Palanca Awards honors Filipino writers anew

The Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature celebrated its 71st year, holding the awarding ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Center as part of its National Heritage Series.

This year, it added 30 new names — first-time awardees — in its prestigious list of the most prolific Filipino writers, poets, and playwrights. A total of 54 contestants received awards in 20 writing categories in four divisions: Kabataan, English, Filipino, and Regional Languages. Literary luminaries handpicked from their fields evaluated the 1,405 contest entries submitted.