Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature

History

The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature was established in 1950. The heirs of Don Carlos Palanca, Sr. thought it fitting that his memory be commemorated in an endeavor that would help enrich the country's cultural heritage.

The aims of the awards have been:

            1.  To help develop Philippine Literature by providing incentives for writers to craft their most
                 outstanding literary works.
            2.  To be a treasury of the Philippine’s literary gems from our gifted writers and to assist in its
                 eventual dissemination to our people, particularly the students.

The awards started with the Short Story category in English and Filipino.

Through the years, as the awards elicited overwhelming response, new categories were added: One-act Play in 1953, Poetry in 1963, Full-length Play in 1975, Essay in 1979, Novel in 1980, Short Story for Children in 1989, Teleplay in 1990 and Screenplay in 1994.  In 1997, three categories were opened.  These are the Iluko, Cebuano and Hiligaynon Short Story in the Regional Languages Divisions. To encourage writing by our youth, the special Kabataan Division made up of the essay category in English and Filipino, was opened in 1998.  In 2000, a new category was added – Futuristic Fiction, a separate genre of the short story that involves a looking beyond into the future to transcend the boundaries of the present.  And in the year 2009, two new categories were added Poetry for Children in the English Division and Tulang Pambata in the Filipino Division, to encourage both aspiring and veteran Filipino writers to focus their attention to crafting masterpieces that will mold children's sense of nationalism.
 
At present, the Carlos Palanca Foundation already has, in its collection, 527 short stories, 366 collections of poetry, 208 essays, 344 one-act plays, 182 full-length plays, 60 teleplays, 54 screenplays, 148 stories for children, 34 futuristic fiction stories, 77 student essays, 36 novels, and 16 collections of poetry for children.  These works are compiled and made available to all researchers and lovers of literature at the Foundation library and its official website, www.palancaawards.com.ph.
           
The winning works for the first twenty years of the awards were printed in anthology form in 1976, 4 volumes in Filipino, Isang Kalipunan ng mga Nagwagi sa Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, 1950, 1970 and 4 volumes in English, An Anthology of Palanca Memorial Awards Winners, 1950, 1970.  The books were distributed to public and private colleges and universities all over the Philippines through the National Library.

These were followed in 1990 by the printing of Antolohiya ng mga Nagwaging Akda, Dekada 80, three separate compilations of Dulang May Isang Yugto, Maikling Kuwento and Tula which were published in cooperation with Anvil Publishing, Inc. In the year 2000, another publication, An Anthology of Winning Works, the 1980's came out.  It was three separate compilations of One-act Play, Short Story and Poetry.

For the benefit of students and researchers outside Metro Manila, especially those in the provinces, book-bound photocopies of the Maikling Kuwento from 1993 to 1997 were donated to universities and colleges nationwide.

The writings are available in the Foundation Library and in schools all over the country. These works stand out in literary form, style and message.  Students researching Palanca Award winners as part of their class requirements learn not only the correct forms of writings but also glean from these works the moods and aspirations of our country and our people.

In 1975, eight award-winning plays were produced and presented to the public at the Little Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and culminated with a presentation at the Luneta Grandstand.

The Palanca Hall of Fame was established in 1995 and is presented to a Palanca awardee who has achieved the distinction of winning five first prizes.  There are now 22 Hall of Fame awardees.

In 1996, the Palanca Awards began conducting Creative Writing Workshops.  Dramatic readings of award-winning works have also been presented in colleges and universities.

The citations and awards conferred to the Palanca Awards are:

• Tanging Parangal in the Gawad CCP para sa Sining in 1992
• Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas by the Unyon ng Manunulat sa Pilipinas in 1993
• The UNESCO, in the celebration of its 50th years in 1995, included the Palanca Family and the Palanca Awards in the UNESCO
• List of Living Human Treasures of Artists, Writers and Artisans
• Plaque of Appreciation from the Philippine Board on Books for Young People for its unstinting support for the promotion and development of children's literature in the Philippines in 1995
• Anvil Merit Award in 1997
• CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts, in 1999
• Gawad Tanglaw ng Lahi by the Ateneo de Manila University in 2001
• Special Citation for the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards Anthologies by the Manila Critics Circle in 2001
• Appreciation to the Carlos Palanca Foundation for its Scholarship Grant in Creative Writing by the University of the Philippines in 2002.
• Gawad Pagkilala by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino in 2004

Born from a simple dream made 61 years ago to help develop Philippine literature, the foundation holds steadfast to its mission of providing nourishment for the national spirit.