Finalists for the 36th National Book Awards revealed

The National Book Development Council of the Philippines and the Manila Critics Circle on Friday shared the full lists of the finalists for the 36th National Book Awards.

Among the nominees are "Marcos Martial Law Never Again" by Raissa Robles for Best Book of Nonfiction Prose in English and Best Book Design; "Kikomachine 12: Mandirigma ng Tadhana" by Manix Abrera for Best Graphic Literature; "Basagan ng Trip" by Lisandro Claudio for Best Essays in English; and "Blood, Sweat, Hope and Quiapo" by Rick Rocamora for Best Book Design.

The finalists are:

LITERARY DIVISION

Best Book of Short Fiction in English

• "Of That Other Country We Now Speak and Other Stores" by Charlson Ong
• "The Axolotl Colony: Stories" by Jaime An Lim
• "Mariposa Gang and Other Stories" by Catherine Torres
• "The Stories So Far" by Jessica Zafra

Best Book of Short Fiction in Filipino

• "Sanga sa Basang Lupa" by Jim Pascual Agustin
• "Alternatibo sa Alternatibong Mundo" 13 Meta / Malakuwento" by Edgar Calabia Samar
• "Troya: 12 Kuwento" by Joselito delos Reyes
• "Sangkatauhan, Sangkahayupan: Mga Kuwento" by Alvin B. Yapan
• "Wagi/Sawi: Mga Kuwentong Luwalhati at Pighati by Rolando B. Tolentino and Rommel B. Rodriguez

Best Book of Fiction (Novel) in English

• "The Music Child & The Mahjong Queen" by Alfred A. Yuson
• "Wounded Little Gods" by Eliza Victoria

Best Book of Ficition (Novel) in Filipino

• "Toto O." by Charmaine Lasar

Best Book of Nonfiction Prose in English

• "Navel" by Rica Bolipata-Santos
• "Writing Naked: A Memoir" by Arnie Quibranza Mejia
• "Bamboo Bed" by Weldon M. McCarty
• "Lessons from Nationalist Struggle" by Jose Dalisay Jr.
• "Marcos Martial Law Never Again" by Raissa Robles

Best Book of Nonfiction Prose in Filipino

• "Sulyap Sa Aking Pinanggalingan" by Roque J. Ferriols, SJ
• "Selda Dos (Manila City Jail)" by Bobby V. Villagracia
• "Araw/Gabi: Mga Aporismo ng Pagkautal at Pagkaulol/Mga Aporismo ng Pagtanga at Pagtunganga" by Rolando B. Tolentino
• "The Lait Chronicles" by John Jack G. Wigley

Best Book of Poetry in English

• "Partly Cloudy" by Simeon Dumdum Jr.
• "Artemio Tadena (This Craft, As With A Woman Loved: Selected Poems) by Gemino H. Abad and Myrna Pena-Reyes
• "Faultsetting: Poems" by Joel Toledo
• "Snail Fever: Poems of Two Decades" by Francis Macansantos

Best Book of Poetry in Filipino

• "Banayad: Mga Tula" by Rowena Festin
• "Kurap sa Ilalim" by Mesandel Virtusio Arguelles

Best Book of Poetry in Waray

"Taburos Han Dagat" by Victor N. Sugbo

Best Anthology (Bilingual)

• "Hoy, Boy! A Festschrift for Delfin Tolentino, Jr." by Ben Tapang and Grace Celeste Subido
• "Remembering/Rethinking EDSA" by JPaul Manzanilla and Caroline Hau
• "BIEN! A Festchrift in Honor of National Artist Bienvenido L. Lumbera" by David Jonathan Bayot, Jaime Oscar Salazar, and Johann Vladimir Espiritu
• "Elie: An Anthology" by Caroline Hau; Katrina Tuvera; and Isabelita Reyes

Best Anthology in Filipino

• "Batang Rizal at iba pang Dula" by Christine S. Bellen

Best Anthology in Waray 

• "Susumaton: Oral Narratives of Leyte" by Merlie M. Alunan

Best Graphic Literature

• "Melag" by Bong Redilla
• "After Lambana" by Eliza Victoria and Mervin Malonzo
• "Kikomachine 12: Mandirigma ng Tadhana" by Manix Abrera
• "Strange Natives: The Forgotten Memories of a Forgetful Old Woman" by Paolo Herras

Best Literary Criticism/ Literary History in English

• "Filipinas Everywhere: Essays in Criticism and Cultural Studies from a Filipino Perspective" by E. San Juan Jr.
• "Slivers in the Sky" by Ma. Ailil B. Alvarez
• "Myth and Writing' by Jose Neil C. Garcia
• "Migrations and Mediations: The Emergence of Southeast Asian Diaspora Writies in Australia, 1972-2007" by Jose Wendell Capili

Best Essays in English

• "To the People Sitting in Darkness" by Jose Victor Torres
• "Basagan ng Trip" by Lisandro Claudio
• "Notes for the Filipino Playwright" by Malou Jacob
• "Motherless Tongues: The Insurgency of Language Amid Wars of Translation" by Vicente L. Rafael

Best Translated Book

• "Shri-Bishaya" by Ramon Muzones and Maria Cecilia Locsin-Nava
• "Tatlong Dula Adaptasyon" by Rody Vera
• "Typewriter Altar" by Marne Kilates
• "Pahagunong: Book 4 Sugidanon (Epics) of Panay" by Alicia P. Magos, Anna Razel Limoso Ramirez, and Federico Caballero
• "Jaime Gil de Biedma in the Philippines" by Alice Sun-Cua, Jose Ma Fons Guardiola, and Wystan de la Peña

Best Book on Food

• "In High Spirits, Tropical Wines of the Philippines" by Arturo G. Pacho
• "Kuisina Gastronomika" by Richmond Victor Ejanda
• "The Expat Kitchen" by Blance Gallardo
• "Via Mare: 40 Years" by Glenda Barretto
• "Philippine Food, Cooking and Dining Dictionary" by Edgie Polistico

Best Book on History

• "Central Banking As State Building: Policymakers and Their Nationalism in the Philippines 1933 - 1964" by Yusuke Takagi
• "Feeding Manila in Peace and War 1850 - 1945" by Daniel F. Doeppers
• "Occupation 1942 -1945" by Benito Legarda, Jr. 
• "Metroimperial Intimacies: Fantasy, Racial-Sexual Governance, and the Philippines in the US Imperialism, 1899- 1913" by Victor Roman Mendoza
• "Orientalists, Propagandists, and Ilustrados" by Megan Thomas

Best Book on Science

• "A Field Guide to Flight: Identifying Birds on Three School Grounds" by Amado C. Bajarias
• "The Philippines: A Natural History" by Oolin Rees
• "Hotspot, Cool Country: Biodiversity in the Philippines" by Almira Gilles

Best Book in the Social Sciences

• "Jose M. De Mesa: A Theological Reader" by Jose de Mesa
• "Religious Festival in Contemporary Southeast Asia" by Patrick Alcedo, Sally Ann Ness, and Hendrik M.J. Maier
• "Out of the Shadows: Violent Conflict and the Real Economy of Mindanao" by Francisco J. Lara, Jr. and Steven Schoofs
• "Sibod: Ideology and Expressivity in Binanog Dance, Music and Folkways of the Panay Bukidnon" by Maria Christine Muyco
• "Keywords: Essays on Philippine Media Cultures and Neocolonialisms" by Rolando B. Tolentino

Best Book in Journalism

• "Divide by Two" by Luis V. Teodoro
• "Peryodismo sa Bingit: Mga Naratibong Ulat sa Panahon ng Digmaan at Krisi" by Kenneth Roland A. Guda

Best Book on Leisure

• "Pinoy Manners A Modern Guide to Delicadeza" by Joy Lumawig-Buensalido
• "Kwentaxi 2" by Mae Paner
• "#TagaCallCenterAko" by Safronio L. Tomandao III

Best Book on Professions

• "Daya Privacy and Cybercrime Prevention" by Henry Roel Aguda, Maria Francesa Montes, and Byan Dennis Tiojanco
• "The Balance Concept in Nursing: New Perspectives in Survival and Health" by Daisy M. Rodriguez
• "Gusto Kong Maging Voice Talent" bu Pocholo Gonzales
• "Winning: Management Lessons Outside the Classroom" by Management Association of the Philippines

Best Book on Art

• "Music in the Zarzuelas of Severino Reyes" by Helen Samson-Lauterwald
• "Performing Catholicism: Faith and Theater in a Philippine Province" by Sir Anril Pineda Tiatco
• "The End of National Cinema: Filipino Film at the Turn of the Century" by Patrick F. Campos
• "EIGA: Cinema in the Philippines During World War II" by Nick Deocampo

Best Book Design

• "Marcos Martial Law Never Again" (Felix Mago Miguel)
• "Motherless Tongues: The Insurgency of Language Amid Wars of Translation" (Amy Ruth Bucharon)
• "Colonial Manila, 1902 - 1912: Three Dutch Travel Accounts" (Karl Frederick M. Castro)
• "World Heritage Sites and Living Cultures of the Philippines" (Melody Gocheco Wigforss)
• "Blood, Sweat, Hope and Quiapo" (Rick Rocamora)

— AT, GMA News