The books of two UP Diliman College of Architecture (CA) faculty members have distinguished themselves in the 39th National Book Awards.
Walk Manila won best book on humor, sports, and lifestyle. The book’s author, Lorelei D.C. De Viana, PhD, is a professorial lecturer of architecture at the CA.
Meanwhile, Deco Filipino: Art Deco Heritage in the Philippines and Manila Cathedral Restoring a Monument to Faith, Architecture, and History made the final list under the non-literary division. Both books are by Gerard A. Lico, PhD, a professor of architecture at the CA
The former, co-authored with Ivan Man Dy, made it to the art category list, while the latter, made it to the history category list.
The National Book Awards is an annual search by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Manila Critics Circle that honors the most prestigious book titles written, designed, and published in the Philippines.
In a July 2022 release on the NDDB Facebook page, Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade said “After more than two years, the National Book Awards is back. It’s an important—and overdue—celebration of Filipino literary talent and of the book as an art form.”
The National Book Awards was suspended in 2020 and 2021 in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This edition merged titles from 2019 and 2020.
The ceremony for the 39th edition was held virtually on July 30 on the NBDB Facebook Page and the Books Philippines YouTube channel.