Unmaskings

Last Saturday, we finally announced the winners of the First Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards. Fully Booked threw a big bash at the Rockwell Tent and – all in all – there was a lot to be cheerful about. On our part, it was the presence at the awards ceremony of writer Gregorio C. Brillantes, after whom the award for short prose fiction was named. Both Michael Go and Ian Casocot (who tied for first place with their stories "The God Equation" and "A Strange Map of Time," respectively) were visibly elated seeing the legendary figure of Philippine literature. Talking to them afterward, the young writers acknowledged their debt to Brillantes, who Go credits as having written the first true Filipino sci-fi story (not the classic "Distance to Andromeda" as we’re led to believe but rather the familiar-but-alien beauty of "The Apollo Centennial"). Equally thrilling was the sight of Brillantes being approached by young fans (including a couple of pretty ladies) for autographs. Later on, he was even interviewed by MTV Pilipinas. A Filipino writer as rock star? Not quite – but it’s a good start.

Of course, up to the last minute, many people were hoping that Neil Gaiman himself would make an appearance. In a way, he did. The winning entries were sent to him a week ahead and he taped himself on the set of the film adaptation of Stardust giving comments and announcing each winner. According to the hard-working staff at Fully Booked, he was genuinely impressed and happy with the winning entries. I’m sure it was a thrill to all the winners hearing Gaiman offer praise for their work, albeit in just a couple of phrases.

When the New York Times best-selling author contacted Fully Booked owner Jaime Daez about the possibility of running a literary contest devoted to comics and genre fiction, he stressed that he wanted the judges to be Filipino. He would advise accordingly, but it was important to him that this be a contest celebrating Filipino talent and he felt only other Filipinos could thoroughly identify that. For prose, we assembled a panel of judges that consisted of Brillantes, writer Tony Perez and film director Peque Gallaga. On the comics, my co-chairman Ramon De Veyra had Daez and two of the most eminent Filipino comics artists, namely Nil Yu and Arnold Arre. We’re going to save you an exhaustive detailing of the long, drawn-out process that finally led to the choice of the winning entries. Trust us, though, when we say it was slow and very painful in some respects.

Anyway, the next step is the completion and release of the book compiling the winners and some other surprises as well before the end of the year. We’d like to thank everyone who took part in this groundbreaking event and – in case you still didn’t know – both Gaiman and Fully Booked have committed to making this an annual event. This year was only the start and we hope everyone joins us again for the ride next year. Maybe somebody famous for wearing black and leather jackets will find time away from his hectic schedule to join us then and announce the winners in the flesh.

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>Fully Booked would like to thank Chikka Asia, Bidshot, NU107.5, Meg magazine, Hero TV, MTV Philippines, Rockwell Tent and Astoria Plaza for making last Saturday’s event possible. For the full list of winners, log on to: fullybookedonline.com.

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Watch the hottest new teen sitcom Let’s Go! Tomorrow, July 29, 5 p.m., on ABS-CBN. This Saturday’s episode features two giants of the local recording industry plus a compatibility contest that might finally reveal to all Bang’s feelings for Norman. What about Chari? Also, witness a showdown between Maffi and Juniper! This episode is directed by Erwin Romulo and Frasco Mortiz.