The Salirok Prize is an annual fiction writing competition sponsored by the Local Government of Kidapawan City.
It is open to all writers from and of Kidapawan, and accepts stories in any language about the city. A salirok is a simple drinking fountain devised by the upland tribes. Natural spring water, which flows abundantly on and around Mt. Apo, is made easier to drink by embedding a piece of bamboo into springs. Like the mountain, brimming abundantly with water, under which the city sprawls, Kidapawan c
ity too is a basin of narratives, rich with the raw stories of its diverse peoples. The capital of North Cotabato has been and continues to be the setting of many struggles, the cradle of many dreams. From conflict between races and faiths to tensions between generations and classes, Kidapawan has many stories to tell. The Salirok Prize is aimed at making the people of Kidapawan finally harness and process this abundance of material. The Prize is open to any applicant born in, or who has lived for at least five years in, or whose family is from Kidapawan. The Prize’s theme will be open, although judges will consider the timeliness of an entry’s subject matter. All entries must be about and/or set in Kidapawan and/or its former constituent towns of Makilala, M’lang, Magpet, Matalam, Arakan, Tulunan, and President Roxas. Short stories may be in any language, but works written in languages other than English, Tagalog, and Cebuano must be accompanied by translations in any of those languages. Submissions must be at least three thousand words long, but must also not be excessively lengthy. They must be encoded in .doc or .docx file in Times New Roman, with font size 12 and 1.5 spacing. Submissions are to be made with an attached curriculum vitae containing the author’s recent photo. The author’s name must not appear on the file of the story. All submissions must be made in soft copy, and must be submitted to the prize’s official email, [email protected]. Inquiries about the Prize may also be sent to the email address
Deadline for submissions is 1 January, 2018. The first, second, and third prizes will be announced on 12 February, 2018, Kidapawan’s 20th Anniversary as a city.
