Aspiring iKalinga authors gather for a book talk session at KSU

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Young aspiring authors in Kalinga had a chance to cultivate their skills and learned from distinguished Cordilleran authors who recently came to Tabuk City to share knowledge in writing and publishing, inspiring the youngsters to contribute to Cordillera literature.

The learning took place on April 15 through the ‘AUTHOR: Articulating Unique Thoughts, Harnessing Originality and Refining’, a book talk and book launch hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences of the Kalinga State University.

Said training program is designed to equip participants with essential skills needed to conceptualize, structure, write their own books, empowering individuals to author and publish their pieces.

During the book talk held at KSU main campus in Bulanao, 2024 1st Prize Palanca Awards in Essay Writing, Lioba Asia ‘LA’ Piluden of Mt. Province and published Kanakanaey-Ibaloi author Heather Ann Pulido of Baguio City, discussed various paths to publishing and writing disciplines.

“Don’t stop writing; write whatever comes into mind,” Piluden said, stressing on the essence of free writing- a form of writing that enable writers to write without constrictions of grammatical, spelling, and other errors.

Talking to GURU Press Cordillera, Piluden advises the young word-weavers to read and write, underscoring the importance of basic reading and writing.

“Magbasa at magsulat. Actually, napaka-basic pag sinabi nating ‘magbasa, magsulat,’ pero napaka-importante ang pagbabasa at pagsulat,” Piluden said.

She also emphasized that consistent reading sharpens writing skills, saying, “read what the authors today are writing para alam mo kung ano ang isusulat mo; kung nagbabasa ka, alam mo kung ano ang isusulat mo.”

During the book launching part of the program, meanwhile, Pulido was able to launch two of her books which are, ‘A Day in Kafagway, A Day in Baguio Plaza’ and ‘Coming Home to Myself.’

Pulido added that though there are lots of challenges to consider in self-publishing local books, it can be a powerful and liberating path for writers as well, stressing that an individual get full control over their content—title, cover design, formatting, pricing, and distribution.

If ever the young iKalinga writers need help in writing and publishing, Pulido graciously offered she is always a call away for the Cordillerans.