Two Ongoing Local Writing Contests (Well, Okay, Three)

Two ongoing writing contests by The Philippine Star, first, The Star Lifestyle Journalism Contest 2010:

Our theme: My Icon, My Hero

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Star Lifestyle Section, the leader in lifestyle journalism, announces the second edition of its Lifestyle Journalism Contest, which was launched in 2006. Our contest partners are HSBC, Samsung,Stores Specialists, Inc., Debenhams and Marks & Spencer, all distinguished leaders and innovators in the lifestyle scene.

What is the contest theme? “My Icon, My Hero.” Your icon or hero may be a distinguished achiever or an unknown, unsung hero. He or she may be young or old, rich or poor. But he or she must be Filipino.

What are we looking for? Creativity, wit, style and substance. We will choose 10 winners who will be part of our roster of contributing writers.

What do you win? A total of P204,900 worth of prizes for each of the 10 winners. That’s a P50,000 writing contract from The Philippine Star, P50,000 in cash from HSBC, P50,000 in gift certificates from Specialists, Inc., Debenhams and Marks & Spencer, and a 37-inch LCD TV set from Samsung worth P54,900. HOW TO JOIN:

1. Write your article on your icon or hero in approximately 1,200 words. We accept only original, unpublished works. You may submit as many entries as you wish. But you may win only once.

2. Enclose your passport-size photo, a short biodata, with your address and contact number.

3.E-mail these to philstar_ lifestyleawards(at)yahoo(dot)com. Or send a CD with printout to The Philippine Star Lifestyle Journalism Awards 2010, The Philippine Star, Roberto Oca St. corner Railroad St., Port Area, Manila.

4. Submit your entries between February 7 and April 30, 2010. The 10 winners will be announced in June and will receive their prizes in a venue to be announced later. The winning entries will be published in The Philippine Star.

and second, My Favorite Book 2010 Contest:

MANILA, Philippines - National Book Store, The Philippine STAR and Globe are now receiving entries for 2009’s essay writing contest in the Sunday Lifestyle section.

My Favorite Book contest invites readers to write about their favorite book/s or author/s and why they have touched their lives. Books can be fiction or nonfiction. Make us laugh, make us cry, or just touch us, as your favorite books have touched you.

Submit a printout of your unpublished essay, typed, double-spaced and not more than five pages long (1,100 words) and a CD containing the word file. Write your name, age, address, contact numbers and two paragraphs of background information. Also include a print of a passport-sized photo or in jpeg format (not inserted in a document file). Mark your CD and picture as we get many entries. Writers who do not comply with these rules will not have their entries considered.

Weekly prize is P5,000 worth of gift certificates from National Book Store. The grand prizes are P50,000 for the first prize, P30,000 for second prize and P20,000 for third prize (all prizes will be distributed in 50-percent cash and 50-percent gift certificates). Five honorable mention winners will receive P10,000 each — P5,000 worth of GCs from NBS, plus P5,000 cash from The Philippine STAR. Globe will also be giving away Globe Handyphones to the eight grand-prize winners.

Anyone can join except employees of NBS, STAR and Globe and their advertising and PR agencies.

The contest runs until Dec. 26, 2010.

You can send your entries online to myfavoritebook2009(at)yahoo(dot)com; unpublished entries sent last year to myfavoritebook2008(at)yahoo(dot)com and mailed to the STAR offices may still be considered. For snail mail, send to: If My Life Were a Book Contest, Lifestyle Section, The Philippine STAR, 13th corner Railroad Sts., Port Area, Manila.

Weekly winners may claim their prizes by calling up National Book Store marketing services department at 631-8079 or 631-8061 to 66 loc. 172.

I apologize for not blogging of this second contest sooner. It seems that it's been ongoing for some years now, and I can't believe I didn't post about it sooner. In these tough economic times, the chance to win cash--and for us book lovers, gift certificates for books--is certainly not worth passing up, don't you think?

I'm glad though that I did blog about this third contest, also sponsored by The Philippine Star, Share Your Story:

Who may submit a story for publication?

All Filipinos age 18 and above residing here or abroad and foreign nationals age 18 and above currently living in the Philippines are eligible to submit a story for publication to philstar.com. Exceptions are employees of The STAR Group of Publication and Moneygram and all their relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity and affinity.

What type of stories may be sent?

Stories submitted for publication must be 500-1,000 words, in essay format. It must be an insightful take on an authentic experience of:

a) Flilipino who is living abroad or who has lived abroad in the past.

b) A Filipino with a relative or close friends abroad

c) Foreign national currently living in the Philippines.

The essay must be original, not previously published in print or online, typed in a letter-sized bond paper with one-inch margins on all sides, using Verdana font, 12 points.

How should the stories be sent?

Via traditional mail or courier service

The typewritten copy must be submitted in three copies, accompanied by:

1. A soft copy in word format (in a diskette or CD)

2. An accomplished entry form.

3. A photocopy of the valid ID and addressed to:

DINO MARAGAY

Online Editor

2nd Floor – Internet Department

The Philippine STAR Building

13th corner Railroad St. Port Area, Manila

Via email:

The story must be sent as an attachment in word format to: philstareditorial(at)gmail(dot)com, accompanied by:

1. A scanned signed copy of the entry form (Download here)

2. A scanned photocopy of a valid ID (Click here for complete list of valid IDs)

All story contributions with incomplete requirements will not be entertained.

Criteria for Publication

1. An essay submitted for publication will be read by designated Editors who will decide if it is worthy of publication based on the following criteria:

a) Good grasp of the English language. The essay must be written in standard American English. Any piecewith serious grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors will be automatically disqualified for publication.

b) Content and substance. The essay must be an insightful take on an authentic Filipino experience (or for the foreign division, an experience living in the Philippines and among Filipinos).

c) Writing style, composition and organization

How many stories will be published?

Philstar.com will publish a maximum of 3 new essays in the website every week from December 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.

Philstar.com reserves the right to publish only stories that it deems worthy of publication.

How would you know if your contribution is received and chosen for publication?

Philstar.com canonly confirm receipt of contributions submitted via email but no follow-ups will be entertained via phone or email. Contributorsmust monitor the Philstar website if their stories are published.

If your story is chosen for publication, you will be notified by philstar.com staff on the day of the publication of the essay.

Contributors fee and other prizes

1. Each published essay will receive P2,000 as contributors fee, which will be sent to the author through Moneygram. The email notification to be sent to the author will contain all the information needed on how to collect the fee. (Click here for more information)

2. The contributor’s fee will be sent by philstar.com to the writers through Moneygram at the end of each month.

3. At the end of the year, the three best stories in each category will be chosen by a board of judges formed by Philstar.com. Winners in each category will receive P15,000 for the first prize, P10,000 for second prize, and P5,000 for third prize.

5. All authors whose stories were published in philstar.com from Dec. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2010 (plus one guest) will be invited to attend the awarding ceremony at a venue still to be decided by philstar.com

6. Philstar.com reserves the right not to award a prize in a category where the entries do not meet the standards of the board of judges.