NCCA now accepting entries for writers' prize

MANILA, Philippines - The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is now accepting entries for the 2009 NCCA Writers’ Prize, which is one of the country’s top literary awards.

Originally conceptualized by National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario during his stint at the NCCA, the biennial award aims to “encourage the continuing development of a pluralistic culture by the people themselves.”

The NCCA Writers’ Prize further hopes to create an avenue for writers to have a direct hand in the development of Filipino literature through the P250,000 grant to be given to each of the winners to be given in four tranches. Through the grant, the writers will be freed from the demands of their work and shall be able to focus on the writing project for one year.

The grant is open to all Filipino writers, of legal age, except to the officers and members of the NCCA Secretariat and the incumbent Executive Council Members of the NCCA Committee on Literary Arts and Committee on Dramatic Arts.

Mechanics

For the 2009 NCCA Writers’ Prize competition, the following shall be the requirements in the submission of entries:

1. Applicants must submit an accomplished application form, available at the NCCA Planning, Policy Formulation, and Programming Division (P/PFPD) or download from the NCCA website: http://www.ncca.gov.ph, curriculum vitae, and a three to five page concept paper discussing the rationale and significance of the project, the initial output of the project which shall be submitted in four printed copies along with the concept paper.

Category Initial Output is 1) Novel – Filipino language first 50 pages; 2) Poetry – Ilocano language 10 poems; one poem per page; 3) Drama – Bicolano language 1 act for a full length drama, 2 1-act plays; 4) Drama – Cebuano language one act for a full-length drama; two one-act plays; 5) and Essay – Kapampangan language three chapters or no less than 50 pages.

All the sample works shall be in typewritten form. Manuscript and concept paper shall not bear the name of the applicant in any of the pages.

2. Applicants are allowed to apply in only one category.

3. Applications will be evaluated by an Ad Hoc Screening Committee selected by the Committee on Literary Arts and the Committee on Dramatic Arts. There will be three members of the screening committee per category.

Previous winners of the NCCA Writers’ Prize included Lourd de Veyra of the Radioactive Sago Project, Palanca awardees and STAR culture and literary columnists Alfred Yuson and Danton Remoto.

The application forms and mechanics are available at NCCA - Plan, Project Formulation and Program Division – Institutional Programs office in NCCA and can be downloaded from www.ncca.gov.ph.

For details, call Frances Alincastre, planning officer of the NCCA-Plan, Project Formulation and Program Division (P/PFPD)–Institutional Programs at 527-2214 / 527-2192 loc. 503, or log on www.ncca.gov.ph. NCCA-P/PFPD is located at Room 5-A, 5th floor of the NCCA Building at 633 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila.