Your Next Literary Break: Apply to the 25th IYAS La Salle National Writers’ Workshop

Calling all poets, fictionists, playwrights, and creative nonfiction writers: the country’s longest-running national writers’ workshop is opening its doors once again.

The 25th IYAS La Salle National Writers’ Workshop is now accepting applications, with the deadline set on January 30, 2026. The milestone edition of the workshop will be held from May 11 to 16, 2026 at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, bringing together emerging voices from across the Philippines for a week of intensive writing, critique, and community.

Organized by the University of St. La Salle in partnership with the DLSU Bienvenido N. Santos Creative Writing Center, IYAS continues its tradition of nurturing literary talent in multiple Philippine languages. The workshop is supported by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, the Constantino Foundation, and the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities. Serving as workshop director is National Artist nominee John Iremil Teodoro, with Tanya Lopez as project director.

This year’s distinguished panel of writers and critics includes Marjorie Evasco, Rayboy Pandan, Grace Monte de Ramos, Susan Lara, Isidoro Cruz, Adrian Ho, and Elsa Martinez Coscoluella, with Coscoluella and Pandan also serving on the panel.

The fellowship screening committee accepts original, unpublished work in Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Kinaray-a, Filipino, and English. Fellowships are awarded by genre and by language, with special consideration given to works that explore human relationships with the environment. Twelve fellows will be selected, each receiving a travel subsidy in addition to the opportunity to participate in the workshop.

Applicants may submit in only one genre and one language, choosing from:

• Six poems

• Two short stories

• Two one-act plays

• Two creative nonfiction pieces

All entries must be original, unpublished, and not previously or concurrently submitted to other workshops. Manuscripts should be in DOCX format, double-spaced, using 12-point font.

In addition to the creative work, applicants must submit:

• A one- to two-page resume in PDF format with an ID photo and complete contact details

• A cover letter in PDF addressed to Dr. John Iremil E. Teodoro, explaining the reasons for applying

All application materials should be submitted through this Google Form:

https://forms.gle/jRhTvzoHSbERvGbp7

For further inquiries, you may contact the organizers at iyas@usls.edu.ph.

Whether you write in the languages of the regions or in English, and whether your work speaks of landscapes, memory, or the urgent realities of our changing environment, IYAS 2026 offers a rare space to grow, be challenged, and join a community of writers shaping Philippine literature today.