Gintong Aklat Awards 2024
The prestigious GINTONG AKLAT AWARDS, established in 1981 and held every two years, are given out regularly to outstanding book publishers based on the quality of books they produce year after year. Managed by the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP), the awards are meant to recognize excellence in bookmaking in the country today among its members.
The objective of the Awards is to recognize and encourage the production of quality books that are excellent in all aspects of bookmaking. Specific areas for recognition would include book production (printing, binding, etc.), content (writing and editing) and book design.
CATEGORIES
A. Trade books from the following categories may be entered:
Poetry (English) - Poems written in English that express feelings, thoughts, and experiences use of distinctive style and rhythm.
Plays/Screenplays (English and Filipino) - Scripts written for theatrical performances or for film and television published in a book.
Fiction (English) - This category includes imaginative prose narratives that explore characters, settings, and events that are made up or reimagined real events.
Creative Nonfiction (English) - Creative nonfiction blends factual storytelling with literary flair. It takes real events or experiences and shapes them into engaging narratives. Examples include memoirs, personal essays, and narrative journalism.
Poetry (Filipino) - Written in the Filipino language, expressing emotions, ideas, and experiences through rhythmic language.
Fiction (Filipino) - Imaginative prose narratives written in the Filipino language, exploring characters, that are made up or reimagined real events.
Creative Nonfiction (Filipino) - Written in Filipino, creative nonfiction blends factual storytelling with literary flair. It takes real events or experiences and shapes them into engaging narratives. Examples include memoirs, personal essays, and narrative journalism.
Graphic Literature - This category includes comic books, graphic novels, and other forms of storytelling using illustrations/images as a primary tool. This category covers any genre from fantasy to history. Children’s picture books are not included in this category.
Arts and Humanities - Books in this category cover a wide range of topics including history, philosophy, literature, art, and music.
Food - Books in this category explore various aspects of food, including cooking techniques, recipes, culinary history, and cultural significance.
Inspirational Books - Inspirational books focus on uplifting your mood and igniting your motivation. They often share stories of triumph, overcoming adversity, or achieving goals.
Self-Help - These are books that offer concrete strategies and actionable advice for personal growth or improvement in a specific area. They might provide tools, exercises, or step-by-step guides.
Science and Technology, and Natural and Applied Sciences - This category covers books with scientific theories, discoveries, technological advancements, and their applications in various fields.
General References - Books in this category serve as comprehensive guides or references on specific topics, providing information and insights for readers.
Social Sciences - This category includes books that examine human society and social relationships, covering disciplines such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, and economics.
B. The best publishers will be voted on by the judges of all the above-stated categories to choose the following:
Best Literary Publisher - This award goes to the publisher voted by the judges to have the best literary works for the period covered by the Award. Includes books on poetry, plays/screenplays, fiction, creative nonfiction, and graphic literature;
Best Academic and Scholarly Publisher-This award goes to the academic and scholarly publisher voted by the judges to have contributed the most to the creation of knowledge in the categories of Science and Technology, Natural and Applied Sciences, and General References during the period covered by the Award;
Best Independent Publisher-This award goes to the micro or small publisher, which, despite its size, contributed to the pursuit of the improvement of Philippine society within the period covered by the Award;
Best Publisher in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - This award goes to the publisher voted to have the best works in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Best General Interest Publisher - This award goes to the publisher who contributed the most in the areas of food, inspiration, and self-help categories.
C. Best Book Design - Best book design will be awarded to an entry with the highest score from the book design judges.
CRITERIA
A. Book entries shall be judged on the following criteria:
Quality of Production
Book Design
Content
This means an entry has to pass the first criterion before it can move on to the 2nd and 3rd levels.
An entry must pass production quality standards first before it can be assessed in terms of book design and content.
Entries to the Gintong Aklat Awards shall be judged not only on the outstanding merit
of their content but on the totality of the book as a physical book.
B. The category judges will be asked to vote for the best publishers based submitted books, keeping in mind the following:
Number of entries submitted to the categories judged;
Number of entries that have been judged as runner-up or winners;
Content quality of the publisher’s entries;
Contribution to culture and the body of knowledge of the works.
The judges may vote for an overall best publisher based on all the above-stated criteria. Votes will be consolidated, the publisher with the highest number of votes from the judges wins. The judges for each of the publisher categories will be given a list of the books for all the categories within their respective genres, aside from the books within their categories, to determine among the qualified publishers in their respective categories who might be chosen as the best publishers for the best publisher categories. (For example, the judges for poetry in English will also be given a list of books from the categories of fiction and nonfiction in English, as well as poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in Filipino.)
The BDAP Board may craft questionnaires to guide the judges in their choice of winners. Should there be a tie, the judges will be informed of the tie and they shall vote among themselves to break the tie.
C. During the second level of judging for book design, the judges will give scores to the entries that have passed the first criterion based on their book design. The top 3 entries with the highest scores will be awarded as the Best Book Design.
ELIGIBILITY
The contest shall be open to all BDAP-member publishers. Non-BDAP members who publish in the category of Science and Technology are eligible to submit their entries.
Eligible are books published within the copyright year from January 2022 to December 2023.
Revised/Expanded edition books are allowed, provided that twenty-five percent (25%) of the book’s content is new. Edition record should be indicated on the copyright page, showing original copyright year and year of the new edition.
Each book/title can be entered in only one (1) category.
AWARDS
Grand winners and finalists may be given in each category.
Trophies of recognition shall be awarded to the winners of each category.
The awarding ceremony will be held on September 11, 2024, during the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF).
All winning books will be displayed in one designated exhibition area during the MIBF.
SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES
Entry Forms will be emailed to all BDAP-member publishers.
All entries must be submitted to:
C&E Publishing, Inc.
839 EDSA, South Triangle, Quezon City 1103
Attention: Ms. Diane Perez - 09088130594 and Ms. Army Tapel - 09307526559
Note: Submissions are only accepted during office hours, Monday to Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Every official entry shall be composed of the submission of seven (7) copies of the book accompanied by a properly accomplished Gintong Aklat Entry Form.
Deadline for the submission of entries is on April 18, 2024.
For more details and inquiries regarding Gintong Aklat Awards 2024, you may email the BDAP Secretariat office c/o Army Tapel - 09307526559 at bdapsecretariat@gmail.com