The Spy in the Sandwich

Monday, August 22, 2005

10:05 PM | Palanca!

With Updates

Finally, I'm finished with it. I took Dean's challenge (to find time, that is), and finished the unofficial Palanca website, just in time for the latest unveiling of winners come September 1. (And no, contrary to rumors, I did not win a Palanca this year.) My deepest gratitudes go to Ma'am Babes over at the Palanca Foundation office, and Fernando Gonzalez who did the necessary legwork. It took quite a few months, but I decided to crunch everything in during the last three days, just to finally complete this project. It was hard work uploading all those winners from 1951 to 2004. (I missed some lunches and dinners, and a good Sunday.) That's 53 years worth of names, gad. But I'm happy. We have to do what we can to get Philippine literature out there, you know?

As for the complete list of Filipino novels in English which have won the Palanca Grand Prize, here's the definitive list, Dean:

1. Remmie Brillo, Silapulapu and The Zebut Brothers (1980, Special Prize)
2. Francisco Sionil Jose, Mass (1981, Co-Winner)
3. Wilfrido D. Nolledo, Sangria Tomorrow (1981, Co-Winner)
4. Antonio R. Enriquez, Surveyors of the Liguasan Marsh (1982)
5. Edilberto K. Tiempo, The Standard Bearer (1983, Special Prize)
6. Wilfrido D. Nolledo , Vaya Con Virgo (1984)
7. Alfred A. Yuson, Great Philippine Jungle Energy Cafe (1987)
8. Azucena Grajo Uranza, Bamboo in the Wind (1990)
9. Jose Y. Dalisay Jr., Killing Time in a Warm Place (1993, Co-Winner)
10. Antonio R. Enriquez, Subanons (1993, Co-Winner)
11. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, Recuerdo (1996)
12. Felisa H. Batacan, Smaller and Smaller Circle (1999)
13. Vicente Garcia Groyon III, The Sky Over Dimas (2002)
14. Dean Francis Alfar, Salamanca (2005)

There you go. Good company, indeed, Dean. And congratulations once again! And warmest congratulations, too, to Nikki Alfar (Third Prize, Children's Story), Lakambini Sitoy* (Second Prize, Short Story, and First Prize, Essay), Maryanne Moll (Third Prize, Short Story), Pearlsha Abubakar (Third Prize, Futuristic Fiction), Exie Abola (First Prize, Short Story), Glenn Mas (First Prize, Full-Length Play, and Second Prize, One-Act Play), Raissa Claire Rivera (Second Prize, Children's Story), Naya Valdellon (Second Prize, Poetry), Joel Toledo (First Prize, Poetry), Mookie Katigbak (Third Prize, Poetry), Rosmon Tuazon (First Prize, Tula), Allan Lopez (Third Prize, Full-Length Play), and Eugene Evasco (I don't know which category, pero alam kong nanalo ka ulit!).

That makes Batch 2002 of the Dumaguete Writers Workshop -- with Gelo Suarez (2003 and 2004, Second and Third Prizes for Poetry, respectively), Naya (2004, First Prize for Poetry, and this year's golden win in the Palanca -- plus her 2003 Maningning Miclat Poetry Prize), Mookie, and Maryanne for the Palanca, Allan Pastrana for the 2005 Maningning Miclat Poetry Prize and Peter Mayshle for the 2004 Philippines Free Press Literary Prize Second Place -- the winning-est group of writing fellows of late!

Sa batch ko (2000), ako lang (2002 and 2003, both Second Place for Short Story) and Isolde Amante (2000, Second Place rin for the Short Story) for the Palanca, although Vincenz Serrano gets anthologized a lot (and it's about time this guy gets his Palanca talaga). But the 2003 batch also gives the 2002 batch a run for their prize monies, because there's Kit Kwe (2003, Third Prize for Short Story), Anna Sanchez (2004, Second Prize for Full-Length Play, plus her 2001 First Prize Amelia Lapena Prize for Fiction), Rosmon (2004, Second Prize for Tula, and now this year's Palanca), Carljoe Javier (2005, Third Prize Amelia Lapena Prize for Fiction), and Rolando Salvana (who has won three to five Palancas or so before coming to Dumaguete). In this batch, I'd like to see Mark Cayanan, Vince Coscolluela, and Ken Ishikawa get their due, soon. For batch 2004, Gabby Lee has won Second Prize in the 2005 Amelia Lapena Fiction Prize, John Bengan won the 2004 Philippines Free Press Literary Prize Second Place, and Faye Ilogon her Third Place for the Short Story in Palanca 2001. I have no doubt Hedwig de Leon, Ginny Mata, and the other writers from this batch will make the lists soon.

It's strange. I know all these people, some of them very, very intimately. (Ponder on that.) Got drunk and hammered with them, told the dirtiest jokes, and in one case, even stripped naked during a heady game of spin-the-bottle. And now, mga sikat na sila.

Now, I have to get back to my old grind.

* Bing (who's currently in Denmark traveling and writing for her David Wong fellowship) emailed me a week ago, and said that in Spain, the word "palanca" means a "stiff dick." Hehehe.

Labels: palanca, philippine literature