The Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature has long been the venue where the country’s literary stars are lionized and acknowledged for their extraordinary contribution to Philippine literature.

But more than just honoring the old guard, the Palanca Awards also welcome new talents. This is especially clear in the Kabataan Essay and Kabataan Sanaysay categories where writers under the age of 18 are encouraged to test their skills and vie for the prize.

This year’s winners certainly bode well for the country’s literary community, as they are already excelling at such a young age.

Seventeen-year-olds Christopher S. Rosales and Miro Frances D. Capili have four first place Palanca wins between them.

Rosales won for Kabataan Sanaysay and Maikling Kuwentong Pambata, while Capili won in the Kabataan Essay and Essay categories.

Meanwhile 12-year-old Anton Raphael S. Cabalza’s second place win in the Kabataan Essay category makes him the youngest Palanca Award winner in the competition’s 60 year history.

FIRST IN THE FAMILY

For the trio, pursuing a literary career wasn’t exactly written in the stars. All three profess to be the only writers in the family, and neither one of them is taking a writing related course.

Rosales is a Department of Science and Technology (DOST) scholar pursuing an Electronics Engineering course at the Technical University of the Philippines, while Capili is taking up Political Science at the University of the Philippines. Cabalza is a MENENSA member who is in seventh grade at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Cabalza and Capili, however, are quick to acknowledge the support that their parents gave them as instrumental towards setting them on the path to writing in the first place.

“My mom is an actuarial consultant and my dad is a musician. It’s only now that there’s a writer in the family. Growing up, I was exposed me to a lot of different interests,’’Cabalza recalls.

“My parents exposed me to literature early on, especially Philippine literature, which I think has a lot of bearing. My dad is a visual artist which I think also helps a lot. I was also exposed to the visual arts, and it has influenced my writing,” Capili says.

Rosales, for his part, kept his writing to himself. “Ako ‘yung unang manunulat. Hindi alam ng nanay at tatay ko na nagsusulat ako. Ngayon lang nila nalaman ngayong nanalo ako,” he reveals with a smile.

First-time winners Cabalza and Rosales say they both entered the Palanca Awards without any expectation of winning.

Cabalza shares that he felt his age would become a factor in the competition. “Because the category was open to anyone below 18 years old, I thought age was going to be a factor. I didn’t have that much experience,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting to win at all, so I was surprised.”

But even Capili, who already won first place in 2008 for the Kabataan Essay, says that she went into the competition with the same nervousness that she felt when she first joined.

“I honestly think that as writers get older, or as they write more, they get more insecure about their writing since the responsibilities and stakes get larger. I think it’s no different for me,” she explains. “I got really insecure about passing this year. I wasn’t even supposed to pass anything, and I’m just glad that I did.”

PURPOSE IN WRITING

All three are taking their Palanca wins as further incentive to stake their claims in the Philippine literary scene. Cabalza is thinking of trying his hand in the fiction category next year, while Rosales sees his win as further encouragement for him to fulfill his dream of changing the state of the country’s bookshelves.

“Bilang writer, gusto ko talaga mapaunlad ang Philippine literature. Puro English books na lang ang nasa bookstore,” he says.

Capili, who has just returned from participating in the Dumaguete Writers’ Workshop as a fellow, says that winning is still as sweet the second time around.

“This is an affirmation that I should keep on writing, that I can contribute positive things to the literary community. It really encouraged me and humbled me to keep on coming up with new materials,” she shares.

For other young scribes looking to hone their skills and maybe even win a Palanca just like them, the trio have different pieces of advice to share.

“Maraming magagaling na manunulat na kabataan. Mulat na sila sa mga realidad sa buhay,” says Rosales. “Ipagpatuloy lang nila ‘yung pagsulat nila at hangga’t maari mag-join sila ng competition, para ‘yung gusto nilang sabihin ay masabi sa maraming tao.”

For his part, Cabalza says that other aspiring writers should first think long and hard if writing really is something that they want to pursue.

“Writing really depends on your passion for writing and what you’re writing about. You really need to learn to love writing and not do it as a chore. When we really develop a passion for it, that’s when we become really good at it,” he declares.

Capili echoes the same sentiment, adding that winning a competition should be the farthest thing from any young writer’s mind. “Just keep on writing and find purpose in your writing. Don’t write to just win an award because it won’t really take you far. If you write with the goal of winning, it distracts you from writing good literature, something that means something to you, something you’ve written given many hurdles and many distractions,” she ends.