WRITERS DREAM ACADEMY CALLS IT A WRAP!

The Second Season of the Writers Guild's Series of Fortunate Events finally ended last November 10, 2007. This wraps up all seven topics for this year's Series.


Guest speaker Bebang Siy (in white dress) with some members of the Guild.

The Series opened with a bang - quite literally - with Popular Literature (Ghost Story & Mini-Mystery) given by Beverly Siy. She is the current president of LIRA, the national group of poets who write in Filipino. Despite the typhoon that was raging during that time, Bebang's fun character gave the workshop its much needed warmth.

Next came Rita dela Cruz's Introduction to Essay Writing (Panimula sa Pagsulat ng Sanaysay) on August 25. This is was the first in the series which was attended by public school teachers from Carmona and Tagaytay, both in the province of Cavite. Their attendance was arranged by our office partner, the SPi Foundation headed by Ms. Lucy Aguila.

Guest speaker Sir Alfredo (in green shirt) and some members of the class.

We were very lucky that our September 1-speaker, Alfredo B. Diaz, was in Manila for his Masteral at the University of the Philippines Diliman and he lost no time in infecting us with his humorous stories during the Humorous Creative Non-Fiction workshop. Mr. Diaz is a professor at the University of the Philippines Visayas which is based in Miag-ao, Iloilo. He also is a member of the Theatre Arts Guild of the University of the Philippines (TAGUPCI). He is one of several authors who have come together to form the anthology entitled My Fair Maladies. A copy of this book can be borrowed from our Readvolution Bookcase B.

Following Mr. Diaz's workshop is the Introduction to Writing Short Stories (Panimula sa Pagsulat ng Maikling Kuwento) last September 22 by Haidee C. Pineda, also of the University of the Philippines Diliman. This is the second topic under the Starter Kit banner and thus was also attended by public school teachers.

Guest speaker Jay Fernando (in dark glasses) and some members of the scriptwriting class.

Last October 26, we were likewise honored to have been given the chance to learn from Ricardo P. Fernando III. At 17, he won First Prize at the 53rd Palanca Literary Awards for his entry on Futuristic Fiction in Filipino entitled "Bagong Developments sa Pagbuo ng Mito ng Lungsod". Mow 23, he currently is a head writer at ABS-CBN. The workshop topic was Scriptwriting for Drama on Television.




Guest Speaker Winnie (last row, 2nd from left) and members of the class.

Rounding up the Starter Kit Series was Wennielyn F. Fajilan's Panimula sa Pagsulat ng Maikling Kuwentong Pambata (Introduction to the Art of Writing Stories for Children) last October 20, 2007. The participants were taught the basics and were given tips on how to engage the children's imagination with exciting stories. Mss. Siy, Fajilan, and dela Cruz are all contributing writers to the anthology entitled SOPAS MUNA (Isang higop sa Mainit na Sabaw ng Buhay). A copy of this book can be borrowed from the Readvolution Bookcase B.

Leah Ruth Racelis of Healthcare smiles as she receives her certificate from Jessica.

Going twisted with Jessica!

And finally, to close the entire Second Season was Jessica Zafra of the TWISTED Series fame. Her topic was The Personal Essay. Ms. Zafra is a three-time Palanca winner for her short stories (Portents, 1991; Bad Boy Robin, Baad, Baad Boy, 1993; and Black, 1994) . Her visit to SPi happened last November 10, 2007. The participants were made to watch the critically-acclaimed Cinemalaya film, ENDO. Take-home messages from the workshop were: read, stop watching television, keep a journal, be open-minded because everything is material, and develop an interest in other art forms, i.e. art, film, etc. Copies of her books are available in the Readvolution Bookcase B.

All in all, the Series saw the attendance of ____ particpants, both from within SPi and from other companies and schools. The Series of Fortunate Events (Writers Workshop Series) is held every year by the Writers Guild of SPi. This year, it opened under the auspices of the Writers Dream Academy and is supervised by Jose Perseus Canivel, the Workshop Manager.