Illustrated by Asa Montenejo
2025 PBBY-Salanga Chapter Book Prize: Call for Entries
The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) is now accepting entries for the 2025 PBBY-Salanga Chapter Book Prize. The winner shall be given a cash prize of P25,000.00, a medal, and an opportunity to be published. Prizes will be awarded in a ceremony to be held during the celebration of National Children’s Book Day on July 15, 2025.
Stories should be original and intended for children aged 8–12 years old, with a word count of 15,000–30,000 words.
The theme is historical fiction.
Entries must be sent to secretariat@pbby.org.ph by September 2, 2024.
Established in 1984, the PBBY-Salanga Prize for writers (formerly known as the PBBY Writers’ Prize) is an annual competition on the best stories written for children in either English or Filipino. The award was renamed to honor the memory of Alfrredo Navarro Salanga, a founding member of PBBY and a revered journalist, fictionist, poet, and editor.
Each year, the winning story becomes the subject of competition for the PBBY-Alcala Prize for illustrators.
Through the Salanga Prize, the PBBY encourages the creation of original stories intended for the Filipino child. To date, 33 children’s stories have won the Salanga grand prize and almost a hundred stories are on its honor list. The contest has led to the publication of well-loved Philippine children’s classics such as Bru-ha-ha-ha, Bru-hi-hi-hi (Corazon Remigio); Chenelyn! Chenelyn! (Rhandee Garlitos); and Ang Pambihirang Buhok ni Raquel (Luis Gatmaitan).
The contest is co-sponsored by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the National Library of the Philippines (NLP).
