Philippines Illustrated : 9/1/18

The winner of the 39th Gintong Aklat Awards for the Food category is the Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary (PFCDD) of Edgie Polistico.

Every year, the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP) accepts nominations for the Gintong Aklat Awards in the following categories: Literature in Filipino, Literature in English, Arts & Humanities, Food, Natural Science, Social Science, Science and Technology, and Inspirational and Self-Help.

Also for this year, the "Book Design" category is again introduced for the applicant contenders to vie for, which seems to antagonize the famous proverb "don't judge a book by its cover." Lo and behold, the face cover will now win a prestigious award.

For this year's 39th Gintong Aklat Awards, the winners are:

Arts & Humanities

Winner - Bamboo Whispers: Poetry of the Mangyan

Editors - Lolita Delgado Fansler, Quintin Pastrana, Raena Abella, and Emily Catapang

Publisher - The Bookmark Inc.

Food

Winner - The Philippine Food, Cooking, and Dining Dictionary

Author: Edgie Polistico

Publisher: Anvil Publishing Inc.

Natural and Applied Science

Winner - Fr. Manuel Blanco's Flora de Filipinas (5th edition)

Author - Fr. Manuel Blanco

Editor - Domingo Madulid

Publisher - Vibal Foundation Inc.

Science and Technology

Winner - Science Philippines: Essays on Science by Filipinos, Volume IV

Editor - Gisela P. Padilla-Concepcion

Publisher - University of the Philippines Press

Inspirational and Self-Help

Winner - Lifeline: A Layperson's Guide to Helping People in Crisis

Authors - Queena Lee-Chua, Lourdes Joy Galvez Tan, Melissa R. Garabiles, Ma. Tonirose de Guzman-Mactal, and Mary Jane Bergado-Flores

Publisher - Anvil Publishing Inc.

Social Science

Winner - Imagined Communities

Author - Benedict Anderson

Publisher - Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Winner - The World of the Manila-Acapulco Galleons: The Global and Human Context

Authors - Senator Edgardo J. Angara and Carlos Madrid

Publisher - Vibal Foundation, Inc.

Literature in English

Winner - Aimless Walk, Faithful River / The Poet Learns to Dance (The Dancer Learns to Write a Poem): Poems

Author - Simeon Dumdum Jr.

Publisher - Ateneo De Manila University Press

Winner - All My Lonely Islands

Author - V.J. Campilan

Publisher - Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Literature in Filipino

Winner - Sacada: A Catalog of Commodities From A Period Of Glorious Tumult

Author - Alan Navarra

Publisher - Visprint, Inc.

Winner - May Tiktik sa Bubong, May Sigbin sa Silong

Author - Allan N. Derrain

Publisher - Ateneo De Manila University Press

Book Design

Winner - Sacada: A Catalog of Commodities From A Period Of Glorious Tumult

Author - Alan Navarra

Publisher - Visprint, Inc.

The winning authors/publishers got the coveted prestigious trophy and their moments on stage.

Edgie Polistico with Atty. Andrea Pasion-Flores of Anvil Publishing, and Ms. Ani Almario, BDAP President.

Authors and publishers of selected finalist books were invited by the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP) to the Gintong Aklat Awards ceremony on September 13, 2018 held at the Main Stage Area in Hall 1 of the ongoing 39th Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) held in the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex, Pasay City. The announcement of winners were done and announced only there on that day in the program.

The Opening Remarks and the overview of Gintong Aklat Awards 2018 is by Ms. Ani Almario, the President of BDAP. The Closing Remarks is by Mr. Toots Policarpio, the Vice President-External of BDAP.

In tandem masters of the ceremony are Mr. John Jack Wigley and Mr. Segundo Matias, Jr.

From the handout copies of today's Gintong Aklat Awards programme of activities, the following are written at the back page explaining briefly why and what Gintong Aklat Awards is all about:

THE GINTONG AKLAT AWARDS
THE TOTAL BOOK AWARD

The prestigious Ginton g Aklat Awards, established in 1981, is given out regularly to outstanding book publishers based on the quality of the books they produced year after year. Managed by the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), the Awards are meant to recognize excellence in bookmaking in the country's book industry.

Book entries are judged for all-around excellence and are subjected to close scrutiny by professional panels in book quality, design, and content. Entries must merit an excellent rating in each aspect of bookmaking in order to qualify for the gold prize. A book winner of the Gintong Aklat, therefore, will have been judged not only on its contents but on its totality as a book. Contest entries are divided over several subject categories - Literature in Filipino, Literature in English, Arts & Humanities, Food, Natural Science, Social Sciences, Science and Technology, and Inspirational and Self-Help.

Meant to recognize and encourage professional book publishing as an industry, the Gintong Aklat qualifies as participants only bonafide publishers engaged in book publishing as their main line of business.