Saturday, March 31, 2012

2nd Gig Contest Winners Announced

PRESS RELEASE: 2010 March 31

2ND GIG CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation, Inc. (GASFI) is happy to announce that ten stories won the Gig Book Storywriting Contest. The authors will receive P20,0000.00 each, a winner’s certificate, and a chance for their story to be published as a full-color, fully-illustrated children’s book.

Arranged alphabetically by title, the winning stories are:

Hello, Tatay!
-----by Genaro R. Gojo Cruz
Ishmael And The Ocean
-----by Franklin P. Andaya
Junior's Diary
-----by Carlo Baltazar Ventura
My Dad And I Travel The World
-----by Francesca Cielo M. Ravanes
Postcards To Papa
-----by Raissa Claire R. Falgui
Postscript For Pio
-----by Mia Ayroso Buenaventura
The Stranger At My Door
-----by Gail Christiane Te
The Woman In Daddy's Wallet
-----by Fernando R. Gonzalez
What's Inside A Turtle's Shell?
-----by Raymond G. Falgui
When You Are Away
-----by Bella Charina Alexandra D. Mercado

GASFI, the contest sponsor, is a non-profit organization. Founded and headed by Marissa Oca Robles, GASFI is driven by three of Marissa’s passions: honoring the memory and youthful spirit of her son Gig, promoting the reading habit among children and their families, and serving the needs of Filipino seamen and their families.

The first has to do with turning the loss of a loved one into life-affirming action.

The second is about giving children and their families something that will always keep on giving: a life-long and shared love of reading. “Twenty Minutes At Bedtime” is not only GASFI’s slogan, it is also the minimum amount of time, Marissa believes, that parents should set aside everyday to read to their children.

The third means continuing and expanding the life-work of Marissa’s family, a hallmark of which is the Associated Marine Officers and Seaman’s Union of the Philippines (Amosup), the largest union of seafarers in the world founded and headed by her father, Captain Gregorio S. Oca.

Marissa plans to publish all ten winning stories as full color illustrated children's books. This time, the books might turn out to be more thought provoking and meaningful for seafarer children and their families. In the previous year, the rules specified: “The theme must be something that seafarers’ families---especially children---can identify with. The story must . . . resonate well with children whose fathers are mostly away at sea.” This year, the rules also stated that “bonus points and a greater chance of winning will be given to positive, sensitive, and creatively child-appropriate stories that deal with difficult seafarer family issues like relatives, in-laws, neighbors, troubled teens, money management, parental infidelity, sibling rivalry, resentment, anger, alienation, abandonment, illness, and others.”

All in all, the storywriting contest received more than a hundred and fifty stories. The judges were Karina Africa Bolasco, children's book author and Publishing Manager of Anvil Publishing, Inc.; Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, children's author, book reviewer, educator, and Chairman of the National Book Development Board (NBDB); and Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo, children's illustrator and Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).

For inquiries about the Gig book project,
e-mail gigbookcontest@gmail.com
or visit http://gigbookcontest.blogspot.com.

For inquiries about GASFI,
e-mail gigfoundation@gmail.com
or visit http://www.gasfi.com/

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

2nd Gig Book Storywriting Contest Semifinalists


As announced earlier, we will identify 35 to 75 semifinalists of the 2nd Gig Book Storywriting Contest. Here is the final and complete list of 65 semifinalists arranged alphabetically by title. The final judging will select 10 winning stories which will be announced on or before 2012 March 31.

A Homecoming Plan For Papa
-----by Ma Cecilia C. de la Rosa
A Lesson From Grandma
----- by Gay Marie M. Francisco
A Promise To Remain Nice
----- by Jon Espera Royeca
A Talk With Dad
----- by Jon Espera Royeca
A Tiny Spark Of Hope
----- by Manuel Sebastian B. de la Cruz
A Tiny Wounded Heart
----- by Jennylyn Salazar Isherwood
A Wish To The Moon And The Gentle Wind Dragons
-----by Raymund Magno Garlítos
Alaminos
----- by Carmen Rosario D. Pérez
Anchor And The Sea
----- by Hernani P. Geronimo
Ate Ela: My Sister, Mother and Father
----- by Minerva Generalao
Badong And His Binoculars
----- by Leilanee Pilar M. Gabriel
Big Slippers
----- by Gay Marie M. Francisco
Concepcion's Last Voyage
----- by Al Ponciano R. Datu
Dadiangas
----- by Carmen Rosario D. Pérez
Dad's Gifts To Me, Aileen
----- by Georgina C. Solina
Dominic's Little Story Of Love And Forgiveness
-----by Jennylyn Salazar Isherwood
Enzo's Change of Heart
----- by Rebecca S. Gerodias
Hello, Tatay! by Genaro
----- R. Gojo Cruz
Hmmphh! Says Estong
----- by Raechelle Castellon
Homemade
----- by Anna Cristina Llanera-Reyes
I'm Rescuing Santa Claus
----- by Christian Q. Salta
Ishmael And The Ocean
----- by Franklin P. Andaya
Junior's Diary
----- by Carlo Baltazar Ventura
Just Like The Hornbill
----- by Katrina C. Vinluan
Lengleng And The Doll House
----- by Premy Ann G. Beloy
Lifebreak
----- by John Thomas P. Miranda
Lily's Butterfly
----- by Eric Goden Lomocso
Little Jimmy's Monthly Journal
----- by Jennylyn Salazar Isherwood
Mac Tan
----- by Carmen Rosario D. Pérez
Magic Box
----- by Liwliwa N. Malabed
Magic Rubber Shoes
----- by Mary Gigi Constantino
Man Of The Family
----- by Alpha Luz Napatang
Manuel's Name
----- by Michaela Sarah G. Deleon
My Dad And I Travel The World
----- by Francesca Cielo M. Ravanes
My Dad Cooks On The Sea
----- by Rhodora Householder
My Invisible Dad
----- by Perry C. Mangilaya
My Precious Man
----- by Florlynn L. Bassi
My Super Father
----- by Shur C. Mangilaya
Nesto's New Home
----- by Kathleen Aton-Osias
Papa And The Pirates
----- by Franklin P. Andaya
Papa And The Pirates
----- by Romeo A. Solina
Papa's Treasure
----- by Georgianna Reyes de Vera
Pido's Dream
----- by Eunice M. Chan
Pirate No Beard
----- by Georgianna Reyes de Vera
Postcards To Papa
----- by Raissa Claire R. Falgui
Postscript For Pio
----- by Mia Ayroso Buenaventura
Rock Star
----- by Gay Marie M. Francisco
Sailor Moon And The Jeepney
----- by Ruffa J. Sebuc
Smile!
----- by Ira Chloemn B. Daylo
Sonny Boy And The Sun
----- by Jose Dennis C. Teodosio
Sula, The Sailor's Child
----- by Catherine Rose G. Torres
The Captain's Lost Son
----- by Eric Goden Lomocso
The Mermaid Sister
----- by Celestine Marie Gaspar Trinidad
The Sea Prince
----- by Nina Sheryll V. Palad
The Seafarer's Glasshouse
----- by Heidi Emily Eusebio-Abad
The Sirens of Sarah
----- by Emerson F. Bengco
The Story Of Billy The Bully And Mic The Meek
-----by Adrian John O. Ladaga
The Stranger At My Door
----- by Gail Christiane Te
The Woman In Daddy's Wallet
----- by Fernando R. Gonzalez
We Grew Up Without A Father
----- by Ariel Gaspi
What's Inside A Turtle's Shell?
----- by Raymond G. Falgui
When Papa Went Away
----- by Irma Arcega Celis
When Would Papa Arrive
----- by Jose Ma. Marko O. Sevilla
When You Are Away
----- by Bella Charina Alexandra D. Mercado
Will Papa’s Red Truck Ever Come Back?
-----by Weneven Nierra Caberte

Inquiries: Email gigbookcontest@gmail.com

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Winners to be announced 2011 November 30

Because of unforeseen circumstances beyond the organizers' control the winners of the 2nd Gig Book Storywriting Contest will be announced on 2011 November 30 instead of 2011 September 30.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

2nd Gig Book Storywriting Contest

Deadline: July 31, 2011

Official Contest Rules (also available at http://gigbookcontest.blogspot.com)

1. The 2nd Gig Book Storywriting Contest hereinafter referred to as the “Contest” is organized and sponsored by Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation Inc. hereinafter referred to as the “Organizer” with business address at Suite 600 The Gregorian, 2178 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila, Philippines.

2. The Contest starts on March 1, 2011 and is open to anyone age 18 years or older, except the officers and employees of the Organizer and their relatives up to the third degree of consanguinity.

3. Entries must be stories written in English and intended for children age 6 to 12 years. The word count must be 750 words or less, and the plot and sequence must be capable of sustaining a 20- to 32-page illustrated book. The theme must be something that seafarer families, especially children, can identify with. The story must, in the judges’ opinion, resonate well with children whose fathers are mostly away at sea, and preferably promote positive human values (e.g. love, respect, honesty, compassion, care, humility, responsibility, understanding, strength, courage, resilience, etc.). Bonus points and a greater chance of winning will be given to positive, sensitive, and creatively child-appropriate stories that deal with difficult seafarer family issues like relatives, in-laws, neighbors, troubled teens, money management, parental infidelity, sibling rivalry, resentment, anger, alienation, abandonment, illness, and others.

4. By entering the Contest, contestants warrant that their entry: (a) is their original creation; (b) has not been previously published; (c) has not been entered in another contest where it won First, Second, or Third prize.

5. All entries must be submitted by email to gigbookcontest@gmail.com. The subject heading must be the word “Entry” followed by a space, dash, another space and the title of the story. (Example: Entry - My Dad is a Sailor and I am a Mermaid) Furthermore: (a) The main message of the email must contain the following items only: the title of the story, and the contestant’s complete name, age, mailing address, cellphone number, and landline. (b) The entry itself must be sent as a Microsoft Word attachment. It must be set in 12 points Times Roman normal (no bold, no italics, no underlining), double-spaced, with no author name or accompanying or inserted artwork or graphics or identifying marks whatsoever, on letter-size paper (8.5 inches by 11 inches) with a 1-inch margin all around. Entries that do not conform to these specifications may be accepted by the Organizer at its discretion and reformatted accordingly, or rejected outright. (c) By submitting an entry via this method, the contestants agree that the primary mode of communication between them and the Organizer will be via the email address that they used to submit their entry. The Organizer may, at its discretion, disqualify any contestant who fails to respond within ten calendar days to the Organizer’s attempts to contact him or her via email, snail mail, phone call, and/or text message. (d) Contestants may submit more than one entry.

6. The contest deadline is July 31, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. Manila time. Entries received after the deadline will be ignored.

7. A Board of Judges consisting of three or five individuals will choose up to ten winning stories. The judges will be selected by an Executive Editor/Book Designer who will also serve as Chairman of the Board of Judges. The decision of the judges is final.

8. The authors of the winning stories will receive a cash prize of P20,000.00 each, a Winner’s Certificate, and the opportunity to have their winning story published as a full-color, fully illustrated storybook.

9. Barring any unforeseen circumstances beyond the Organizer’s control, the winners will be announced on or before September 30, 2011. On the day of the announcement, individual winners will also be notified by email.

10. The Organizer reserves the right to declare that there are no winners if the judges decide that no entries were deemed acceptable. In this case, the Organizer will have no right whatsoever over all the entries received, and no entry will be published by the Organizer in any venue or format without the prior written consent of the author.

11. By entering the Contest, the contestants individually and independently agree that the Organizer will be the exclusive publisher of their winning story, if the Organizer decides to publish it. In this case, it is understood that: (a) the winning authors automatically grant and transfer to the Organizer all intellectual property rights to their winning story, including the right to publish it in whatever venue or format the Organizer deems fit, as well as the right to translate, adapt, and/or make modifications to the winning story as the Organizer deems fit; (b) aside from the cash prize received from winning the Contest, the winners are not entitled to any other additional payments, royalties, or fees whatsoever resulting from the Organizer’s publication of their winning story in whole or in part, in whatever venue or format; (c) the Organizer shall have full and exclusive editorial and artistic control over the publication of the winning entries, resulting books, and other derivative works.

12. Barring any unforeseen circumstances beyond the Organizer’s control, the printed books will be launched or made available for distribution on November 30, 2012 or no later than November 30, 2014. Otherwise, the Organizer forfeits its right to publish the winning stories and the winners are free to submit their winning stories to other publishers. END.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Gig Contest Winners Announced

PRESS RELEASE: 2009 September 7

GIG CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation, Inc. (GASFI) is happy to announce that ten stories won the Gig Book Storywriting Contest. The authors will receive P20,0000.00 each, a winner’s certificate, and a chance for their story to be published as a full-color, fully-illustrated children’s book.

Arranged alphabetically by title, the winning stories are:

A Boat, A Banana, And A Smile by Hernani Pizarro Geronimo
A Tale of Tong-its by Sylvia L. Mayuga
Jeremy’s Magic Well by Eliza Victoria
Judith And The King Of The Sea by Andrea de la Cruz
Lost at Sea by Raechelle Castellon
Quintin And His Violin by Joaquin Carlos U. de Jesus
See, I’m Holding Daddy’s Hand by Edilberto B. Sulat Jr.
The First Day by Cherrie Anne Remoroza
The Perfect Present by Kathleen Aton-Osias
Why Uncle Martin Can’t Fix My Bike by Czarina Vijulet Jusi

GASFI, the contest sponsor, is a non-profit organization. Founded and headed by Marissa Oca Robles, GASFI is driven by three of Marissa’s passions: honoring the memory and youthful spirit of her son Gig, promoting the reading habit among children and their families, and serving the needs of Filipino seamen and their families.

The first has to do with turning the loss of a loved one into life-affirming action.

The second is about giving children and their families something that will always keep on giving: a life-long and shared love of reading. “Twenty Minutes At Bedtime” is not only GASFI’s slogan, it is also the minimum amount of time, Marissa believes, that parents should set aside everyday to read to their children.

The third means continuing and expanding the life-work of Marissa’s family, a hallmark of which is the Associated Marine Officers and Seaman’s Union of the Philippines (Amosup), the largest union of seafarers in the world founded and headed by her father, Captain Gregorio S. Oca.

Marissa plans to publish all ten winning stories by August 2010. With the help of Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo, Executive Editor & Book Designer, Marissa expects the resulting children’s books to be unique and special. In what way? The answer can be gleaned from this excerpt of the storywriting contest rules: “The theme must be something that seafarers’ families---especially children---can identify with. The story must . . . resonate well with children whose fathers are mostly away at sea.”

All in all, the storywriting contest received close to a hundred and fifty stories. The judges were Karina Africa Bolasco, Publishing Manager of Anvil Publishing Inc.; Neni Sta. Romana Cruz, children's author and book reviewer; and Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo, children's illustrator and Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).

For inquiries about the Gig book project,
e-mail gigbookcontest@gmail.com
or visit http://gigbookcontest.blogspot.com.

For inquiries about GASFI,
e-mail gigfoundation@gmail.com
or visit http://www.gasfi.com/

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Gig Book Storywriting Contest

New Deadline: May 31, 2009

Official Contest Rules
(also available at http://gigbookcontest.blogspot.com)

1. The Gig Book Storywriting Contest hereinafter referred to as the “Contest” is organized and sponsored by Gig and the Amazing Sampaguita Foundation Inc. hereinafter referred to as the “Organizer” with business address at Suite 600 The Gregorian, 2178 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila, Philippines.

2. The Contest starts on March 9, 2009 and is open to anyone age 17 years or older, except the officers and employees of the Organizer and their relatives up to the third degree of consanguinity.

3. Entries must be stories written in English and intended for children age 6 to 12 years. The theme must be something that seafarers’ families---especially children---can identify with. The story must, in the judges’ opinion, resonate well with children whose fathers are mostly away at sea, and preferrably promote positive human values (e.g. love, respect, honesty, compassion, care, humility, responsibility, understanding, strength, courage, resilience, etc.). The word count must be 1,000 words or less, and the plot and sequence must be capable of sustaining a 24-page illustrated book.

4. By entering the Contest, entrants warrant that: (a) their entry is their original creation; (b) it has not been previously published; (c) it has not been entered in another contest where it won First, Second or Third prize.

5. All entries must be submitted by email to gigbookcontest@gmail.com. The subject heading must be the word “Entry” followed by a space, dash, another space and the title of the story. (Example: Entry – My Dad is a Sailor and I am a Mermaid) Furthermore: (a) The main message of the email must contain the following items only: the title of the story, and the contestant’s complete name, age, mailing address, cellphone number, and landline. (b) The entry itself must be sent as a Microsoft Word attachment. It must be set in 12 points Times Roman normal (no bold, no italics, no underlining), double-spaced, with no accompanying or inserted artwork or graphics or identifying marks whatsoever, on letter-size paper (8.5 inches by 11 inches) with a 1-inch margin all around. Entries that do not conform to these specifications may be accepted by the Organizer at its discretion and reformatted accordingly, or rejected outright. (c) By submitting an entry via this method, the entrants agree that the primary mode of communication between them and the Organizer will be via the email address that they used to submit their entry.

6. The deadline for submission of entries is May 31, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. Manila time. *

7. The winners will be selected by a Board of Judges consisting of three (3) or five (5) individuals, depending on the number of entries received. The individual judges will be selected by an Executive Editor/Book Designer who will also serve as Chairman of the Board of Judges. The decision of the judges will be final.

8. There will be five (5) to 10 (ten) winners. Each winner will receive a cash prize of PhP 20,000.00, a Winner’s Certificate, and the opportunity to have their winning story published as a full-color, fully illustrated storybook.

9. Barring any unforeseen circumstances beyond the Organizer’s control, the winners will be announced on or before July 31, 2009.* On the day of the announcement, individual winners will also be notified by email.

10. The Organizer reserves the right to declare that there are no winners if the judges decide that no entries were deemed acceptable. In this case, the Organizer shall have no right whatsoever over all the entries received, and no entry will be published by the Organizer in any venue or format without the prior written consent of the author.

11. By entering the Contest, the entrants individually and independently agree that the Organizer will be the exclusive publisher of their winning story, if the Organizer decides to publish it. In this case, it is understood that: (a) the winners automatically grant and transfer to the Organizer all intellectual property rights to their winning story, including the right to publish it in whatever venue or format the Organizer deems fit, as well as the right to translate, adapt, and/or make modifications to the winning story as the Organizer deems fit; (b) aside from the cash prize received from winning the Contest, the winners are not entitled to any other additional payments, royalties, or fees whatsoever resulting from the Organizer’s publication of their winning story in whole or in part, in whatever venue or format; (c) the Organizer shall have full and exclusive editorial and artistic control over the publication of the winning entries, resulting books, and other derivative works.

12. Barring any unforeseen circumstances beyond the Organizer’s control, the printed books will be launched on March 9, 2010* but not any later than August 4, 2010.* Otherwise, the Organizer forfeits its right to publish the winning stories. In this case, the winners shall be free to individually and independently submit their winning stories to other publishers.

* This version of the contest rules reflects the change in the submission deadline to May 31, 2009 and new dates for Rules no. 9 and 12. For further inquiries, email gigbookcontest@gmail.com or visit http://gigbookcontest.blogspot.com