According to Wigley, priority projects of BDAP include “activities related to the Philippines being the Guest of Honor in the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2025, establishment of Philippine Book Fairs in different parts of the country, the 2024 and 2025 Gintong Aklat Awards, and the strengthening of readership and book publishing among its stakeholders and members.”

Meanwhile, Parfan stated that collaborations “with the book industry, other academic institutions and our fellow publishers” will continue. Recently, UST participated in the Sinag Festival with other publishers from the country’s top universities. Being in BDAP, according to Parfan, “will also give the USTPH a voice in influencing policies concerning the publishing industry. As trustees, our participation in BDAP will also open doors to the university as regards major international book events and organizations. We’re also planning collaborative events where we can launch books from different publishers in one venue to provide more interactions among authors and readers.”

Parfan authored works such as “Orbits of Obsession: Notes on the Philippine Lyric Sequence in English,” “By the Fisherman’s Grief,” and “Antarctica” and was a finalist in plums such as the Madrigal Gonzalez Best First Book Award, the Gemino H. Abad Prize for Poetry, and Manining Miclat Awards for Poetry. He is a resident fellow of the Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies.

Wigley, former Chair of the Department of Literature, has authored several books, including “������Ƶ of the Ashfall: A Memoir” and “Falling into the Manhole: A Memoir.” Apart from serving in administrative capacities in UST, he previously served as Treasurer of the BDAP from 2013-2017. Both are resident fellows of the Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies.

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Assoc. Prof. Chuckberry Pascual, PhD of the Research Center for Culture, Arts, and Humanities and the Department of Literature won the “Best Translated Book in Filipino” award for his translation of Miguel Syjuco’s award-winning novel entitled “Ilustrado”. In addition, Pascual also bagged the “Best Anthology in Filipino” plum for “Plus/+, at Iba Plus, Maramihan: New Philippine Nonfiction on Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities”, a book he co-edited with Rolando B. Tolentino, PhD.

RCCAH Director Prof. Maria Alexandra Chua, PhD of the Conservatory of Music brought home the “Alfonso T. Ongpin Prize for Best Book in Art” for her book entitled “Julio Nakpil (1867-1969): Collected Works Volume I: Piano, Vocal and Chamber Music.”

Lastly, BFA-Advertising Arts alumnus Josel Nicolas co-illustrated the winning book in the “Best Book of Graphic Novel and Comics in English” category entitled, “Death be Damned.”

Organized by NBDB and the Manila Critics Circle (MCC), the annual prize honored the most outstanding book titles written, designed, and published in the Philippines, the National Book Awards celebrates the enterprising creative labor involved in book publishing. A total of 35 titles emerged as winners out of 235 nominations across 34 categories consisting of seven languages: Filipino, English, Bikol, Binisaya, Hiligaynon, Tausug, and Waray.

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The selected titles were chosen among 235 title nominations published in 2022 and across 34 categories, from poetry to book design.

The awarding ceremony will be held in February 2024, coinciding with the two-year preparation of the Philippines as the Guest of Honor in the prestigious Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025, the largest internationally renowned book fair, where the country is the second Southeast Asian nation.

The books that made the cut are:
1) Duterte Watch: Descent into Authoritarianism by Vergel O. Santos – Best Book in Journalism category;
2) Abangan: Mga Pambungad na Resepsiyon sa Kulura ng Teleserye by Louie Jon A. Sánchez – Best Book on Media Studies category;
3) Julio Nakpil Collected Works – Volume I: Piano, Vocal, and Chamber Music, edited by Ma. Alexandria Iñigo-Chua – Best Book on Art category;
4) Doing Philosophy in the Philippines: The Thomasian Collection, Volume II (1951-1959), edited by Alfredo P. Co – Best Book in Philosophy;
5) Growing Up Filipino 3: New Stories for Young Adults, edited by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard – Best Anthology in English category;
6) The Lives of a Filipino/A High School Student: Anthology of Personal Essays on High School, edited by Rolando B. Tolentino, Joselito D. Delos Reyes, and Ferdinand P. Jarin – Best Anthology in English category;
7) All My Distances Point to ������Ƶ by King Llanza for the Best Poetry in English category;
8) The Holy Wife: Stories of Extraordinary Love by Ting Pantoja-Mañalac – Best Book of Nonfiction Prose in English category;
9) Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco, translated by Chuckberry J. Pascual in Best Translated Book in Filipino and Best Book Design categories.

Recognizing the creative zeal in book publishing, the annual National Book Award honors the most outstanding books written, designed, and published in the Philippines.

Read the full list of finalists here:

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The award-winning book, published by the UST Publishing House in 2021, wheels through an avenue where readers are invited to ponder upon shared experiences embodied in his essays. “Paglalahad lang naman ng pakikisakay, paglalakbay, at pagiging pasahero ang naisulat ko doon sa aklat. Pero dahil pasahero tayong lahat, one way or another, baka may shared experiences tayo na pwede pag-isipan, pagnilayan, at kung may matutuhan, kahit hindi sadya, makakabuti,” Delos Reyes said.

‘Maging mabuti, maging makatao’

For the Creative Writing program coordinator of the Department of Literature, while awards serve as validation and testament of the writer’s zeal, he underscored that the writers should make the readers reflect and ruminate. “Sa mga nagsisikap makapagsulat, may award man o wala, maging popular man o hindi, pagsikapan sanang sumulat o mag-articulate ng ideya na makapagpapabuti sa kalagayan ng tao at lipunan, to make people a tad more intelligent, discerning, and reflective sa mga nangyayari sa kanilang paligid, at makatulong sa ikabubuti ng lipunan,” he said.

“Maging magaling na manunulat, yes. Pero higit sa pagiging magaling, maging mabuti. Maging makatao. May validation man ng awards o kadalasan, wala., he added.

Bestowed every two years since 1981, Gintong Aklat Awards honors outstanding book publishers based on the quality of books they produce yearly; it is managed by the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), whose awards are meant to recognize excellence in bookmaking in the country today among its members.

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Marking a literary milestone that offered a refreshed inspiration into the genre of flash fiction, the anthology contains 97 stories that distilled the vastness of human experience expressed in a few hundred words; it features the voices of 16 Filipino writers who articulated joys and sorrows, grief and mischief, and precarious social conditions in the country.

“We hope these stories—quick reads that take no time at all, brief and sudden like a flare of light—will, instead of flickering out, like an afterimage, linger and stay with you for a while,” Lopa-Macasaet shared.

Reunion with the mentor

Most of the authors in the anthology also looked back and expressed their gratitude to Professor Emerita Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, PhD, Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS) Director.

Once under Prof. Hidalgo’s tutelage, the authors now have publications of their own and have bagged recognitions. They recalled that she was instrumental in developing their skills in crafting stories throughout their respective careers.

In response, Hidalgo said: “For me, it has been most gratifying to watch them grow as writers publishing in magazines and journals, publishing their own books, and now coming together again through this book.”

The book launch was in partnership with the Likhaan Creative Writing Foundation.

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Makata ng Wika ng Bayan

In his message delivered in Filipino, Almario underscored that poets are merely symbols for all writers and then added that poets of national language are the lovers of their nation’s language. “Isa itong haka tungol sa wika ng makata. Katulad ng ibang mamamayan, ang makata ay anak ng wika, ang wika ng bayan. Katulad ng mga kababayan, hinuhubog ng wika ang kanilang kamalayan. Samantalang hinuhubog ito ng kanilang lunggati at pangangailangan,” Almario said.

Moreover, Almario added, the poets have an intense yearning for language to address his needs. “Anak man siya ng wika, kailangan ng makata na hubugin pa ang wika alinsunod sa kanyang adhika at mithi bilang manlilikha,” he said.

“Kailangan niyang maging makata ng wika. Kailangan niyang likhain ang wika ng kanyang kamalayan, ang wika ng kanyang pagiging makata, iyon ang kanyang pangunahin at natatanging tungkulin bilang anak ng kanyang wikang bayan, ang tungkuling ikinatatangi niya sa bayan at isang natatanging tungkulin niya para sa kanyang mga kababayan,” the National Artist added, establishing the significant role and duty of poets.

Almario likewise insisted that poets must forefront the discovery of the “genius of national language”, saying that “Kailangan niyang (the poet) ganap na mag-agap, ang taal na kakayahan at kapasidad, at ang maibibiyayang kabuluhan o potensyal ng wika,”

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Honoring the Nat’l Artist as a philosopher

Department of Philosophy Chair and Research Center for Culture, Arts, and the Humanities researcher Asst. Prof. Marella Ada M. Bolaños, PhD ��highlighted the National Artist’s work entitled Alamid ng Guni-guni, which examined the duty and the “weaponization” of Filipino language in the field of education against the stern influence of “Americanization”, which attempted to suppress the history and the native language of the indigenous people.

Moreover, Bolaños shared that their faculty members turn to the National Artist’s written and translated children stories in their philosophy classes for children. “Kaisa ang aming kagawaran sa mga adhikaing isinalaysay ni Almario sa kanyang akdang Sapantahang Wika, sapagkat maari ding magsilbi bilang mahalagang bukal ang wika tungo sa lalong pagpapayabong ng pilosopiya at pamimilosopiya hindi lamang sa akademikong espasyo, kundi lalo’t higit sa mga pagtatangkang lalong unawain ang ating sarili, ang ating bayan, at ang ating pananaw sa mundo,” Bolaños said.

Assoc. Prof. Jovito V. Cariño, PhD, former Department of Philosophy Chair, noted that philosophers expressed their works through their own language, mentioning Aristotle, Rene Descartes, Nicolaus Copernicus, John Locke, and even St. Thomas Aquinas, the University’s Patron, who found solace in writing his Theological works in Latin.��

However, according to Cariño, the dominion of Latin fell due to the emergence of new breed of writers�� who wrote in different languages inside and outside the academe, at that time, thus heralding a new chapter for language. He also noted that language and its effectiveness relies on people using it. “Nakasalalay ang bisa nito sa paggamit, sa klase ng pag-gamit, at sa tamang pangangalaga,” he noted.

For Mr. Marvin Einstein Mejaro, MA, a faculty member of the Department of Philosophy and Chair of the Humanities and Social Sciences Strand of the UST Senior High School, Almario’s work revisited the past not for the sake of nostalgia but to reclaim Filipino language’s rightful place. “Parating mas malalim ang pagnanais niyang bumalik, parating mas mapangahas at mas matapang ang programa niyang reklamasyon,” Mejaro said. “At kakatuwang sa kanyang pagbabalik, mas marami at mas marami siyang nasusumpungan na nagiging daan upang bumalik siyang muli at simulan ang paghalukay,” he added.

Lastly, Assoc. Prof. Louie Jon Sanchez of the University of the Philippines – Department of Broadcast and Communication praised the National Artist who continued to be productive both as himself and as his nom de plume despite the Covid-19 pandemic, thereby publishing 4-5 books since 2020.

Moreover, Almario maximized the use of social media platforms for his poems. “Si Rio Alma, bilang nagpapatuloy na makata sa panahon ng smartphone at Facebook, at si Virigilio S. Almario, na walang pagod sa pagususlat ng kritikal na prosa hinggil sa kultura, panitikan at wika. Kumatha rin siya ng mga bagong kritisismo na pinalad akong mabasa […] isa sa mga iyon ang aklat ng hapong ito, ang Sapantahang Wika.” Sanchez said.

Also known as Rio Alma, the prolific writer’s literary and critical works delved in the roots of Filipino language. He is also responsible for the revival and reinvention of traditional Filipino poetic forms. He bagged the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards numerous times in his writing career.

In 2003, he was proclaimed the National Artist for Literature for the “strength of his work–in poetry, criticism, translation and children’s books–and the impact of this work on contemporary Filipino literature and the Philippine literary scene, through the various roles he has been fulfilling with vigor”. He also served as the Chairman of Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino from 2017 to 2020.

Through UST Museum’s generosity, the book cover’s artwork is from the painting of National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco. Botong’s painting is one of UST Museum’s treasured collections.

In attendance also was the renowned dramatist and screenwriter, and the newly minted 2022 National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts, Ricky Lee.

��

Photos by Hans Lawrence V. Malgapu

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Gaganapin ito sa ika-5 ng Oktubre 2022, 3:00-5:00 n.h., sa UST Main Building Lobby. Maaaring makakuha at magpapirma ng kopya sa paglulunsad na ito.

Kung nais po ninyong dumalo, mangyaring magparehistro muna gamit ang Google Form na ito: .

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Capping the previous Academic Year, USTPH also took pride in publishing the two-volume screenplays and a collection of short stories of Ricky Lee, the newly minted 2022 National Artist of the Philippines for Film and Broadcast Arts.

The following is the complete lineup of the published books in different fields:

Poetry
1) Lunas sa Nabubuong Lubos by Paul Alcoseba Castillo
2) Burning Houses and Hush Harbor by Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta
3) All My Distances Point to ������Ƶ by King Llanza
4) Moon Hanging Low Over my Window and Other Poems by Babeth Lolarga

Fiction
1) Servando Magdmag at iba pang Maiikling Kuwento by Ricky Lee
2) Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco (Translated by Chuckberry Pascual)

Screenplays
1) Mga Screenplay ni Ricky Lee Vol. 1: Brutal, Moral, Karnal by Ricky Lee
2) Mga Screenplay ni Ricky Lee Vol. 1: Himala, Salome, at Cain at Abel

Creative Nonfiction
1) #Pasahero: Mga Nakikisakay na Sanaysay by Joselito delos Reyes
2) The Holy Wife: Stories of Extraordinary Love by Ting Pantoja-Manalac

Social Sciences
1) Duterte Watch: Descent into Authoritarianism by Vergel O. Santos
2) Sports in the Philippines: History, Values, Spirituality by Rev. fr. Edgardo D. Alaurin, O.P., SThD
3) ASEAN as an International Organization: International Law and Region-building in Southeast Asia by Jose Duke Bagulaya

Theology
1) Church as a Communion: Perspectives and Expressions (Edited by Rev. fr. Jannel N Abogado, O.P., DTPS)

USTPH also revealed its three upcoming titles: “Shooting the Zombie Apocalypse” by UZ Eliserio (Fiction – Short Stories), “Faith and Psychology: A Walkthrough on the Filipino Basic Ecclesial Communities” by Milagros Arrevillaga (Nonfiction – Social Sciences), and “From Manila to the World” by Paolo Mangahas (Creative Nonfiction – Travel Essays).

Serving as the University’s publishing arm, USTPH was established in 1996 through the merger of the Santo Tomas University Press (STUP), and the UST Printing Office (USTPO). USTPH evolved from the UST Press, which was founded in 1593 by Fr. Francisco de San Jose, O.P. It is the oldest continuing press in the world today, next to Cambridge University in England.

Get your copies of the books here:
Shopee:
Lazada:

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This virtual ��ê�ٱ�-à-��ê�ٱ� entitled “The Other World: The Challenges and Anxieties of Translation”, held on November 17, 2021 via livestream, was a part of UST Publishing House‘s “UST Author Lecture Series” in the Manila International Book Fair 2021 (MIBF 2021), where Thomasian authors shared their knowledge on literature and on developing one’s craft.��

Challenges of translation

While translating Hidalgo’s two critically acclaimed books, Pascual shared the challenges he faced in the process, citing the translation of the female voice in the books from English to Filipino. “Iniisip ko baka mamaya ideal translator ni Ma’am [Hidalgo] ay babae rin, so isa iyon sa mga bagay na dapat kong i-overcome habang sinasalin ko ang mga libro,” he said.

Likewise, Hidalgo noted that her two books embodied different voices. Nonetheless, she lauded Pascual for giving justice to its Filipino translation. “Generally, my narrator is a woman and often a woman like myself, iba ang boses ng ‘The Ballad of a Lost Season’ sa ‘Where the ‘Moon Only Rages’, which are fairy tales,” she said. “[Pascual] was able to get that voice and translate it, which is to me a marvel,” she added.

Moreover, Pascual underscored that Filipino poet Gemino Abad’s theory, which is writing “from” English, guided him in translating English works. “Isinasalin ko lang [ang mga akda] pabalik, so may pagsundo. At isang paraan din sa pagsundo ng mga akda ni Ma’am Jing [Hidalgo] ay ang pagpapalitaw ng pagkakautang niya roon sa oral tradition,” he said, noting that Hidalgo’s works harked at the stories from her generation’s grandparents.

Both the translated works, Kundiman ng Panahong Naiwan and Sa Bayan ng Nagngangalit na Buwan: 9 na Kuwentong Bayan, were published by the UST Publishing House.

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Looking back at old works

For Hidalgo, revisiting her old works published more than a decade ago, felt like it was written by a “very young woman” or another person. “When I read the book in translation, it was the strangest feeling: it was like revisiting an old place and then you see your former neighbors, or people you used to know, and they are speaking in another language, so that it seems to me that they are different people, including the character who was based on me,” Hidalgo said.

“It’s like meeting strangers, but the strangers that you used to know, so they are partly familiar and partly unfamiliar.” she added.

An award-winning fictionist and a renowned travel writer, Hidalgo has authored more than 30 books of fiction, travel, essays, and reference materials. Some of her notable works are Catch a Falling Star, Stella and other Friendly Ghosts, Creative Nonfiction (a manual and a textbook), and Collected Stories and Tales, to name some.

The moderator of this event was Prof. John Jack G. Wigley, PhD of RCCAH and Department of Literature.

Revisit the literary conversation between Thomasian authors .

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The UST Publishing House (USTPH) launched new books on poetry, non-fiction, and philosophy in the month of November, in time for Manila International Book Fair.

Anim na Sabado ng Beyblade was Ferdinand Jarin’s collection of personal essays, originally released in 2013, which bagged NBDB National Book Award for Best Book of Non-Fiction in Filipino Language (2014).

Meanwhile, poet Dinah Roma’s book We Shall Write Love Poems Again is about her rumination on things that jut out from observed and recounted ruins is well-articulated.

AB-Literature alumnus George Gonzaga Deoso’s debut book entitled “Horseman’s Revolt and Other Horrors” is a collection of stories allegorizing the horrors of contemporary Filipino Society.

Adrian Crisostomo Ho’s first book entitled “ANX” is an exploration of language and its approximation of anxiety and loss.

USTPH also released “Doing Philosophy in the Philippines: Volume I” by Professor Emeritus Alfredo Co, PhD. Co’s latest book contained the earliest collected works of the last Spanish Dominican thinkers, who interacted with the earliest Filipino scholars who likewise were drawn to the beginning of philosophical publication in the University of Santo Tomas.

Moreover, the volume’s timeline covers the articles published in the UNITAS from 1924 to 1949.

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