7th Lamiraw Workshop Call for Submission

The National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA), the Northwest Samar State University’s (NwSSU) Office of the Vice President for Research, Extension and External Affairs, and the NwSSU Arts, Social and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with the Lamiraw Literary Arts Organization, proudly announce the 7th Lamiraw Regional Creative Writing Workshop (LRCWW) to be held on November 9-12, 2010 in Calbayog City, Samar.

Now in its seventh year, Lamiraw introduces a new addition—the Chito S. Roño Literary Awards for poetry, fiction and drama—which will be launched during the opening ceremony of the workshop. In order to boost the revival of the literature of Eastern Visayas, entries in said literary contest must be written in Waray, Sebuano or Inabaknon The contest’s sponsor, Chito S. Roño, renowned film director and a native of Calbayog, is also this year’s workshop keynote speaker. Details for the Chito S. Roño Literary Awards will be announced in June.

The panelists in the workshop are Prof. Merlie Alunan and Dr. Leoncio Deriada, professors emeritus of UP Visayas; Dr. Victor Sugbo of UPV Tacloban; Dr. David Genotiva of Eastern Visayas State University; Prof. Timothy Montes of UP Mindanao; Mr. Voltaire Oyzon of Leyte Normal University; Mr. Dante Rosales of Ibabao Arts Council of Calbayog; and Mr. Harold Mercurio of Northwest Samar State University.

Fifteen slots are open to writers who are willing to hone their craft in poetry, fiction, essay and drama. Three slots are allotted for fellows coming from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao (one slot per area), nine slots for writers residing in Samar, Leyte and Biliran, and three slots for Inabaknon writers in Capul, Northern Samar. Applicants may send entries in Waray, Sebuano, Inabaknon or English. Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao guest fellows may submit works in their regional language provided that a translation is included. Likewise, the Lamiraw organizers require all writers from Eastern Visayas to provide a Filipino or English translation of their entries for the benefit of non-Region 8 fellows.

Interested writers may submit any of the following: 3 poems, 1 short story, 2 essays, a one-act play, or any reasonable combination of the above in hardcopy. A CD containing the manuscripts and their translation, the application form in MS Word format (Arial, font size 12), as well as two 2x2 pictures in JPEG format must also be submitted. A statement from a person of authority (an established writer or a notary public) attesting to the originality of the submitted work should also be included. The application form can be downloaded at Panitikan.com or the NCCA website.

Qualified fellows get free board and lodging, and a proportionate travel allowance. Walk-in auditors will have to pay a registration fee of P3,000.00. Applications must be postmarked on or before August 30, 2010.

All entrees will not be returned and will be kept as file copy of Lamiraw workshop, thus applicants are advised to secure a copy of their manuscripts. Send applications to Harold L. Mercurio, Project Coordinator, Lamiraw Regional Creative Writing Workshop c/o Office of the Arts, Social and Cultural Affairs of NwSSU, Calbayog City, Samar, 6710. Entries can also be e-mailed to lamiraw@yahoo.com.

For inquiries, call at 09177982781 or email at lamiraw@yahoo.com.