Si German V. Gervacio ay guro ng wika at panitikan sa Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology. Isa sa mga unang naka-TOMA (Ten Outstanding MSU-IIT Alumni). Siya ay estudyante ng Ph.D. Malikhaing Pagsulat sa UP-Diliman, miyembro ng Board of Directors ng Mindanao Creative Writers Group, Inc. at Resident Panelist ng Iligan National Writers Workshop. National fellow din siya sa tula ng 50th (2011) UP Likhaan National Writers Workshop. Ilan sa mga napagwagian na niya ay mga Palanca Award sa tula, maikling kathang pambata at maikling kuwento, at ang HomeLife Magazine National Poetry Competition. Katha niya ang Hari Manawari, Si Tanya, Ang Uwak na Gustong Pumuti, Babuyan Island at 101 Bugtong na Hindi Alam ng Titser Mo. Kasalukuyan niyang tinatapos ang Hari Manawari (Adbentyur II).
Amelia H. Catarata-Bojo was born in Cagayan de Oro City but has lived all her life Bukidnon. She studied B.S. Pharmacy in the University of San Carlos for her undergraduate degree and did graduate work in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines. Initially, she strictly maintained her status as a science teacher but later ventured into non-fiction writing in order to both popularize science and Cebuano. She has maintained her Saladbowl column in Bisaya Magazine for almost 10 years now, and her Soft Breeze column in Ang Bandilyo sa Bukidnon for almost three years now.
Padoman Paporo is a Meranao Muslim born in Marawi City. She graduated with a degree in BSE English from the Jamiatul Philippine Al-Islamia in Marawi City under an academic scholarship. She finished two masteral degrees, Master of Arts in Teaching and Master in Administration and Supervision, as well as a Bachelor of Laws from Mindanao State University. She finished her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at the Philippine Normal University in Manila in 2004. An essayist, speechwriter, and 7th placer in the 1999 Shari'a Bar Examination, she is the editor-in-chief of SIKRA newsletter and DAFTAR newsletter of MSU-University Training Center. Padoman Paporo is the President and CEO of the Philippine Muslim Women Council, Inc. (PMWC), a confederation of 39 Muslim Women NGOs with advocacies on peace education, environmental conservation, health, women in Islam and poverty alleviation/entrepreneurship.
Rogelio Garcia earned his Bachelor of Arts in English at the Mindanao State University. He is finishing Master of Arts in English at Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan where he teaches Literature, Creative Writing, and Arts Appreciation. He was a fellow of the Silliman University National Writers Workshop and the Iligan National Writers Workshop where he received the Jimmy Balacuit Literary Award for Drama.
Aida Rivera Ford was born in Jolo, Sulu but lived in many parts of the Philippines. She finished with an A.B. English in 1949 at the Silliman University. In 1955, she received her M.A. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan and a Jules and Avery Hopwood Award for stories later published as Now and at the Hour and Other Stories (1957) and Born in the Year 1900 and Other Stories (1999). Oyanguren - the Forgotten Founder of Davao was published in 2010. She is the founder and CEO of the Ford Academy of the Arts, the first school of Fine Arts in Mindanao.
Josie Tejada is an actress as well as alumni of National Writers Workshops in Visayas and Mindanao. A writer of both fiction and nonfiction, she has published her work in the anthologies Mindanao Harvest, Kadayawan Journal, Ani Tomo, and Dabaw Journal, and Dagmay, the Davao Writers Guild (DWG)'s literary supplement. In 2002, she received an institutional award for creative writing from the University of Mindanao, where she had also obtained her AB in English in 1971. Published by the DWG Tubao Book Series in 2007, her book is called The House on Calle Seminario & Other Stories: A Collection of Short Fiction and Personal Essays.
Vanessa Doctor is a financial writer for WealthBriefing Asia, a UK and Hong Kong-based news wire. She majored in Political Science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman and finished a BS Nursing course in Davao City. She previously worked for the European Banking News Network and the Financial Times. Her essays and articles have appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Entrepreneur Magazine, the Philippines Free Press and various other local media. She resides in Davao City and is the Treasurer of the Davao Writers Guild.
John Bengan earned a BA in English from the University of the Philippines Mindanao and an MFA in creative writing from The New School in New York City. His writing has appeared in the Philippines Free Press, Mindanao Times, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Cebu Daily News, lambdaliterary.org, and The Brooklyn Rail. He received a fellowship from the Ford Foundation and prizes from the Philippines Free Press Literary Awards.
Grace Jimeno-Rebollos is on the faculty of the College of Education and the Center for Peace and Development, Western Mindanao State University (WMSU). She was WMSU President until late 2011. She is active with civil society organizations in the work for peace and development in Mindanao, and trains for the culture of peace and conflict transformation. She has collaborated with friends for recent works that include “The Lady of the Fort “/ “EL Senora del Fuerte” (co-authored with Claretian missionary Angel Calvo) and the libretto of musical plays with Zamboanga dramatists Dante Balansag (“Pacita Y Salma”) and Rene Carbayas (“Gentle Wind: The Basilan Siege” and “Fort Pilar”), producing 58 compositions. She has also composed songs for Christian liturgy. Grace is currently preparing a book on the history of Zamboanga.
Norma Camins-Conti is a musician and composer. This Zamboanguena has received commendations for her Chabacano love songs and adaptations which have been featured in best-selling CD Chabacano albums. She is a published author and a prolific composer and writer. Her recent awards include the 2007 Peace Weaver Award from The Interreligious Solidarity Movement for Peace and the 2011 Achiever’s Award in Culture and Music by the City Government of Zamboanga. At present, she is a professor of the Western Mindanao State University and concurrently the Director of the WMSU Grand Chorale.
Maimona Wongkay Magayoong has an AB in Speech and Drama from the University of the Philippines Diliman, but she took up pre-med in the University of the East and became a Doctor of Medicine in Southwestern University. She interned at the Veteran's Memorial Hospital and trained at the University of Vienna, eventually becoming the director and owner of Muslim Maternity and Children's Clinic and then Mamalinding Specialists' Clinic. Her non-medical organizations include Al Akawat Al Muslimat, UMMAH Party, and PEN. A passionate advocate of regional writing, she participated as fellow in the 2011 Iligan National Writers Workshop.
Paul Marquez was born in Zamboanga City and obtained his BS Mass Communications degree in 2010 at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University. He started writing fiction during his 3rd year in college. He was a fellow in the 16th Iligan National Writers Workshop and 6th Lamiraw Creative Writing Workshop in 2009. Aside from writing, he also does films and was part of the crew for "Trails of Water," which was part of the selection in Cinemalaya 2008. He worked as production designer for “Teoriya” which was shown in Cinemalaya 2011.
