FRANCISCO SIONIL JOSE

•  Sionil Jose’s writings since the late 60s, when taken collectively can best be described as epic. Its
sheer volume puts him on the forefront of Philippine writing in English. But ultimately, it is the
consistent espousal of the aspirations of the Filipino–for national sovereignty and social justice–that
guarantees the value of his oeuvre.
• In the five-novel masterpiece, the Rosales saga, consisting of The Pretenders, Tree, My Brother, My
Executioner, Mass, and Po-on, he captures the sweep of Philippine history while simultaneously
narrating the lives of generations of the Samsons whose personal lives intertwine with the social
struggles of the nation. Because of their international appeal, his works, including his many short
stories, have been published and translated into various languages.
• F. Sionil Jose is also a publisher, lecturer on cultural issues, and the founder of the Philippine chapter
of the international organization PEN. He was bestowed the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts in
1999; the Outstanding Fulbrighters Award for Literature in 1988; and the Ramon Magsaysay Award
for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts in 1980.
 MERLINDA BOBIS

• Merlinda Bobis (born 25 November 1959) is a contemporary Philippine Australian writer and academic.

• Born in Legazpi City, in the Philippines province of Albay, Merlinda Bobis attended Bicol University High School then
completed her B.A. at Aquinas University in Legazpi City. She holds post-graduate degrees from the 
University of Santo Tomas and University of Wollongong, and now lives in Australia. Written in various genres in both 
Filipino and English, her work integrates elements of the traditional culture of the Philippines with modern immigrant
experience.
• Also a dancer and visual artist, Bobis currently teaches at Wollongong University. Her play Rita's Lullaby was the winner of
the 1998 Awgie for Best Radio Play and the international Prix Italia of the same year; in 2000 White Turtle won the 
Steele Rudd Award for the Best Collection of Australian Short Stories and the 2000 Philippine National Book Award. Most
recently, in 2006, she has received the Gintong Aklat Award (Golden Book Award, Philippines) for her novel Banana Heart
Summer, from the Book Development Association of the Philippines. Bobis won the 2016 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction,
NSW Premier's Literary Awards for her book, Locust Girl: A Lovesong.
 NICK JOAQUIN

• Before 1521 we could have been anything and everything not Filipino; after 1565 we can be nothing but Filipino.” ― Culture and
History, 1988
• Nick Joaquin, is regarded by many as the most distinguished Filipino writer in English writing so variedly and so well about so many
aspects of the Filipino. Nick Joaquin has also enriched the English language with critics coining “Joaquinesque” to describe his baroque
Spanish-flavored English or his reinventions of English based on Filipinisms. Aside from his handling of language, Bienvenido
Lumbera writes that Nick Joaquin’s significance in Philippine literature involves his exploration of the Philippine colonial past under
Spain and his probing into the psychology of social changes as seen by the young, as exemplified in stories such as Doña
Jeronima, Candido’s Apocalypse and The Order of Melchizedek. Nick Joaquin has written plays, novels, poems, short stories and
essays including reportage and journalism. As a journalist, Nick Joaquin uses the nome de guerre Quijano de Manila but whether he is
writing literature or journalism, fellow National Artist Francisco Arcellana opines that “it is always of the highest skill and quality”.
• Among his voluminous works are The Woman Who Had Two Navels, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino, Manila, My Manila: A
History for the Young, The Ballad of the Five Battles, Rizal in Saga, Almanac for Manileños, Cave and Shadows.
• Nick Joaquin died April 29, 2004.
 ALBERTO FLORENTINO

• He was born on July 28, 1931 Alberto Florentino, a naturalized citizen from Manila,
Philippines, has lived in New York City for 20 years since 1983. 
He wrote hundreds of plays for TV, cinema, and the stage, but resumed an "old love" for
the short story.

As for his education, he attended U.S. Information Service and then at the University of
the East. He also attended the University of the Philippines and the Far Eastern University.
Alberto Florentino was 23 when, as an accounting student at the University of the East, he
won a Palanca award for his play, Alberto S. Florentino is the author and playwright of the
famed " The World is an Apple". The themes that he usually tackles about deals with
everyday scenarios of a commoner's life. He usually portrays the struggles of Filipinos.
 CRISTINA PANTOJA-HIDALGO

• Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo (born Cristina Pantoja on 21 August 1944) is an award-winning Filipina fictionist, critic and pioneering writer of creative
nonfiction. She is currently Professor Emeritus of English & Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines Diliman and Director of the
University of Santo Tomas (UST) Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies.
• Pantoja-Hidalgo has been writing for Philippine newspapers and magazines since the age of fifteen. She has worked as a writer, editor and teacher in 
Thailand, Lebanon, Korea, Myanmar (Burma) and New York, United States. Her interesting lifestyle, the result of her husband's fifteen-year connection
with UNICEF, is reflected in her writing. Pantoja-Hidalgo was originally best known for an unusual kind of autobiographical/travel writing, which
includes Sojourns (1984), Skyscrapers, Celadon and Kimchi (1993), I Remember (1991) and The Path of the Heart (1994), "Passages: Travel Essays"
(2007), "Looking for the Philippines" (2009), and "Travels With Tania" (2009). Pantoja-Hidalgo later won numerous prizes for her fiction, creative
nonfiction, literary scholarship and edited anthologies. She has frequently published many of her creative and critical manuscripts in major publications
in Finland, Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States.
• Besides travel essays, Hidalgo has published collections of personal essays, The Path of Heart (1994),Coming Home(1997) and "Stella and Other
Friendly Ghosts" (2012). She has also edited several anthologies, like "Creative Nonfiction: A Reader" (2003, 2005), "The Children's Hour" (2007.
2008), "Sleepless in Manila: Funny Essays, Etc. on Insomnia by Insomniacs" (2003), "My Fair Maladies: Funny Essays and Poems on Various Ailments
and Afflictions" (2005), and "Tales of Fantasy and Enchantment" (2008).
• She has encouraged many aspiring writers’ efforts by editing their works: Shaking the Family Tree (1998) and Why I Travel and Other Essays by
Fourteen Women (2000) with Erlinda Panlilio. Hidalgo found the idea of writing short and simple initiation stories appealing. It reflects in her collection
of short stories: Ballad of a Lost Season and Other Stories(1987), Tales for a Rainy Night (1993), Where Only the Moon Rages: Nine Tales (1994), Catch
a Falling Star (1999) and the most recent one Sky Blue After The Rain: Selected Stories and Tales (2005).
• Hidalgo's critical essays, which reflect her interest in fictional writing by Filipino women, serves a much-needed contribution to a developing body of
feminist scholarship in the country today.
 GILDA CORDERO-FERNANDO

• Gilda Cordero-Fernando is a writer and publisher from the Philippines. She was born on June
4, 1932 in Manila, has a B.A. from St. Theresa's College-Manila, and an M.A. from the 
Ateneo de Manila University.
• Cordero-Fernando has two collections of short stories: The Butcher, The Baker and The
Candlestick Maker (1962) and A Wilderness of Sweets (1973). These books have been compiled
and reissued as the Story Collection (1994).
• Another book, Philippine Food and Life, was published in 1992 with Alfredo Roces. Cordero-
Fernando also worked on Filipino Heritage, a 10-volume study on Philippine history and culture
published by Lahing Pilipino in 1978. Afterwards, she founded GCF Books which published a
dozen titles that deal with various aspects of Philippine culture and society.
• Cordero-Fernando is also a visual artist, fashion designer, playwright, art curator and producer. In
February 2000, she produced Luna: An Aswang Romance
 CIRILO F. BAUTISTA

• Cirilo F. Bautista is a poet, fictionist and essayist with exceptional achievements and significant contributions to the development of the
country’s literary arts. He is acknowledged by peers and critics, and the nation at large as the foremost writer of his generation.
• Throughout his career that spans more than four decades, he has established a reputation for fine and profound artistry; his books, lectures,
poetry readings and creative writing workshops continue to influence his peers and generations of young writers.
• As a way of bringing poetry and fiction closer to the people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to develop their creative talent,
Bautista has been holding regular funded and unfunded workshops throughout the country. In his campus lecture circuits, Bautista has
updated students and student-writers on literary developments and techniques.
• As a teacher of literature, Bautista has realized that the classroom is an important training ground for Filipino writers. In De La Salle
University, he was instrumental in the formation of the Bienvenido Santos Creative Writing Center. He was also the moving spirit behind
the founding of the Philippine Literary Arts Council in 1981, the Iligan National Writers Workshop in 1993, and the Baguio Writers Group.
• Thus, Bautista continues to contribute to the development of Philippine literature: as a writer, through his significant body of works; as a
teacher, through his discovery and encouragement of young writers in workshops and lectures; and as a critic, through his essays that
provide insights into the craft of writing and correctives to misconceptions about art.
• Major works: Summer Suns (1963), Words and Battlefields (1998), The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus (2001), Galaw ng Asoge (2003).