FULL LIST: Winners, 39th National Book Awards

MANILA, Philippines – The National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Manila Critics Circle have named the winners of the 39th National Book Awards at an awards ceremony on Saturday, July 30.

This year’s awards mark its comeback after being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

One hundred and ten titles published in 2019 and 2020 were selected as finalists. Twenty-seven winners were awarded prizes across 25 categories, with two winners each being selected for the Drama and Poetry in English categories.

The Ateneo de Manila University Press was named the Publisher of the Year, with eight winning titles.

“The National Book Awards, by empowering agents of creativity to bring their ideas to fruition, aligns with the daring yet hopeful economic outlook of the NBDB to reinvigorate the Philippine publishing industry,” said NBDB Chairman Dante Francis Ang II in a message.

“While some people might say that awards are really just secondary to what is truly important – which is the book – I believe, like many of you, that the prestige and attention that they bring to creative work amounts to something greater,” said NBDB Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade in her welcome remarks.

“They encourage wider readership and spotlights what are otherwise overlooked voices, which then encourages sales and helps our booksellers and publishers, which in turn encourages wider authorship,” she said.

Here is the full list of winners for the 39th National Book Awards:

Literary Division

• BEST NOVEL IN ENGLISH: Tiempo Muerto: A Novel by Caroline S. Hau, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• BEST NOVEL IN FILIPINO: Topograpiya ng Lumbay: Imus Novel 6 by RM Topacio-Aplaon, University of the Philippines Press
• BEST BOOK OF SHORT FICTION IN ENGLISH: Voyager and Other Fictions: The Collected Stories of Jose Dalisay by Jose Dalisay Jr, Anvil Publishing, Inc.
• BEST BOOK OF SHORT FICTION IN FILIPINO: The Next Great Tagalog Novel at Iba Pang Kuwento by Allan N. Derain, University of the Philippines Press
• BEST BOOK OF NONFICTION PROSE IN ENGLISH: Biyaheng Pinoy: A Mindanao Travelogue by Edilberto N. Alegre, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• BEST BOOK OF NONFICTION PROSE IN FILIPINO: Balager by Emmanuel T. Barrameda, Isang Balangay Media Productions
• BEST BOOK OF ESSAYS IN ENGLISH: The Philippines Is Not a Small Country by Gideon Lasco, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• BEST ANTHOLOGY IN ENGLISH: Mindanao Harvest 4 by Jaime An Lim, Christine F. Godinez-Ortega, Ricardo M. De Ungria (Editors), Far Eastern University Publications
• BEST BOOK OF DRAMA: Salvador/Javier at Iba Pang Dula by Lito Casaje, University of the Philippines Press and Two Women as Specters of History: Lakambini and Indigo Child by Rody Vera, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• BEST BOOK OF LITERARY CRITICISM IN ENGLISH: Sensing Manila by Gary C. Devilles, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• BEST BOOK OF LITERARY HISTORY IN ENGLISH: Songs Sprung from Native Soils: More Conversations with Eight Mindanao Writers by Ricardo M. De Ungria (Editor), Xavier University Press
• BEST BOOK OF LITERARY CRITICISM IN FILIPINO: Faustino Aguilar: Kapangyarihan, Kamalayan, Kasaysayan by Epifanio San Juan Jr, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House
• BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN ENGLISH: When Bridges Are Down, Mountains Too Far: New Poems by Gémino H. Abad, University of the Philippines Press and We Shall Write Love Poems Again by Dinah Roma, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House
• BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN FILIPINO: Ruta: Mga Bago at Piling Tula by Benilda S. Santos, Ateneo de Naga University Press
• BEST GRAPHIC LITERATURE: Tarantadong Kalbo Volume 1 by Kevin Eric Raymundo, Komiket Inc.
• BEST TRANSLATED BOOK: The World is Still Beautiful by Lazaro Francisco, translated by Mona Highley, Ateneo de Manila University Press

Non-literary Division

• BEST BOOK ON ART: Philippine Cinema, 1897-2020 by Gaspar A. Vibal and Dennis S. Villegas; edited by Teddy O. Co, Vibal Group
• BEST BOOK ON PROFESSIONS: Cool Minds, Brave Hearts: The People of the Philippine Central Bank by Roel R. Landingin, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
• BEST BOOK IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: Rethinking Filipino Millennials: Alternative Perspectives on a Misunderstood Generation by Jayeel Cornelio (Editor), University of Santo Tomas Publishing House
• BEST BOOK ON HISTORY: Clothing the Colony: Nineteenth-Century Philippine Sartorial Culture, 1820-1896 by Stephanie Coo, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• BEST BOOK IN JOURNALISM: Press Freedom Under Siege: Reportage that Challenged the Marcos Dictatorship by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo, University of the Philippines Press
• BEST BOOK ON HUMOR, SPORTS, AND LIFESTYLE: Walk Manila by Lorelei DC de Viana, Far Eastern University Publications
• BEST BOOK ON FOOD: Lasa ng Republika Dila at Bandila: Ang Paghahanap sa Pambansang Panlasa ng Filipinas by Ige Ramos, Anvil Publishing, Inc.
• BEST BOOK IN SCIENCE: The Zanjeras of Ilocos: Cooperative Irrigation Societies of the Philippines by Jose A. Rivera, Ateneo de Manila University Press
• BEST BOOK DESIGN: A Watercolor Journey by Claude Tayag, design by Miguel
• Mari, Holy Angel University, Inc

– Rappler.com