“AT LAST!” exclaimed Jonell Segador Gregorio, 39, when he finally received his medallion from The Peter Solis Nery Foundation for his grand prize win in the 2021 Peter’s Prize for Covid Literature.
“I feel complete. The medal is heavy, borne of big dreams and struggles. I deserve this,” Gregorio declared in an interview.
Peter Solis Nery, author and creator of the Peter’s Prize, awarded the medallion at the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office 6 on May 22.
Gregorio, currently on the faculty of Aklan State University in Banga, won for “Tumult: Literature Borne of a Pandemic”, his chapbook of stories, essays, and poems that chronicled the first year of the Covid-19 global phenomenon. He bested 20 other entries to become the first (and to date, the only) Aklanon to bring home the Peter’s Prize.
This year, the Pandemic Literature (Chapbook) category returns to the Peter’s Prize contest. Collected works of chapbook length (18 to 24 pages) in English, Filipino, and/or Hiligaynon are eligible, and can be submitted online before the new deadline of June 30. (Complete guidelines are searchable online but especially in The Peter Solis Nery Foundation page on Facebook.)
The three years of the pandemic did not suspend the conduct of the Peter’s Prize; in fact, the contest expanded in categories to help creatives in the time of social restrictions and physical isolation. Except for the medallion ceremonies, however, everything was largely undertaken online.
In October, Adonis C. Gonzales (2020 Short Story winner), and Paul Aries Valera (2022 Essay) personally received their medallions during The Peter Solis Nery Foundation International Film Festival night in Dumangas, Iloilo.
Awarded their medallions in December were Ritchie D. Pagunsan (2022 Special Prize for Cultural Dissemination) in Sibalom, Antique; and Reyniel O. Tomas (2022 Poetry by 21 & Under) in his hometown of San Jose, Nueva Ecija./PN
