14th Iyas National Writers Workshop

I got in to the 14th Iyas National Writers Workshop in Bacolod City. Below are excerpts from the email I received. If you want to know how to apply to the workshop, visit the De La Salle University website.

Congratulations! Out of 74 applicants (5 more were not considered due to late submission), the Screening Committee has selected you as one of the 15 fellows of the 14th IYAS National Writers' Workshop to be held at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City on April 20 to 26, 2014.

We will have a welcome dinner on Sunday, April 20, 2013 at 6:30 pm at the residence of Dr. Elsie Coscolluela, together with the fellows and panelists of the Kritika Workshop for Arts Criticism, which will run parallel to IYAS.

The workshop proper will start at exactly 8:00 am on Monday, April 21. In addition to our regular plenaries and small group interaction with panelists of your choice, we will have interface activities with the Kritika group, and other literary readings/events, which will be in the final program.

I submitted two short stories to the workshop. Strictly, none of them are set at the heart of Kulaman Plateau. One story is set in Palimbang, a neighboring town, although the name of the town is not explicitly stated in the story. The story has something to do with Moro separatist rebels who are still in their teens. The other story is set "somewhere in North Cotabato" in 1970s. It is about a band of Ilaga, a large but loosely organized Christian paramilitary group that fought against Muslims.

The two stories, though, resonate with the people of Kulaman. Moro rebels and Ilaga, at some points, have had some activities at the plateau. Here are more details about the Bacolod workshop, taken from Negros Daily Bulletin:

The fellows for fiction (in English) are Gian Carla Agbisit, Rolly Jude Ortega and Rodolfo Eduardo Santiago; (in Filipino) Marvin Einstein Mejaro; (in Cebuano) Vitaliano Aton, Jr.; (in Hiligaynon) Meryl Panuncio, and (in Kinaray-a) Mark Joseph Torrechilla.

Fellow for drama in Filipino is Christa De la Cruz.

The fellows for poetry (in English) are Christian Jil Benitez, Allen Faw Samsuya, and Michael Villas; (in Filipino) Allan Lenard Ocampo and Paolo Miguel Tiausas; and (in Cebuano) Jessrel Gilbuena and Jeffrey Javier.

IYAS will interface with the Kritika National Workshop on Art and Cultural Criticism sponsored by the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center and the NCCA, which will also be held on the same dates at the University of St. La Salle.

The interface activities include an introduction to Negrense culture through trips around Bacolod, and to nearby Talisay, Silay, and Victorias cities to see cultural and environmental landmarks like the "Earth Chapel."

The IYAS Workshop Director is Dr. Marjorie Evasco and the panelists for this year are Dr. Rebecca Añonuevo, Dr. Genevieve Asenjo, Ms. Grace Monte de Ramos, Mr. Danilo M. Reyes, and Mr. John Iremil Teodoro. IYAS Founder and Project Director Dr. Elsie Coscolluela also sits in the panel.

The IYAS National Writers’ Workshop is co-sponsored by the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle University and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and will be held on April 20 - 26, 2014 at the Balay Kalinungan Complex of the University of St. La Salle, Bacolod City.