January 12 (Saturday): Maribel Garcia
Science Writing
Powerbooks Greenbelt, 2-4PM

January 20 (Sunday): Isagani Cruz
Writing Literary Criticism
Powerbooks Greenbelt, 2-4PM

January 26 (Saturday):Butch Dalisay
Creative Non-Fiction
Powerbooks Megamall, 2-4PM

A maximum of five manuscripts will be discussed. First come, first served. Only one chapter submission will be entertained per person. Thank you.

Fiction (November 2007 - December 2007)

Dean Alfar is a Filipino playwright, novelist and writer of speculative fiction. His plays have been performed in venues across the country, while his articles and fiction have been published both in his native Philippines and abroad. His first novel “Salamanca” won the Palanca Grand Prize For Novel in 2005.

Si Jun Cruz Reyes ay isa sa mga natatanging muhon ng wikang Filipino at kamalayang Bulakenyo ng ating panahon. Mula 1993 hanggang 2004, kung kailan siya ay Assistant Professor sa Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, nakapaglabas siya ng maraming libro, kabilang ang Etsa-Puwera na nagkamit ng unang premyo sa National Centennial Literary Contest noong 1998 at National Book Award mula sa Manila Critics Circle noong 2001. Isa rin siyang magaling na guro na binigyan ng parangal bilang pinakamahusay na Assistant Professor ng College of Arts and Letters sa UP Diliman, Most Outstanding Faculty sa Polytechnic University of the Philippines, at ng isang Writing Grant mula sa UP Office of the Chancellor at Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs noong 2003. Si Reyes ay kinikilala rin sa marami pang unibersidad tulad ng Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, at University of Sto. Tomas, na kadalasang iniimbitahan siyang maging panelist, judge o tagapagsalita sa mga palihan at patimpalak. Abala rin siya sa pagiging judge sa mga pambansang patimpalak gaya ng Palanca Awards at NCCA Writers Prize. (Source: Panitikan)

Dubbed as “The Grande Dame of SE Asian Children’s Theatre,” Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio started receiving awards and editorships for her writing as early as high school and college, but her set designing, which began in the UP, earned a Fulbright-Smith Mundt Scholarship to the University of Wisconsin -Madison (MA/Speech-Theatre Arts). Her first two plays, Sepang Loca (1957) and Rooms (1958), won awards and were premiered at the UW Play Circle and subsequently published in the US. Today her literary output consist of 20 books, 40 plays, 130 stories, several essays which include the results of her researches on theatre as Research Fellow of several local and international grants. Her research in the early 70s opened her eyes to the puppet theatres of Asia, and in 1977, she founded and managed TEATRONG MULAT NG PILIPINAS, an official UP children’s theatre and puppetry troupe which will celebrate its 30th year in 2007. (Source: Panitikan)

Charlson L. Ong , resident fellow of the Institute of Creative Writing and fictionist/scriptwriter/singer extraordinaire, was born on July 6, 1960. He obtained an A.B. in Psychology from the University of the Philippines in 1977, and currently teaches literature and creative writing under UP’s Department of English and Comparative Literature. He has joined several writers’ workshops here and abroad, and has acquired numerous grants and awards for his fiction, including the Palanca, Free Press, Graphic, Asiaweek, National Book Award, and the Dr. Jose P. Rizal Award for Excellence. His novel, Embarrassment of Riches published by UP Press in 2002, won the Centennial Literary Prize. In addition to this, Ong has served as co-editor of the Likhaan Book of Poetry and Fiction. (Source: Panitikan)

This is also an opportunity to generate more interest in writing and literature from the public. We would especially like to encourage people who are not professional or academe-based writers to attend the workshops and submit their works for consideration to the Gawad Likhaan.

The workshops will have four areas: Fiction (November 2007-December 2007), Non-Fiction (January 2008), and Poetry (February 2008).

The schedule for the Fiction workshops is as follows:

Dean Alfar
November 10, 2007
Powerbooks Megamall
2PM - 4PM

Jun Cruz Reyes
November 17, 2007
Powerbooks Trinoma
2PM - 4PM

Amelia Lapena Bonifacio
November 24, 2007
Powerbooks Trinoma
2PM - 4PM

Charlson Ong
December 1, 2007
Powerbooks Trinoma
2PM - 4PM

Admission is FREE and open to the public.

For your questions and suggestions please email us at readordie.ph@gmail.com with ATTENTION: KRISTEL AUTENCIO. Thank you.

Read Or Die and the UP Institute of Creative Writing in cooperation with Powerbooks present the first series of Write Or Die: Writers Write lecture-workshops. The workshops will be held every weekend from November 2007 to February 2008 in different Powerbooks branches and will be moderated by some of the best writers in the country. The purpose of the workshops is to promote the UP Gawad Centennial Likhaan 2008, a special literary prize sponsored by the University of the Philippines as it celebrates its centennial year in 2008. More.

We would especially like to encourage people who are not professional or academe-based writers to attend the workshops and submit their works for consideration to the Gawad Likhaan. Teachers are welcome to bring their students to the talks. No reservations are needed.

The workshops will have four areas: Fiction (November 2007-December 2007), Non-Fiction (January 2008), and Poetry (February 2008).

The schedule for the Fiction workshops is as follows:

Dean Alfar
November 10, 2007
Powerbooks Megamall
2PM - 4PM

Jun Cruz Reyes
November 17, 2007
Powerbooks Trinoma
2PM - 4PM

Amelia Lapena Bonifacio
November 24, 2007
Powerbooks Trinoma
2PM - 4PM

Charlson Ong
December 1, 2007
Powerbooks Trinoma
2PM - 4PM

Admission is FREE and open to the public.

For author profiles please visit this page.

For your questions and suggestions please email us at readordie.ph@gmail.com or call us at 09283555365. Thank you.