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/
