SEVERAL UST professors and alumni emerged as finalists at the 42nd National Book Awards, an annual event that recognizes outstanding book titles in the country.
Department of Creative Writing Assoc. Prof. Chuckberry Pascual’s translation of Tales for a Rainy Night by Prof. Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo was nominated for best translated book in Filipino, while Asst. Prof. Benedict Parfan’s translation of Ang Nawawala by Pascual earned a spot for best translated book in English.
Creative Writing instructor and Palanca awardee Joel Toledo was shortlisted in the best book of poetry in English category for his work titled Planet Nine: Poems.
Conservatory of Music Prof. Maria Alexandra Iñigo Chua, also the director of the UST Research Center for Culture, Arts and Humanities, was selected as a finalist in the best book on art category for her piece, Julio Nakpil (1867-1960) Collected Works, Volume Two: Band and Orchestral Music.
Three UST Journalism alumni also managed to secure spots in the awarding program, one of who is multi-awarded playwright and essayist Prof. Jose Victor Torres in the best book on human, sports, lifestyle and business category for his work Paseos de Intramuros: A Guidebook to Manila’’s Walled City. Torres also earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in the University.
Journalist Joel Pablo Salud landed two spots in the finals, namely best novel in English and best book in journalism categories for his books, Specimen Zero: A Science Fiction Novel and View from the Foxhole: Shaping the Political into the Personal, respectively. Meanwhile, Lady Camille de Guia was among the finalists in the best book on food category for Heritage Dishes of the Philippines.
Wilfrido Nolledo, a Literature alumnus, also made it to the finals for best novel in English for his book, But for the Lovers, while Architecture alumnus Alfred John Lauzon was nominated in the best graphic novels and comics in English category for Parched Earth Chronicles: The Complete Edition, which he co-wrote and co-illustrated.
Two books published by the UST Publishing House, namely Everything is Realism: Essays on Narrative Craft by Vicente Garcia Groyon and Lualhati Bautista, Nobelista: Ang Mapagpalayang Sining ng Kababaihan sa Pilipinas by Epifanio San Juan, Jr. were selected as finalists in the criticism and cultural studies category.
The National Book Awards was established in 1982 under the sponsorship of the National Book Development Book and the Manila Critics’ Circle. This year’s edition drew 326 submissions in the English, Filipino, Bikol and Ilokano languages across 31 categories.
The awarding ceremony will be held in November this year. F – Franz Zoe Stoelzl Baroña
