Call for Membership Applications: Northern Mindanao Writers Group

About NAGMAC

The Nagkahiusang Magsusulat sa Cagayan de Oro (NAGMAC), a young artists collective of established and emerging poets, essayists, fictionists, and playwrights, is now open for membership applications. Applicant must be born and/or (currently) based in Northern Mindanao—Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Oriental (Cagayan de Oro), and Misamis Occidental. NAGMAC aims to provide opportunities for local writers to enhance their skills and receive further education about their craft through workshops, clinics, and other forms of critiquing; provide a venue for editorial development and support group for those making a career with their creative works; create an open artistic community within the region that recognizes up-and-coming homegrown talents; and cultivate an inclusive community of literate and discerning readers and patrons of local literature and the arts.

Minimum qualifications

Applicants must:

1. have the willingness and ability to attend (most of the) official activities such as spoken word events, writing clinics/workshops, book launchings, general assemblies, and others;
2. have sincere passion for and interest in creative writing (poetry, fiction, nonfiction/essay, and drama) and local literature;
3. have openness to sharing and learning from fellow members, senior writers, mentors, and invited speakers; and
4. show high effort and quality of outputs in portfolios, writing clinics, critiquing, and others.

Membership categories

Applicants should apply for only one membership category based on the qualifications stated. Please see required manuscripts to be submitted per category.

1. Senior Fellow

This category is for writers who have publication history in local and international literary publications (journals, magazines, chapbooks, and anthologies, excluding student-run school publications) AND have received fellowships from regional and/or national writers workshops or artists residency. (Writers who have self-published and students/graduates of MA/MFA Creative Writing courses are also considered.)

2. Junior Fellow

This category is for writers who have publication history in local and international literary publications OR have received fellowships from regional and/or national writers workshops. (Students/graduates of AB/BFA Creative Writing courses are also considered.)

3. Apprentice Writer

This category is for writers whose works are previously unpublished and have not yet received fellowships from any writers workshops.

Application Process

Application forms may be downloaded through https://bit.ly/NAGMACYear3AppForm

Manuscripts should be in doc/docx file format (font Garamond, size 12, double-spaced on 8.5 x 11 inches bond paper). Each manuscript should not be more than 30 pages. The applicant’s name should not appear on the manuscript. Email heading format should be “Membership_Genre_Category_Last Name_MI_First Name” (e.g. Membership_Fiction_Senior Fellow_Dela Cruz_S_Johanna). Submit application forms and manuscripts as file attachments to nagmac.submissions@gmail.com. Include a cover letter on the email’s body. Deadline of application is 15 January 2017.

Upon submission, applicants’ application forms and manuscripts will be subject for deliberation and screening by NAGMAC’s resident literary mentors and board members. (Senior fellow-applicants may be scheduled for an interview.) Only those accepted will be given the payment guidelines for the annual membership fee of Php 250.00 and details on the members’ assembly.

Required Portfolio

Applicants may apply for more than one genre. Manuscripts may be in English, Tagalog, Bisaya, or a mixture of the three languages.

Applicants for Junior Fellows and Apprentice Writers may submit any of the following:

1. Poetry: five (5) poems;
2. Fiction: two (2) short stories; OR four (4) flash fiction; OR one (1) novel chapter with a synopsis;
3. Creative Nonfiction/Literary Essay: two (2) literary essays/CNF (i.e. literary journalism, lyric essay, travel narrative, nonfiction memoir, etc.); OR
4. Drama: one (1) one-act play; OR one 10-minute screenplay; OR a 5-page excerpt of a full-length play.

Applicants for Senior Fellows should submit all of the following:

1. Body of works previously published (indicate publications where they appeared);
2. Body of works submitted and critiqued in writers workshops attended; AND
3. Same required portfolio contents for Junior Fellows/Apprentice Writers.