Call-Center Comedy

As I write this, this year's Palanca awardees have already feasted on their buffet dinner, accepted their prizes and--truth to tell, the real highlight of the night to many--enjoyed the free beer. Though I didn't win this year, I'm nonetheless happy that several of my online and offline friends did. I'm especially thrilled that the Writers Bloc--the writers' group that I'm most loyal to and proud to be a part of--boasts of (at least) seven members who have won this year, all in the playwriting categories: Debbie Tan, Layeta Bucoy, Chris Martinez, Allan Lopez, Dennis Teodosio, Nicolas Pichay (who's now a Palanca Hall of Famer) and Rody Vera.

At the same time, I'm also happy that Mikael Co, Glenn Mas, my UP workshop batchmate Allan Pastrana, and blog buds Dean Alfar and Ian Casocot also made it to this year's roster of winners.

To celebrate this year's awarding ceremony, below is a clip featuring the awesome Michael V. as Chelsea in Chris' Welcome to IntelStar, which placed third in the One-act Play in English category two years ago. The only thing regrettable about this video is its length; it's too short!

To my friends and the rest of this year's prizewinners: CONGRATULATIONS!

Sweeter the Second Time

The January 22 issue of The Philippine Graphic finally released the winners of its Philippine Graphic-Nick Joaquin Literary Awards for 2006. They are:

First Prize: Virgilio Harry C. Tejero, for Perfume Close to My Heart.
Second Prize: Mario Ignacio Miclat, for Antonio and His China Wall.
Third Prize: E.B. Maranan, for Luna's Land.

The judges are: Adrian T. Cristobal, Vicente Garcia Groyon and Lito Zulueta.

In his essay on the winning pieces, Groyon says that many of the stories published in the magazine from August 2005 to August 2006 have unusual content. He also adds that a number of them have deviated from conventional realist fiction in one way or another.

For my part, it's worth noting that this is the second consecutive time Tejero won in this contest, and more impressively, in the same position. It's also worth noting that this is not the first time Miclat's story won an award; it first won a second-prize Palanca--way back in 1988!

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners!