-36 pages double-spaced, on an 8.5” x 11” paper, with a 1” margin all around. Please stick to plain fonts like Times New Roman or Helvetica, black, 12 points.
Poems and plays may or may not be double-spaced. Poems can be single-spaced, and if you know the industry format for plays, that will be great, too!
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Unfortunately, we will not consider graphic art, or photos, at this time. We will be concentrating on the text of poems, stories, flash fiction, essays, creative nonfiction, plays, prayers, songs, and the likes, that are about the Covid-19 pandemic, its ramifications and aftermath, people’s experience and response to it, and whatever they want to write about that game changer of a pandemic.
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The entry can be all poems; or all stories; or all essays; or a collection of very short plays; or a one-act play up to a maximum of 36 pages. Or, it can be a mix and match: a combo of stories and poems; or stories, poems and essays; or stories, poems, essays, and plays; or poems and essays; or essays and 10-minute plays; or whatever type of combination you can think of.
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The main thing is to move the judges. To impress them. To make them see that your work, your “chapbook,” in whatever language or genre (or combo thereof), towers above all the competition.
And again, because our judges are very well read and highly competent, they can actually determine that a collection of poetry is better than a collection of stories; or a mix-match of essays and poems is better than a mix and match of poems and plays, or whatever combo you can think; and so on and so forth.
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If you took up my suggestion to write your COVID literature in mid-April last year (the Facebook group “COVID Lit Project with Peter Solis Nery” was created on April 16, 2020), this shouldn’t be a problem. Again, just a simple reward for those who heeded the call.
But for those who didn’t, well, there’s still a chance for you at the prize. All forty plus days of it starting now to compile a COVID lit chapbook.
The contest is officially on. But I will accept submissions starting February 10, with a February 14, Valentine’s Day, deadline. Please do not ask for extensions. There will most likely be no extension of deadline. That’s also one way of how we keep the integrity of the Peter’s Prize.
(Also a good idea to like The Peter Solis Nery Foundation page on Facebook for updates on the contest, and other events of The PSN Foundation.)
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The contest is only open through online submission. Use this email: 500tinaga@gmail.com. But stern warning: Entries sent before February 10 will automatically be disqualified and blacklisted.
Personally, I suggest that you spend time polishing and choosing your best 30 to 36-page collection. Multiple entries will be accepted.
But materials in one entry may not be used in another entry. (They will be automatically disqualified!)
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The cash prizes are the usual: P5,000 for the first prize; P3,000 for the second prize; and P2,000 for the third prize. All three winners will each receive a certificate. And the first prize will be awarded the Peter’s Prize medallion; and a term commission as The PSN Foundation’s Ambassador/Ambassadress of Literature.
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Most literary contests and events were put on hold last year due to the pandemic. But The PSN Foundation went on with its Translation Prize (awarded to Celia F. Parcon), and Short Story Prize (won by Adonis C. Gonzales).
We will continue with our efforts this year. (COVID can’t stop us!) And the COVID Literature Prize is just one of the many prizes we are considering.
Who knows? Maybe we will call another competition for the Film Prize again (which we did last in 2019). Film needs special planning since it involves more collaborative work and people having to be personally together in one place. So, we will have to watch out for this one.
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Meanwhile, those who can may write. Happy New Year, and Good Luck!/PN
