THE PROJECT

The Gawad Panitikang Pangkalusugan is a NATIONWIDE children's storybook writing competition with HEALTH as the main theme. Entries written in English are geared to bring into light health issues and concepts to Filipino children aged five (5) to ten (10) years old. It challenges participants to break away from a clinical, straightforward and sanitized presentation of health and to mold it in a form that is enjoyable and of interest for its young audience. All Filipino citizens of legal age and currently residing in the Philippines are eligible to participate.

The project not only seeks to raise relevant health issues to the national consciousness, it also carries an advocacy for literacy and education, even as it celebrates Filipino ingenuity and culture. This project is the first of its kind in the country.

For its fourth issue, Likhaan: the journal of Contemporary Philippine Literature 4, will accept submissions in the following genres, in both English and Filipino:

•  Short stories ranging from about 12 to 30 pages double-spaced, in 11-12 points Times New Roman, New York, Palatino, Book Antiqua, Arial or some such standard font. (A suite of short pieces will be considered.)

•  A suite of four to seven poems, out of which the editors might choose three to five. (Long poems will be considered in lieu of a suite.)

•  Creative nonfiction (essays, memoirs, profiles, etc.), subject to the same length limitations as short stories (see above).