Author of the Month: Genaro Gojo Cruz

Because the third Tuesday of July is National Children's Book Day, the blog's author of the month is Mr. Genaro Gojo Cruz. He is a back-to-back winner of the Salanga Prize. In this interview, Mr. Gojo Cruz shares with us his motivation and inspiration in writing stories.

Salanga Prize win ners Imelda Estrella, honorable mention & Genaro Gojo Cruz, grand prize winner 

Back to back winner ka sa Salanga at may honorable mention pa! Ano ba ang sikreto mo?

Di ko alam eh. Ang pagsali sa mga patimpalak ay lagi namang walang kasiguruhan. Iba-iba ang judges kaya di ko rin alam kung ano ang gusto o hinahanap nila sa isang kuwento para sa mga bata. Ang sikreto ko lang sigurong masasabi, kapag may patimpalak, para akong nagkakaroon ng gasolina para sumulat. Nagkakaroon ako ng "gana".

2. Bakit Dalawa Kami ni Lola?

Napakatagal ng nasa isip ko ang kuwentong "Dalawa Kami ni Lola." Gusto ko lang ipakita ang paralelismo ng pagiging isang bata at pagiging isang matanda. Natutuhan ng isang bata ang mga gawain para sa kaniyang sarili habang di na nakakayang gawin ng isang tumatanda ang dati niyang mga ginagawa. Napakadali ko lang naisulat ang kuwento. Punong-puno ako ng gana habang isinusulat ito. Ang totoo, wala akong rebisyon na ginawa sa kuwento. Ipinasa ko ito sa PBBY kung paano ko ito unang naisulat.

Genaro Gojo Cruz with friends in the Kids Lit industry

Mamili ka lang ng isa:
a. Rizal o Bonifacio
Bonifacio

b. Beer o kape
Kape

d. Museo o library
Museo

e. iPad o Android
iPad

f. Facebook o Twitter
Facebook

4. Ano ang kuwento o aklat na gusto mo na ikaw sana ang nakasulat? Bakit?

Sana ako ang nakasulat ng "Nemo ang Batang Papel" ni Rene O. Villanueva na tungkol sa isang batang-lansangan na naging papel na nilipad patungong langit. Di man sinabi nang tahasan, death ang tinalakay sa kuwento na isang napakahirap talakayin sa isang kuwentong pambata. Sa ngayon, ginagamit ko itong pamantayan sa pagsulat ng mga kuwentong tumatalakay sa karanasan ng mga batang lansangan. Sa pagsulat ng mga kuwento, iniiwasan kong magpabaha ng luha. Gusto kong masaya ang kuwento!

NCBD 2017 Aftershocks 1 of 2

And the 2017 National Children's Book Day (NCBD) came to pass. It commenced with the awarding of the Salanga Prize and Alcala Prize at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to Mr. Genaro Gojo Cruz and Ms. Sophia Demanawa respectively. Three things made this year's NCBD Awards Ceremony truly touching, at least for me. These are the presence of Elyrah Salanga Torralba and Boyet Alcala, children of Alfredo Salanga and Larry Alcala, who granted the awards to the winners this year; the honest and spontaneous acceptance speeches of Mr. Gojo Cruz and Ms. Demanawa; and the loving tribute of the PBBY Board to one of its own who has gone to the great beyond, Mrs. Gloria F. Rodriguez. It was also delightful to see, former Usec Dina Ocampo attend a PBBY event in a long while. The usual suspects were there, present, of course. Kuya Rey Bufi of the Storytelling Project hosted the ceremony and read aloud the winning story of Mr. Gojo Cruz, Dalawa Kami ni Lola.

Pepper Roxas was the guest speaker during the NCBD celebration in CCP. She flew in from New York to deliver a stirring keynote on the power of stories and why, in this dark and dangerous times, artists, especially the ones in the Philippine Children's Literature industry must continue telling and creating stories. 

Ms. Roxas was also the plenary speaker in the 2nd Philippine Children's Book Summit.

The CCP, being an institutional member of PBBY, organized a mini-book fair, conducted workshops in the afternoon on writing, film animation and gave tours to young visitors. The tour is a regular program of the CCP to strengthen art education and art studies in the basic education level. Visit the CCP website for more information about the My CCP tour for young people.

In the days that followed, PBBY got wind of more NCBD Celebrations. SM malls had a two-day run of storytelling and reading aloud sessions featuring illustrated story books, Two Friends One Word by Ramon Sunico (Anvil, 1990) and Bumabara-bara-bara by Fernando Gonzales (Chikiting Books, 2015). PBBY President, Tarie Sabido, gave a workshop on books and reading to teachers of  Malabanan Elementary School in Biñan, Laguna. Kuya Rey Bufi conducted a workshop on storytelling in the same school. 

On July 22, 2017, the 2nd Philippine Children's Book Summit, Illustrators Fair and Storytelling Festival were held at the GT Toyota Asian Center in UP Diliman. The National Library of the Philippines conducted its annual international conference on Children's and Young Adult Library and Museo Pambata had a storytelling workshop facilitated by Kuya Bodjie Pascua.

NCBD 2017 and Voice of the Teachers

On Sunday, June 25, 2017, I was a guest in the radio show Voice of the Teachers. It goes on air at 1PM-2PM every Sunday at DWDD Katropa Radio 1134 kHz. It is hosted by an intrepid team of teachers and trainers namely, Sir Robert Peter "Bobby" Sagun Ancheta, Teacher Fe Mutallano Lustañas, Sir Jet Ramos and Teacher Herman Briñas. 

I was one of the four guests that afternoon. Each of us talked about our advocacy and field of expertise. Teacher Julia shared the findings on her research about factors that contribute to the migration of Filipino teachers for greener pastures. Sir Mike and Miss Abigail are professional trainors, teachers of teachers and allied professionals. It was an enjoyable and insightful afternoon!

When it was my turn to talk about the Annual National Children's Book Day (NCBD) and the granting of the Salanga and Alcala Prizes, everyone in the room was all ears. It was their first time to know about the NCBD and the writing and illustrating prizes that the Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) confer to the winners. When I told them about past awardees, honorable winners and the books that bear the Salanga and Alcala medals, their faces lit up in delightful familiarity. The titles I mentioned were Alamat ng Ampalaya, Chenelyn! Chenelyn! Ang Pambihirang Buhok ni Lola! and Bruhaha! Bruhihi. 

The hosts, most especially, knew these stories and I was surprised as well when each host gave a summary of the book they are familiar with. They recalled these stories with fondness, like it was a part of their childhood years, a bygone age of  innocence and wonder. Such is the magic of stories and the enchantment that readers of all ages find in Children's Literature! 

Thank you to the hosts of Voice of the Teachers! Thank you to Teacher Marose Lagunsad for endorsing PBBY to the show as guest. It is always my pleasure to share and speak of our advocacy and literacy campaigns. 

On July 18, 2017, the awarding ceremonies of the Salanga and Alcala Prizes to this year's winners will be held at the CCP. On July 22, 2017, the second Children's Book Summit will take place in GT Toyota Asian Center in UP Diliman. Two sibling activities are also up on schedule that day. The Illustrators' Fair and the Storytelling Festival are two events for kids age 5 to 12 years old. These events are free and are being made possible through the collaborative efforts of the PBBY and the National Book Development Board (NBDB).

Happy National Children's Book Day! Laging bago ang mundo ng libro!

Back-to-Back Winner for 2017 PBBY-Salanga Prize

The official press release reads:

The Philippine Board on Books for Young People declared Genaro Gojo Cruz as the grand prize winner of the 2017 PBBY-Salanga Prize. Gojo Cruz bagged the Salanga prize with his story Dalawa Kami ni Lola, a story about a child and his grandmother.

This is Gojo Cruz’s second grand prize win. Gojo Cruz, a children’s book author and professor, won the grand prize last year. For his win, Gojo Cruz will receive 25,000 pesos and a medal.

Gojo Cruz’s story, Pamilya Papel was also declared honorable mention alongside Imelda Estrella’s story, May Lihim ang Dagat.

Winners will be awarded during the celebration of the National Children’s Book Day on July 18, 2017.

For inquiries about the contest, contact the PBBY Secretariat at telephone number 352-6765 loc. 203 or e-mail pbby@adarna.com.ph.

Congratulations to Mr. Genaro Gojo Cruz and Ms. Imelda Estrella!

2017 PBBY Salanga Prize Call for Entries

Taken from the PBBY website:

The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) is now accepting entries for the 2016 PBBY-Salanga Prize. The contest is co-sponsored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and The National Library of the Philippines (NLP). The grand prize winner shall receive Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos and a medal. Prizes will be awarded in an appropriate ceremony to be held during the celebration of National Children’s Book Day in July 2017.

CONTEST RULES

1. The contest is open to all Filipino citizens except those who are related to any PBBY member up to the third degree of consanguinity.
2. Stories should be intended for children aged 6 to 12 years old. The plot and the sequence must be capable of sustaining an illustrated book of 28 to 32 pages.
3. Entries may be in Filipino or English.
4. Entries must be in hard copy, double-spaced, on short bond paper. Maximum length is five (5) pages.
5. A contestant may send in more than one (1) entry.
6. Each entry must be signed by a pen name only. Five (5) copies of each entry should be placed in an envelope, on the face of which only the pen name of the contestant should appear.
7. Together with each entry, contestants must submit a second envelope, on the face of which the pen name shall appear. This must contain the contestant’s full name, address, contact numbers, a short literary background, and a notarized certification from the author, vouching for the originality of the entry and for the freedom of the organizers from any liability arising from the infringement of copyright in case of publication, and affirming that the entry or any variant thereof has (a) never been published nor (b) won any other contest i.e. that it has never won 1st, 2nd, 3rd, honorable mention in any other contest or otherwise been awarded a medal, a citation, or included in a publicized list of meritorious entries to a literary contest.
8. All entries must be sent through snail mail to the PBBY Secretariat, c/o Adarna House, Inc., Scout Torillo cor. Scout Fernandez Sts., Barangay Sacred Heart, Quezon City.
9. All entries must be received by the PBBY Secretariat no later than 5:00 p.m., December 2, 2016.

Grand prize and honorable mention winners shall be subject to a bidding process to be facilitated by PBBY, to determine which publisher/s will publish their winning stories.
The winning story will be the basis for the 2017 PBBY-Alcala Prize.
For more details, interested parties may contact the Philippine Board on Books for Young People, at 3526765 local 203 or email pbby[at]adarna.com.ph.