FOUR women from Southeast Asia, including two Oceania-based Filipinos, were recognized at the inaugural Asia-Pacific Nick Joaquin Literary Awards (NJLA), the international edition of the contest named after the influential national artist whose name graces a business daily’s literary, arts and culture section where their works first saw print.
In a ceremony at a Manila hotel on May 15, Mumbai-born and Singapore-based Prachi Topiwala-Agarwal won first prize for her short story “Mountains of Fear, Valleys of Hope;” Melbourne-based Filipina Anneliz A. Erese garnered second for her short story “Departures;” and Singaporean Vicky Chong nabbed third for her short story “The Uber Driver.”
Also honored was Auckland-based Jade-Ceres Violet Dolor Muñoz as poet of the year for her poem “For Abby and those who struggle daily.” She is the daughter of former Manila Times managing editor Ramon Faustino “Beting” L. Dolor 2nd, who copped second prize in the national NJLA in 2015 for his story “Dairy of an Alien Abductee.”
Both Topiwala-Agarwal and Chong are pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing at the Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore. Erese recently completed hers in writing and literature and is an intern at the Melbourne Writers Festival and the Australian literary journal Meanjin Quarterly. And Muñoz, who studied AB Literature at De La Salle University, works as a digital marketing consultant specializing in search-engine optimization and content strategy.
Topiwala-Agarwal and Muñoz each received $1,000 for their winning works; Erese, $600; and Chong, $400. They also received trophies.
Their works were chosen by a panel of judges made up of author and 2001 Palanca Hall of Fame inductee Alfred “Krip” Yuson; Palanca award-winning novelist, essayist and scholar Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo; and Singaporean poet Alvin Pang.
The works of the four women were first published in the BusinessMirror newspaper’s Tony & Nick section, named after its late owner, businessman and former ambassador to Laos Antonio L. Cabangon-Chua, and Joaquin, former editor in chief of the Philippines Graphic magazine, which the envoy also owned. Both publications organized the awards.
The competition aims to honor the finest short stories and poetry published in Tony & Nick by writers living in Southeast Asia, as well as in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
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