Oct 112017
 

Filipina science fiction and fantasy writer, Vida Cruz, has won first place in the 2nd Quarter 2017 Writers of the Future Contest for new and aspiring writers.

Cruz, a BFA Creative Writing graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, won USD 1,000 cash prize and is eligible to win the annual Golden Pen Award with USD 5,000 cash prize to be awarded at the 34th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Writers & Illustrators of the Future Achievement Awards Event scheduled on April 8, 2018.

The Writers of the Future winner is also given a spot in the pre-gala awards’ week-long intensive, five-day master-class workshop in Hollywood where writers are taught the skills and techniques to become true professionals.

The former GMA News Online journalist shared in an interview how she did not expect to win in the prestigious contest that receives thousands of submissions from around the world.

“Every mentor has told me that a career in writing takes years to build. In that sense, the Writers of the Future contest gives beginning writers a boost that no other contest does. I’m really lucky to have something like this at the beginning of my career,” Cruz told GMA News Online.

Cruz joins the elite list of Writers of the Future contest winners who have gone on to publish novels and short stories which have become international bestsellers and won critical acclaim from the Nebula, the Hugo, the Bram Stoker, the John W. Campbell, the Locus Award, the National Book Award, the Newbery and the Pushcart Prize.

The post Vida Cruz triumphs in Writers of the Future Contest appeared first on Good News Pilipinas.

Apr 132017
 
Wesley So wins US Chess Championship

Filipino Wesley So has won his first US Chess Championship title in a difficult 2-game rapid chess match against Alexander Onischuk. Wesley So after winning the 2017 US Championship [by Lennart Ootes via Chess24] The Super Chess Grandmaster of Chinese-Filipino descent was dressed in Barong Tagalog as he received his trophy and USD 50,000 cash prize. The 23-year- old So was undefeated in the 11-round tournament but tied with Onischuk with 7.0 points in the standings. The former Philippine National Team member played against the former Latvian chess GM in the playoffs in two 30-minute games. So won the first game in white 31 moves and drew the second, giving him a 1.5-0.5 victory to earn the championship title. "I really wanted to win this one this year . . . because it's the strongest national competition in the world. All the great (US) players have won this one," the Bacoor, Cavite-born chess GM said in a Star Tribune report. The win affirms So’s standing as the No. 1 US chess player and No.2 in the world, proving that he has the best chances to beat the current No. 1 world champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway. So can play against the world champion if he wins the next Candidates Tournament scheduled towards the end of this year. So was ranked No. 99 in the world when went to the US on a college chess scholarship in 2012. Since then the Filipino GM turned professional player for the US, dominating elite Read More …