Books written and edited by four UP Diliman (UPD) faculty members won at the 41st National Book Awards by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Manila Critics Circle (MCC).
Huni at Pakpak: Mga Dula, Mga Sanaysay by Luna Sicat Cleto, PhD won the Best Book on Drama and Film. Cleto is a professor at the Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas of the UPD College of Arts and Letters.
Nicanor Francisco “Nick” A. Deocampo’s book Alternative Cinema: The Unchronicled History of Alternative Cinema in the Philippines won in the Best Book on Media Studies category. Deocampo is an associate professor at the UP Film Institute (UPFI) of the UPD College of Mass Communication.
Winning the Gerardo P. Cabochan Prize for Best Book of Short Fiction in Filipino is Ang Buang ng Bayan: Mga Maikling Kuwento by Rowena P. Festin. Festin is an assistant professor at the UPD Extension Program in Pampanga and Olongapo.
Plus/+ at Iba Plus, Maramihan: New Philippine Nonfiction on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities co-edited by Rolando B. Tolentino, PhD and Chuckberry J. Pascual, PhD won the Best Anthology in Filipino. Tolentino is a professor at the UPFI and the current UP Vice President for Public Affairs, while Pascual is a faculty member at the University of Santo Tomas and a UPD alumnus.
The books by Cleto, Deocampo, and Festin were published by the UP Press, while the book of Tolentino and Pascual was published by the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Press.
The National Book Awards is an annual search by the NBDB and MCC that honors the most prestigious books written, designed, and published in the Philippines. It was suspended in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The awarding ceremony was held last Feb. 24 at the Areté, ADMU, Quezon City.