OSA’s book wins Gintong Aklat Awards, shortlisted for the 42nd Nat’l Book Awards
Dr. Marjorie Evasco at SU Hall last year talks about her translation process for Manu Avenido’s Ikigai and Other Selected Stories, which is currently a finalist for the forthcoming 42nd National Book Awards in the best book translation into English category.
Outstanding Sillimanian Awardee (OSA, 2008 for Creative Writing Dr. Marjorie Evasco’s book, It Is Time To Come Home: New and Collected Poems, won the prestigious 21st Gintong Aklat Award for Best Book of Poetry in English for her co-publishers Milflores Publishing, Inc. and De La Salle University Publishing House, on September 11, 2024, at the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), SMX Convention Center.
Established in 1981 and held every two years, the Gintong Aklat Awards are given to outstanding book publishers who show excellence in aspects of bookmaking such as book production (e.g., printing and binding), content (writing and editing), and book design. The Awards are managed by the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP). This Gintong Aklat award is her second; her first was for Dreamweavers: Selected Poems (1976-1986) published by Editsource, Inc. established by a Sillimanian, the late Rosalind “Ross” Camara and Edwin Ang.
Dr. Marjorie Evasco (center) receives her citation on stage with Atty. Andrea Pasion-Flores (left), Milflores Publisher, novelist Charlson Ong (second-left), who judged books in English, and Dr. David Jonathan Bayot, DLSU PH Executive Publisher.
In an email correspondence with Evasco, she shared that Atty. Andrea Pasion-Flores of Milflores Publishing, Inc. had said to her that “publishers are only as good as their authors.” But Evasco believes that “our books are only as good as the care and love for the written word of the publishers and the publishing and production team.”
Dr. Marjorie Evasco (center) poses before the awarding ceremony with her DLSU Literature Department colleagues: Dr. Genevieve Asenjo (left), judge for books in Filipino, & Executive Publisher of DLSU Publishing House Dr. David Jonathan Bayot (right).
Both Evasco and Pasion-Flores were once writing fellows of the Silliman University National Writers Workshop (SUNWW), the longest-running creative writing workshop in Asia founded by Edilberto Tiempo and Edith Tiempo, National Artist for Literature. Evasco serves as a regular panelist for the SUNWW.
Last year during her book tour, Evasco came to SU to launch her book on Dec. 1, 2023. The event was co-presented by the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center (CWC), the Romeo Ariniego Gallery (RAG), and the SU Culture and Arts Council (SUCAC).
Meanwhile, Evasco’s poetry collection is also a finalist among five others for best poetry book in English in the forthcoming 42nd National Book Awards slated in November this year. She is joined by SUNWW regular panelist Krip Yuson, for his book “Kafka in the Tropics: Poems,” and former SUNWW panelist Joel Toledo, for his book “Planet Nine: Poems.”
Evasco is a five-time National Book Award winner for poetry, oral history, biography, and art.
The finalists for the 2024 National Book Awards, released by the National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Manila Critics Circle (MCC) on September 10, 2024, cites Evasco’s collection as among the 326 book titles submitted this year in 31 categories comprising four languages: Filipino, English, Bikolano, and Ilokano.
In the best book translation in English category, Manu Avenido’s “Ikigai Ug Ubang Piniling Mga Sugilanon (And Other Selected Stories)” translated into English by Evasco is also one of the three finalists, making her a finalist for two categories of the National Book Awards this year.
Dr. Marjorie Evasco poses with Jo Pantorillo, Milflores Publishing, Inc. admin officer during the book signing at the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) at the SMX Convention Center.
Evasco is a prizewinning writer and professor emeritus at De La Salle University in Manila. She is the recipient of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Ani ng Dangal Award, the SEAWrite Award, the Gawad Alagad ni Balagtas, and multiple Palanca Awards.
An alumna of SU, she took her MA in English (Creative Writing) in 1982. In 2008, she was awarded the OSA in the field of Creative Writing. She continues to serve as a regular panelist for the SUNWW and sits on the advisory board of the Edilberto and Edith Tiempo Creative Writing Center as a Writing Associate for Poetry.
