Congratulations to the winners of the 35th National Book Awards!
As announced recently by the National Book Development Board and the Manila Critics Circle, among them are:
Best Novel in English: Locust Girl: A Lovesong, by Merlinda Bobis; Best Novel in Filipino: Si Janus Silang at ang Labanang Manananggal-Mambabarang, by Edgar Calabia Samar; Best Essays in English: Re: Recollections, Reviews, Reflections, by Luis H. Francia; and Best Essays in Filipino: Titser Pangkalawakan at iba pang angas sa social network underworld, by Joselito D. Delos Reyes.
There are many other winners in other categories, with some of the most interesting (to me) being Best Book on Food: Panaderia: Philippine Bread, Biscuit, and Bakery Traditions, by Amy A. Uy and Jenny B. Orillos; and Best Book in the Social Sciences: Tradition and Transformation: Studies on Indigenous Culture, by June Prill-Brett.
The University of the Philippines Press was recognized as Publisher of the Year; they published nine of the 26 winners this year.
See the full list of winners at the NBDB Facebook page and at their website, nbdb.gov.ph.
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I’ve always been interested in food writing because I am interested in eating.
And at the end of the day, after politics and business and all the frenzy of human occupation is set aside, all we want is to sit down to a restful, quiet dinner with our loved ones. Food is the most basic of human needs, and I want to learn as much as I can about the backgrounds, history, and tradition of what sustains and comforts us.
A 2016 National Book Award winner, Panaderia: Philippine Bread, Biscuit, and Bakery Traditions is, according to their Facebook page, “a documentation of the stories behind the making of Philippine bread. The book follows the tale of the bread from bakery to dining table. It celebrates our tinapay (bread), tinapayan (bakery), and magtitinapay (baker).
“The book leads us inside the panaderia or bakeshops from north to south of the Philippines, both traditional and new, tracing how time and the economy have changed the way the panadero baked our breads.”
Doesn’t that make you think of pan de sal, pan de coco, and the other local breads we grew up buying from the corner bakery that every neighborhood has? Back then the baker displayed the bread on aluminum trays inside a glass case, and used a pair of pom tongs to lift your bread, still warm from the oven, and placed them in a brown paper bag. From ensaymada to kalihim, the panaderia had all we wanted or needed.
Here’s a bit of trivia from the book: “Ever wondered why we call a loaf of white bread “Tasty” here in the Philippines? It seems that when the Americans introduced this bread in the country, the largest bakery in the US was Taystee Bread Company (established in the 1930s). Calling the bread “Tasty” must have originated there. Of course now, the other common name of sliced white bread here is “pan amerikano.”
I hope someone comes out with a companion volume—“Palaman” (sandwich filling). Now that would be a tasty pairing!
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My latest book, Fictionary, a collection of 16 new and award-winning stories, was released last Nov. 3 by University of Sto. Tomas Publishing House.
The book contains works that won the Nick Joaquin Literary Award in consecutive years—“How I Spent My US Vacation” (2013), “Wolves I Have Known” (2014), and “Marry Me” (2015). “The Cups” placed in a contest. Several of the stories are set in a horseracing milieu. Half of the stories in this book have been published; the others are new for this collection.
Fictionary will be available in bookstores six to eight weeks from now, or around late December. Meanwhile, it can be purchased directly from UST Publishing House: please call 406-1611 local 8424 and look for Paul, Val, or Carlo.
My warmest thanks to UST Publishing House director Dr. John Jack Wigley and UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies director Dr. Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo, and to historian Dr. Jose Victor Torres for being the first person to buy a copy of Fictionary. (His latest book, The Camino Real to Freedom and Other Notes on Philippine Culture and History, was also just released.)
Please support Philippine literature and research—buy locally published books!
Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Follow her on Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @jensdecember