FSJ Young Writers Awards 2026 accepting entries until August 15

PRESS RELEASE: The Jose Family, PEN Philippines, and the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center of De La Salle University announce the 2026 F. Sionil Jose Young Writers Award, given to the best short stories in English and Filipino. (The following is a press release from the F. Sionil Jose Young Writers Awards.) The F. Sionil Jose Young Writers Award was established by the children of F. Sionil Jose and Teresita Jovellanos Jose to honor his legacy to the young and beginning writers of the Philippines. It seeks to advance excellence, integrity, social justice, and the expression of love of country in literature. It is also to honor the memory of his wife, Teresita Jovellanos Jose, who was his pillar of support and inspiration. Requirements 1. Writers should be 30 years old or younger. 2. They should be Filipino citizens residing in the Philippines. 3. The awards will be for the best short stories in English and Filipino. Submission guidelines 1. Submit one short story written in English or Filipino. 2. The story may be unpublished or published. 3. Published stories must have been published in January 2026 or later. 4. The stories must cover a maximum of 20 pages, in double-spaced, 12-point typeface. The pages must be numbered. 5. Submissions must include a cover page, which will include the complete name of the writer, their date of birth, address, email address, phone number, and the title and the language of the short story. 6. The cover page must also include a brief biography (200 words maximum) about the author. If the short story has been published, the publication source and date should be indicated. Submission date Entries must be received by 11:59 pm (Manila time) on August 15, 2026. Submissions must be sent in the form of a separate cover page and the short story, both in PDF form to fsjawards2026@gmail.com. Prizes for each category First prize – P25,000 Second prize – P15,000 Third prize – P10,000 The awards ceremony will be held on October 10, 2026 at the PEN Philippines Congress to be held at De La Salle University. The F. Sionil Jose Young Writers Award is funded by the children of F. Sionil Jose and Teresita Jovellanos Jose. The awards are managed and facilitated by PEN Philippines and hosted by the Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center, De La Salle University. To protect the integrity of the competition, the organizers reserve the right to request drafts, revision histories, research notes, or other evidence of authorship. Entries for which satisfactory evidence of predominantly human authorship cannot be provided including those suspected of undisclosed generative AI authorship, may be disqualified. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading