Tag: Dominique Gerald Cimafranca

An Accident in Moscow

Fiction by | February 1, 2015

After she had some time to think about it, Alyona convinced herself that, in the end, there was really nothing she could have done about it. Sure, she had had a couple of shots of vodka, but not enough to get her tipsy. Larisa, on the other hand, was totally wasted, and that was why Alyona had to drive Larisa’s Samara, a car whose idiosyncracies she wasn’t familiar with. There was the rain, too, and that was why she had pulled Larisa away from the party. The rain made the cobbled roads slippery. The streetlamps flickered on and off and she couldn’t see very well. Not to mention that Larisa, on the passenger seat, must have been dreaming she was still with Dmitri and kept groping her leg. Yes, she had a drink, it was dark, she was distracted, but still…

That man appeared out of nowhere. She wasn’t driving that fast. He had stepped in front of the car. Was he even looking in the right direction? No, he had been looking the other way. He must have been inostranets — a foreigner. She had stepped on the breaks, but the slick road took out some traction from the Samara’s tires.

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Call for applications to the 15th IYAS National Writers’ Workshop

Events by | January 21, 2015

The University of St. La Salle-Bacolod (USLS) is inviting young writers to submit their application for the 15th IYAS National Writers’ Workshop which will be held on April 26 – May 2, 2015 at Balay Kalinungan, USLS-Bacolod.

Applicants should submit original work: either 6 poems, 2 short stories, or 2 one-act plays using a pseudonym, in two (2) computer-encoded hard copy of entry, font size 12, double-spaced, and soft copies in a CD (MSWord). Short stories must be numbered, by paragraph.

These are to be accompanied by a sealed size 10 business envelope, inside of which should be the author’s real name and chosen pseudonym, a 2×2 ID photo, and short resume. Everything must be mailed on or before February 16, 2015.

Entries in English, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Tagalog or Filipino may be submitted. Fellowships are awarded by genre and by language.

Fifteen applicants will be chosen for the workshop fellowships, which will include partial transportation subsidy and free board and lodging.

This year’s panelists include Grace Monte de Ramos-Arcellana, Glenn Mas, D.M. Reyes, Dinah Roma-Sianturi, John Iremil Teodoro and Marjorie Evasco as Workshop Director.

Please submit your application to: Ms. Rowena Japitana, IYAS Secretariat, Special Projects Office, University of St. La Salle, La Salle Avenue, Bacolod City. For inquiries, please email iyasliterary@yahoo.com.

IYAS is held in collaboration with the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle University-Manila and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Fellows of the 2014 Davao Writers Workshop

Events by | October 7, 2014

The Davao Writers Guild is pleased to announce the fellows of the 2014 Davao Writers Workshop.

Fiction
Andrea Isabelle Mejos (Davao)
Resty Bhoy B. Partoza (Davao)
Arjay N. Viray (Davao)
Reil Benedict S. Obinque (Davao)
Mark Lester Celozar (Davao)
Abigail James (CdO)

Creative Nonfiction
Jecia Anne Opiana (Davao)

Drama
Cayetano D. Polancos, Jr. (Davao)

Poetry
Vel Marie Santillan (CdO)
Hanna Regine Valencerina (Davao)
Michael Jude Tumamac (GenSan)
Neil Cervantes (Tagum)
Ria Valdez (Davao)
Clariza Morta Burdeos (Butuan)

The panelists this year are Dr. Macario D. Tiu, Jhoanna Lynn Cruz, Nino Soria de Veyra, John Bengan, Nikki Gomez, and special guest writer Daryll Delgado. Workshop director is Edmond Julian de la Cerna, assisted by Dom Cimafranca.

The 2014 Davao Writers Workshop is organized by the Davao Writers Guild in cooperation with the National Commission for Culture & the Arts and UP Mindanao, and will be held at Lispher Inn, Matina, Davao City, from October 27 to 31, 2014.

The workshop sessions are open to those interested to listen in and meet the writers.

Alfredo-Who-Should-Have-Been

Fiction by | September 28, 2014

It was 3 AM when the Man-Who-He-Should-Have-Been entered the room. Maita was asleep on the couch, so Alfredo was alone to meet him.

“Hi,” Alfredo-Who-Should-Have-Been said.

“Hi, yourself. I guess it’s time.”

“Yes it is.”

Alfredo-Who-Was looked at Alfredo-Who-Should-Have-Been from head to toe. He was about 50, the same age as he. He had a slight paunch and his shoulders were a bit rounded. He had on a dark suit and his hair was combed neatly. Alfredo-Who-Should-Have-Been looked back at him. For a long time, they said nothing.

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To Enter Valhalla

Fiction by | September 14, 2014

One moment Dr. Gumatao was in the operating room and the next, he was standing on a grassy hill gently sloping towards a long wooden building. Noel felt a presence to his side. He turned, and saw the tallest woman he had ever seen. She stood a full head over him, and she was wore a multi-hued tunic and brass bangles on her wrists and ankles. On her left she propped up a wooden shield almost as tall as she was. Instinctively he held up his hand with the thing that he gripped there. It was a moment before he realized, with much embarrassment, that it was his scalpel. A tiny scalpel.

The woman flashed a wide toothy smile. “Greetings, Awang, and welcome!”

Awang? He had not been called that since he was a child, and only by Nana, who never accepted his Christian name. “How do you know…?”

“Here you are known by your true name.”

“Where is here? What is this place? Why am I here?”

“Here is Tambaran. In your heart of hearts you know what this place is. You are here because you have been found worthy.”

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Truth Serum

Fiction by | August 24, 2014

Warning: the following story contains strong language and profanity.

Carlos Agape, bagman for the Batangas Cartel, sat on the high-backed wooden chair, his hands held down with leather straps on its arm rests. A slime of drool and vomit trailed down from the corner of his open mouth to his neck. His head was tilted back and his breathing was shallow.

“God, that took a while, but it was worth it,” Jose said with a yawn and pushed himself away from the desk. The desk was littered with notebooks and spreadsheets. On one side was the tape recorder, still running; on the other was the medical bag with vials of sodium pentathol and syringes.

“Pretty risky move back there,” Bert said, “That triple dose almost killed him.”

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USLS Announces the 14th IYAS National Writers’ Workshop

Editor's Note, Events by | January 13, 2014

Announcement from the IYAS workshop:

The University of St. La Salle-Bacolod (USLS) is inviting young writers to submit their application for the 14th IYAS National Writers’ Workshop which will be held on April 20-26, 2014 at Balay Kalinungan, USLS-Bacolod.

Applicants should submit original work: either 6 poems, 2 short stories, or 2 one-act plays using a pseudonym, in one (1) computer-encoded hard copy of entry, font size 12, and soft copies in a CD (MSWord). Short stories must be numbered, by paragraph.

These are to be accompanied by a sealed size 10 business envelope with the author’s real name and a pseudonym, a 2×2 ID photo, and short resume, which must be mailed on or before February 15, 2014.

Entries in English, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Tagalog or Filipino may be submitted. Fellowships are awarded by genre and by language.

Fifteen applicants will be chosen for the fellowships, which will include partial transportation subsidy and free board and lodging.

This year’s panelists include Rebecca Añonuevo, Grace Monte de Ramos-Arcellana, Genevieve Asenjo, D.M. Reyes, John Iremil Teodoro, and Marjorie Evasco as Workshop Director.

Please submit your application to: Ms. Rowena Japitana, IYAS Secretariat, Special Projects Office, University of St. La Salle, La Salle Avenue, Bacolod City. For inquiries, please email iyasliterary at yahoo.com.

IYAS is held in collaboration with the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle University-Manila and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.