Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, April 28) — The Manila Critics Circle (MCC) and the National Book Development Board (NBDB) have announced the winners of the 40th National Book Awards.
Launched in 1982 by the MCC, the award honors the most prestigious book titles written, designed, and published in the Philippines. This cycle of the National Book Awards highlights titles published in 2021 and garnered 213 title nominations across categories grouped into Literary, Non-Literary, and Design and written in English, Filipino, and Ilocano. Out of the 100 finalists, 29 emerged as winners. The awarding ceremony will be held onsite – the first since the pandemic – on May 13.
Below is the full list of winners of the 40th National Book Awards.
LITERARY DIVISION
BEST NOVEL IN ENGLISH
“Snakes in the Grass” - Patrick Everard (University of the Philippines Press)
BEST NOVEL IN FILIPINO
“Aswanglaut” - Allan N. Derain (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
NATIONAL ARTIST CIRILO F. BAUTISTA PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF SHORT FICTION IN ENGLISH
“Selected Short Stories” - Cecilia Manguerra Brainard (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House)
GERARDO P. CABOCHAN PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF SHORT FICTION IN FILIPINO
“Ang Itim na Orkidyas ng Isla Boracay: Mga Kuwento” - Genevieve L. Asenjo (University of the Philippines Press)
PABLO A. TAN PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF NONFICTION PROSE IN ENGLISH
“Departures: Essays” - Priscilla Supnet Macansantos (University of the Philippines Press)
BEST BOOK OF NONFICTION PROSE IN FILIPINO
“Sa Yakap ng Gubat at Dagat ng Palawan: Mga Ekosanaysay” - John Iremil Teodoro (Pawikan Press)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
“Harvest Moon: Poems and Stories from the Edge of the Climate Crisis” - Padmapani L. Perez, Rehana Rossouw, Alexandra Walter, & Renato Redentor Constantino (Milflores Publishing, Inc. & Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities)
BEST BOOK OF LITERARY CRITICISM/CULTURAL STUDIES IN ENGLISH
“Campaigns of Knowledge: U.S. Pedagogies of Colonialism and Occupation in the Philippines and Japan” - Malini Johar Schueller (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
BEST BOOK OF LITERARY CRITICISM/CULTURAL STUDIES IN FILIPINO
“Musika ng Pananakop: Panahon ng Hapon sa Filipinas, 1942-1945” - Raul Casantusan Navarro (University of the Philippines Press)
BEST BOOK ON MEDIA STUDIES
“Hindi Nangyari Dahil Wala sa Social Media: Interogasyon ng Kulturang New Media sa Pilipinas” - Rolando B. Tolentino, Vladimeir B. Gonzales, & Laurence Marvin S. Castillo (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
PHILIPPINE LITERARY ARTS COUNCIL PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN ENGLISH
“Tangere” - Rodrigo V. Dela Peña, Jr. (University of the Philippines Press)
“College Boy” - Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
VICTORIO C. VALLEDOR PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN FILIPINO
“Pasakalye” - Lean Borlongan (Self-published)
“Tuwing Nag-Iisa sa Mapa ng Buntong-hininga” - Paolo Miguel G. Tiausas (University of the Philippines Press)
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL IN ENGLISH
“Alandal” - J. Philip Ignacio, Author; Alex Niño, Illustrator (Komiket, Inc.)
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL IN FILIPINO
“Ang Mga Alitaptap ng Pulang Buhangin” - RH Quilantang, Author & Illustrator (Komiket, Inc.)
BEST TRANSLATED BOOK
“Mga Himutok sa Palikuran at Iba Pang Kuwento” - Amado Anthony G. Mendoza III, Translator; Eka Kurniawan, Author (Savage Mind: Arts, Books, Cinema)
BEST NOVEL IN ILOCANO
“Dagiti Pundador (The Founders)” - Prescillano N. Bermudez (Saniata Publications)
BEST ANTHOLOGY IN ILOCANO
“Panaglantip (Union)” - Dionisio S. Bulong & Eden Laguesma Cachola-Bulong (Saniata Publications)
BEST BOOK OF POETRY IN ILOCANO
“Baribari (Pardon Me)” - Roy Vadil Aragon (Saniata Publications)
“Anglem (Incense)” - Daniel L. Nesperos (Saniata Publications)
NON-LITERARY DIVISION
ALFONSO T. ONGPIN PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK ON ART
“Endangered Splendor: Manila’s Architectural Heritage, 1571-1960” - Fernando Zialcita & Erik Akpedonu (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
ELFREN S. CRUZ PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
“The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed” - Robin Broad & John Cavanagh (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
JOHN C. KAW PRIZE FOR BEST BOOK ON HISTORY
“Púgot: Head Taking, Ritual Cannibalism, and Human Sacrifice in the Philippines” - Narciso C. Tan (Vibal Foundation, Inc.)
BEST BOOK ON HUMOR, SPORTS, LIFESTYLE, & BUSINESS
“The Business of Banking: Structure and Profitability; Risks and Controls” - Deogracias N. Vistan (Anvil Publishing, Inc.)
BEST BOOK ON FOOD
“Appetite for Freedom: The Recipes of Maria Y. Orosa, with Essays on Her Life and Work” - Helena Orosa del Rosario (Ige Ramos Design Studios)
BEST BOOK IN SPIRITUALITY AND THEOLOGY
“Handumanan (Remembrance): Digging for the Indigenous Wellspring” - Karl M. Gaspar, CSsR (Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.)
BEST BOOK IN PHILOSOPHY
“Repentance and Rebirth at the End of Life as We Know It” - Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez (Ateneo de Manila University Press)
DESIGN
BEST BOOK DESIGN
“Endangered Splendor: Manila’s Architectural Heritage, 1571-1960” - Ali Figueroa & Erik Akpedonu, cover design, book design, layout, and artistic direction; Fernando Zialcita & Erik Akpedonu, authors (Ateneo de Manila University Press)