2nd Fresh Ink contest winners: Write on!

It was the write time and the write place to be. Fresh Ink penned another milestone when it awarded the winners of its second literary contest, sponsored by Young Star in cooperation with Goodwill Bookstore and Globe Telecom.

For the young penpushers (of course, for today’s computer-literate young people, the pen is a thing of the past) who came, it felt just write being with the write people. It was just the write combination: Goodwill Bookstore and Globe Telecom.

In case you haven’t read or noticed, Goodwill Bookstore, which has been spreading goodwill among men through books for 64 years now and generously supporting the contest for the past two years, has reinvented its logo to include an apple to show the important role technology plays in today’s quest for knowledge. For its part, Globe Telecom has given young people today’s most potent communication tool: the cell phone, but of course! Needless to say, Globe contributed to making this year’s YS Writers of the Year affair a ringing success. Of the 22 finalists, the 18 who came, some with their proud parents, each went home with a cell phone kit with SIM pack.

"As in the past year, we were deluged with entries in this second year of the contest, the pile was as high as the Smokey Moun-tain,"Young Star sub-editor Kathy Moran rings up the curtain to open the 2nd Fresh Ink literary contest awards rites Saturday afternoon at Goodwill Bookstore in Glorietta, Makati. "This is ample proof that the art of writing is not lost on young people today."

"One of the greatest joys of our job as editors and staffers of a newspaper is reading good articles, especially by young writers," STAR Life assistant editor Tanya Lara enthuses. "At the office, when someone comes across a wonderful article, we pass it around to read. Kung pangit ang pagkasulat, we also pass it around to read. This year, we had a good supply of exceptional articles, particularly from the 22 finalists."

It was certainly difficult for the board of judges to pick out the creme de la creme. This year, that difficult task fell on the shoulders of Philippine STAR editor-in-chief Isaac Belmonte, Starweek editor Doreen Yu, award-winning writers Krip Yuson and Juaniyo Arcellana and Life’s Tanya Lara. Note: To make the judges’ job a bit easier, the finalists had to hurdle an on-the-spot writing contest on a common topic conducted at the STAR editorial office.

Tanya elaborates, "One of the most difficult things was deciding on only one winner per category. A few of them tied for first place. So we told our editor Millet, mag jack en poy na lang yung mga nag-tie, o kaya pabilisan na lang mag-text, kaya lang ayaw nya so we had to do another round of judging."

Globe Telecom public relations head Jones Campos notes: "This endeavor is noteworthy on three points: First, Philippine STAR’s Fresh Ink brings out the best in student writers. Second, the support of Goodwill Bookstore will truly inspire more students to develop the love and habit of reading and writing. Third, the students themselves, for their perseverance and active participation in this contest."

He adds, "We at Globe Telecom did not think twice about supporting Fresh Ink when STAR Life editor Millet Mananquil, the brains behind the contest, asked us to. Our country needs good writers who will echo down the ages the many facets of human experience. Hopefully, we will soon have greater Filipino writers so that we can also have great Filipino readers."

Campos sends this message to all young people: "We strongly encourage you, our new generation of young writers, to continue writing for when you write, you not only light the dark path of the readers, you light your own way as well."

Ever supportive of the contest is Goodwill Bookstore, headed by generous supporter of good causes Maritess Cancio-Suplico, represented at the awards rites by Nitz de Torres, administrative manager and executive assistant to the president. Goodwill awarded each of the grand prize winners with cash worth P10,000 and gave each of the 22 finalists a gift certificate worth P1,000. The gracious Goodwill hosts also treated everyone to sumptuous merienda at the Goodwill conference room. The young writers all went home with full wallets and full stomachs. So much for starving writers.

Life editor Millet Mananquil proceeds to read the names of the finalists: Essay in Filipino — Maria Riclie Abalaña of Colegio de Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, Olivia Wenceslao Valleramos of the University of the Philippines-Manila and Dave de Mesa of Navotas Polytechnic College; poetry in Filipino — Jose Jason Chancoco of Far Eastern University, Leonard Alejandro of Adamson University, Annalyn Leyesa of UP-Diliman, Lara Male of University of the East, Mark Sablan of University of Perpetual Help-Rizal and Rex Ubiña of UE; short story in English — Raissa Claire Rivera of UP-Diliman, Pamela Jemimah Punla of UP Diliman and Charisse Marie Jesena of La Salle Victorias; poetry in English — Maria Christine Semira of UP-Manila, Brenda Pecson Niepes of Emilio Aguinaldo College, Jane Chan of De La Salle University, Genevieve Andrada of St. Paul College-Quezon City, Donna Rangasajo of De La Salle University and Hitler Estores of Polytechnic University of the Philippines; essay in English — Maria Cristina Cruz of University of Santo Tomas, Joe Bert Lazarte of Adamson University, Michael Sean Tan of UP-Diliman and Regina Pacoli of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, Cavite.

And the five grand winners are: Essay in Filipino — Dave de Mesa, Navotas Polytechnic College; poetry in Filipino — Lara Male, University of the East; short story in English — Charisse Marie Jesena, La Salle Victorias; poetry in English — Maria Christine Semira UP-Manila; essay in English — Joe Bert Lazarte, Adamson University.

Write on, Fresh Ink! See you at next year’s awards!