XU Press emerged as one of the big winners in the recently concluded Philippine Book Festival (PBF) at the World Trade Center in Pasay City last June 2-4, 2023. The PBF, attended by book publishers, readers, performers, artists, educators, and enthusiasts, was organized by the National Book Development Board (NBDB). During the festival, NBDB announced the recipients of translation and publication grants for 2023.
According to NBDB, they received 118 grant applications from publishers all over the Philippines. Only 22 publishing houses were chosen as recipients, including Xavier University Press which took home a total of four grants amounting to 480,000Php. The titles were evaluated in terms of the quality of manuscript, cost study, and marketing plan.
The winning titles from XU Press include Bride Price and Other Stories, a short story collection by Dr. Calbi Asain, Sikwateng Uwan, a multi-genre collection of post-Sendong literary works by Dr. Maria Elena Paulma and Dr. Jeena Rani Marquez-Manaois, Lasang sa mga Pasumbingay: Sixteen Southern Writers, an anthology of works and poetics of Southern writers edited by Merlie Alunan, Aivee Badulid, and Lemuel Zalradarriaga, Lanao Boy: A Life: The Writings of Manuel E. Buenafe (1916-1963), a collection of literary works and memoirs edited by Dr. Maria Corazon Buenafe. These titles are coming out in 2023 and will be available to the public at the XU Bookstore and online thru the XU Press social media.
XU Press publishing specialist, Ms. Dawny Balangiao, with NBDB Chairman Dante Ang II (right) and DepEd BLR Director Atty. Ariz Cawilan (left), receives four awards at the PBF 2023 on June 2.
In 2022, XU Press won two NBDB publication grants for Coming Home to the Island, a poetry collection by Dr. Arlene Yandug and Islamic Law Dictionary by Professor Haron Pangcoga.
NBDB publication grant awardee, Coming Home to the Island (XU Press 2022) by Arlene Yandug.
NBDB publication grant awardee, Islamic Law Dictionary (XU Press 2022) by Haron Pangcoga
XU Press director, Dr. Elio Garcia, expresses that the grants consequently enable more upcoming titles to move towards production. He hopes that more university presses and independent publishers from the south will venture into properly vetted publications and tap grant initiatives such as those of the NBDB to intensify publishing in Mindanao since there are still so many writers and materials that are yet to be published from the island. For a price-sensitive market like the Philippines, grants are particularly important to defray publication cost, make books more accessible, and provide just royalties to authors and editors.