16 Ateneo Press titles are finalists in the 40th National Book Awards

The Ateneo University Press is proud to announce that 16 of its titles are finalists for the 40th National Book Awards. The National Book Awards, organized by the National Book Development Board and the Manila Critics Circle, is an annual prize that honors “the most prestigious book titles written, designed, and published in the Philippines.”

Covering 11 award categories, the 16 titles from Ateneo Press reflect the diverse range of subjects and themes that the Press has been championing for decades. They include works of fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, art and criticism, and academic and popular writing.

The titles published by the Press are:

Novel

• Aswanglaut by Allan N. Derain

Nonfiction Prose

• Is There Sex In Heaven? And Other Essays Bypassing a Passing World by Simeon Dumdum, Jr.
• Ascending the Fourth Mountain: A Personal Account of the Marcos Years by Maria Virginia Yap Morales

Literary Criticism/Cultural Studies

• Campaigns of Knowledge: U.S. Pedagogies of Colonialism and Occupation in the Philippines and Japan by Malini Johar Schueller
• What Kapitan Tiago Served and Padre Damaso Ate: Studies on Jose Rizal, His World, and His Works by Jose Victor Z. Torres

Media Studies

• Hindi Nangyari Dahil Wala sa Social Media: Interogasyon ng Kulturang New Media sa Pilipinas by Roland Tolentino, Vladimier Gonzales, at Laurence Marvin Castillo

Poetry

• College Boy by Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta

Art

• Endangered Splendor: Manila’s Architectural Heritage (Volume 1: The Center) by Fernando N. Zialciata and Erik Akpedonu with Victor S. Venida

Social Sciences

• The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved a Country from Corporate Greed by Robin Broad and John Cavanagh

History

• Civilizational Imperatives: Americans, Moros, and the Colonial World by Oliver Charbonneau
• Between Celebration and Critique: Snapshots from 500 Years of Philippine Christianity by Jose Mario C. Francisco, SJ
• Specters of Germany: Colonial Rivalry & Scholarship in the Philippine Reform Movement & Revolution by Nathaniel Parker Weston

Spirituality & Theology

• The Filipino Christ and the Historical Jesus Toward a Filipino Christology by Michael Demetrius H. Asis

Philosophy

• Repentance and Rebirth at the End of Life as We Know It by Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez

Design

• Drugs and Philippine Society edited by Gideon Lasco and designed by Nadine Hendrikka E. Legaspi and Karl Frederick M. Castro
• Endangered Splendor: Manila’s Architectural Heritage (Volume 1: The Center) by Fernando N. Zialciata and Erik Akpedonu with Victor S. Venida; designed by Ali Figueroa

These books have already received critical acclaim and have been well-received by readers and scholars alike. Being named finalists for the National Book Awards is a testament to their impact on Philippine literature, scholarship, and culture.

The Ateneo University Press is committed to publishing books that contribute to the intellectual and cultural life in the Philippines and beyond. We are thrilled that our authors and books have been recognized by the National Book Awards, and we look forward to continuing our mission of upholding Philippine literature and scholarship and helping raise the quality of life of every Filipino.