Ateneo de Manila University Press celebrates 2024 Harvest

The Ateneo de Manila University Press celebrated its newest harvest of books with its annual book launch held on Monday, 2 December 2024 at the Ubuntu Space of Areté. 

The Press, who won Publisher of the Year along with the University of the Philippines Press at the 42nd National Book Awards, released 31 new books this year from a vast array of genres – from scholarly to literary, poetry to prose. 

Dr Jonathan Chua, Chair of the Ateneo de Manila University Press Editorial Board, delivered the afternoon’s welcome remarks. “I encourage everyone to browse and buy,” he said. “Books exist for readers, after all. You are the telos, the final cause, of the book.”

“The press is the efficient cause; the writer is the formal cause; the paper and cardboard are the material cause. You’ve heard it said about the tree falling in the forest with nobody around to hear it. If a book is published and nobody reads it, then it could just as well have not been.”

“[It] is crucial that we be read, that we provide reading materials that can shape and challenge and widen and expand minds and hearts,” said Dr Rica Bolipata-Santos, AUP Director. “When we say that the press ‘is the supreme expression of the university in its work in nation building,’ we believe that change begins with ideas – tested ideas, bumped ideas with other ideas, conflating and conflicting ideas, well thought out ideas, dare I say, beautiful ideas – for the truth can never be approached directly; it is much too big to be in one tome or one manuscript.”

The year-end celebration highlighted the nominated and winning authors and titles from this year’s National Book Awards and gave a taste of upcoming books for a 2025 release. 

The winning titles are:

• 1762: A Novel by Vin Dela Serna Lopez (Best Novel in English) 
• Teorya ng Unang Panahon by Edgar Calabia Samar (Best Novel in Filipino) 
• The Collected Stories of Gregorio C Brillantes, edited by Jonathan Chua (National Artist Cirilo F Bautista Prize for Best Book of Short Fiction in English) 
• Ang Bisa ng Pag-uuli sa Katutubong Panitikan by Alvin B Yapan (Best Book of Literary Criticism/Cultural Studies) 
• Plural Entanglements: Philippine Studies, edited by Dada Docot, Stephen B Acabado, and Clement C Campasano (Elfren S Cruz Prize for Best Book in the Social Sciences) 
• Tales of the Post-Plantation: Unlikely Protagonist of Modern Philippine Banana History by Robin Thiers (John C Kaw Prize for Best Book on History) 
• Babaylan Sing Back: Philippine Shamans and Voice, Gender, and Place by Grace Nono (Best Book in Spirituality and Theology) 

Upcoming releases for next year include titles by Soledad S Reyes, Filomeno V Aguilar Jr, Allan Derain, Walden Bello, Dan Jaucian, and more.

Marites Dañguilan Vitug, author of the bestselling Unrequited Love: Duterte’s China Embrace addressed the audience for the closing remarks. “The Ateneo University Press has always been committed to championing books that highlight diverse Filipino narratives, including those of the global diaspora,” she said. 

“Today, despite our stressful politics, with violent ghosts from the past haunting us; despite the war of the most powerful political dynasties; despite the record-breaking string of typhoons that devastated parts of our country, leaving many reeling; despite the tension in our seas as our country struggles to stand up to a giant bully—there are still reasons to be grateful.”

“Like the reason we’re gathered here today. To have been able to write and publish books. To have nourished minds, enriched memories and hearts.”

The celebration closed with a musical performance by Miko Coroza, who sang “Sa Bawat Sandali” and a translated version of Jose Mari Chan’s “Christmas in Our Hearts.”

The winning titles and more are available here:

Website: unipress.ateneo.edu
Shopee: go.ateneo.net/Shopee
Lazada: go.ateneo.net/Lazada