12 fellows named for inaugural Bangsamoro writers workshop

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Twelve fellows have been selected for the inaugural Bangsamoro Writers Workshop, scheduled for June 4–7 in Cotabato City, organizers announced.

The event, organized by the Bangsamoro Literary Review, is the first initiative of its kind dedicated to creative writing in the Bangsamoro region.

The nonfiction fellows are Nawirah Abdullah, Moirah Athena Abpi, Ralph Jade Tampal, Hasmeyya Lao Tiboron, and Bryan Alexander Open. Selected for fiction are Jasser Magomnang Esmael, Al Jhamier Mosib, Guian Dayang, and Razul Ariz. The poetry cohort consists of Jamil Mabandis, Norsalim Haron, and Sandrah Maas Saudagal.

Chosen from an applicant pool across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and its diaspora, the fellows' manuscripts focus on themes of memory, displacement, faith, violence, and contemporary Moro life.

Filmmaker and writer Teng Mangansakan will serve as the workshop director. The panel of mentors includes authors Kristine Ong Muslim, Sigrid Marianne Gayangos, Mubarak Tahir, and Diandra Ditma Macarambon.

"As the first initiative of its kind devoted to creative writing in the Bangsamoro and Mindanao, the workshop stands as a step toward building a sustained literary tradition rooted in the complexity, plurality, and brilliance of Bangsamoro experience," Mangansakan said.

The four-day program features manuscript critiques, lectures, and panel discussions. Topics will cover the future of regional literature, writing in the age of artificial intelligence, translation, and local orthography challenges.

The organizers will also host a public open mic reading and performance night to connect the fellows with the local Cotabato City literary community.