Palanca-awardee Macariu Tiu gives his comments on one of the submissions of the fellows. Photo from the Society of Ateneo Literature and English Majors (SALEM).

Fourteen writing fellows joined the 16th Ateneo de Davao University Summer Writers Workshop on May 18-22 at the Ateneo de Davao University.

The annual five-day writers workshop is intended for potential writers both from and outside Ateneo de Davao. Fellows were chosen after careful deliberation based on their submissions which consist of poems, short stories, or creative non-fictions.

Writers such as Macario Tiu, Julian Dela Cerna, Agustin Pagusara, and Dom Cimafranca served as guest panelists who critiqued some of the submissions of the writing fellows in the Ateneo de Davao University Summer Writers Workshop.

The workshop featured craft lectures on literature, specifically poetry, fiction, and non-fiction, with distinguished writers Agustin Pagusara, Macario Tui, Jhoanna Lyn Cruz, John Bengan, and Dom Cimafranca as speakers. Palanca-awardees Aida Rivera Ford and Tita Lacambra-Ayala were also invited.

When asked about the objectives of the workshop, this year’s workshop director, Macario Tiu, said, “To develop the literary arts in Davao city among students; to make Davao a literary garden.”

He also expressed that he likes the workshop because the fellows were responsive and they are slowly learning how to critique well.

“Personally, enlightening siya [workshop] sa akong part,” says Jan Vernix Atis, one of the fellows. He added that, as a teacher, he can recommend the workshop to his students because one can really learn a lot from it.

The AdDU Summer Writers Workshop, one of the oldest University writers workshop in Mindanao, is hosted by the Humanities and Letters Cluster, particularly the Language Department and the Literature and the Arts Department.

This year’s fellows
Alpas, Patrick
Atis, Jan Vernix
Caballero, Steely Dhan
Foronda, Luis
Gadat, Ericka
Inojales, Adrian Chester
Manlatican, Ram
Mañigo, Nelson
Pableo, Jeopril
Pechardo, Fatima Jazmin
Peliño, Angelo Brian
Salvaña, Ian Derf
Serrano, Margareth
Zabate, Krishna