By Peter Solis Nery, Palanca Hall of Famer
AFTER a successful comeback last year following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, this year’s Palanca Awards, the biggest literary contest in the country, returns with a May 31 deadline.
Open in 20 categories including poetry, short story, play, essay, and screenplay in English, Filipino, and three regional languages, this year’s 71st Palanca competition will accept online submissions only. Entry forms, contest rules, and complete guidelines are now available at the Palanca website, www.palancaawards.com.ph.
Started in 1950 to honor the memory of businessman-philanthropist Carlos Palanca Sr., and to promote Philippine literature and culture, the Palanca Awards is the longest running literary contest in the country, and has become, through the years, the repository of the best of Philippine literature.
Widely considered as the Pulitzer Prize of the Philippines, it remains as the country’s highest literary honor in terms of prestige.
In 1995, the Palanca Hall of Fame distinction was established for Palanca awardees who already won five first prizes in the regular categories. As of 2022, only four Ilonggos have been inducted to the Palanca Hall of Fame: Peter Solis Nery in 2012; Elsa Martinez Coscolluela, 1999; Leoncio Deriada, 2001; and Alicia Tan Gonzales, 2014./PN
