FATHER Fausto Gomez, O.P. led Thomasian winners in the 25th National Book Awards given out by the Manila Critics Circle last Aug. 31 at the World Trade Center.
Fr. Gomez, regent of the College of Rehabilitation Science and former dean of the Faculty of Theology, won the Best Theology Book award for A Pilgrim’s Notes: Ethics, Social Ethics, Bioethics, published by the UST Publishing House (USTPH).
Although failing to gain its third consecutive Publisher of the Year title, the USTPH still received several awards, nominations, and citations.
USTPH lost the title to the commercial press Anvil Publishing.
“It means a lot being the Publisher of the Year, but we should remain consistent in producing quality books and not just work for the title,” USTPH director Mecheline Manalastas told the Varsitarian.
Aside from Fr. Gomez’s book, another book published by UTSPH, Cavalry Road by Abdon M. Balde, Jr., won the award for Best Book of Short Fiction.
Citations were also given to USTPH titles such as the four-part Makata sa Cellphone by Frank G. Rivera, and the Angono, Rizal series by Ligaya Tiamson-Rubin.
Other Thomasian winners included Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) alumni J Neil Garcia and Rebecca Añonuevo who shared the Best Book of Poetry award for their books, Misterios and Other Poems and Saulado, respectively.
Artlets professor Jose Victor Torres topped the Travel category with his book, Ciudad Murada, a historical tour of Intramuros.
Nominated USTPH titles were Rody Vera’s 10 x 10 x 10: Sampung Tigsasampung Minutong Dula ng Sampung Mandudula and his Mga Piling Dulang Pambata, both for the Drama category.
Meanwhile, the Book Development Association of the Philippines also gave Gintong Aklat Awards to three USTPH titles last August 30 at the World Trade Center.
The winning USTPH titles were: Dinah Rom’s A Feast of Origins for English literature; Abdon M. Balde’s Hunyango sa Bato for Filipino literature; and Augie Rivera’s Elias and his Trees for Children’s Book.
The Gintong Aklat Awards is held every two years to recognize excellence in bookmaking. Marc Laurenze C. Celis and R.S. Mejia
