35th National Book Awards now open for nominations

The National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Manila Critics Circle (MCC) are now accepting nominations for the 35th National Book Awards (NBA). 

All NBDB-registered publishers are welcome to submit their nominations. Books in Filipino or English published in 2015 are eligible for the awards.

As in previous years, a third language is included for nominated titles in the Literary Division. This year, books published in Bisaya/Binisaya/Cebuano between 2013 and 2015 will be accepted for this year’s awards.

Nominations for this division shall include entries for the Fiction (novels and short stories), Non-Fiction Prose, Essays, Anthology, Literary Criticism/Literary History, Poetry, Graphic Literature, and Translation categories.

Nominations for the Non-Literary Division shall include the Art, Professions, Social Sciences, History, Journalism, Leisure, Food, and Science categories.

Nominations are also open for the Language Studies category. E-books may be nominated in any category except Design.

The winner of each category will receive a cash prize of P15,000, which will be awarded to the author or book designer.

Special awards, such as the Juan C. Laya, Alfonso T. Ongpin, Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta, Clodualdo del Mundo Sr., Cirilo F. Bautista, Philippine Literary Arts Council, Elfren S. Cruz, and Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino prizes will also be given to the NBA winners.

Deadline for submission of entries is 5 p.m. of May 6, 2016. Nominations mailed from outside Metro Manila will be accepted if postmarked on that day.

For forms and templates to use or follow when nominating books, download these from booksphilippines.gov.ph/call-for-nominations-the-35th-national-book-awards/.

For complete information, the 2016 National Book Awards Nomination/Selection Criteria can be downloaded from booksphilippines.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2016-NBA-Selection-or-Nomination-Criteria.pdf.

For further inquiries, call the NBDB Secretariat through Debbie or Ihna at (632) 929-3887, local 804, or send an e-mail to oed@nbdb.gov.ph.