Coordinator for Publications Wins National Book Award for Fiction
SDRC Coordinator for Publications and Research Dissemination Connie J. Maraan was awarded the Cirilo F. Bautista Prize for Fiction: Short Stories in English for her book Better Homes and Other Fictions: Collected Prose, published by the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House. The award was presented during the 31st National Book Awards program held on November 17, 2012 at the National Museum of the Filipino People.
The following citation was read during the presentation of the award:
Better Homes and Other Fictions is a dignified compilation of eight parables and short stories, enfolded, albeit in an intellectual mode, by introductory prose ruminating on how a teacher-writer can live the fictional elements, and a prose closure reflecting on writing as an act of homecoming. The stories, in spite of their brevity, are startling in their cutting exposé of common apathy and callousness, and winsome in their tender sketches of humanity’s dignity to survive in a “swiftly tilting” world. The exquisite simplicity of Maraan’s language recalls us to the primeval power of the word, like a double-edged sword piercing the fragility of our heart and soul.
This year’s awardees received trophies designed by noted brass sculptor and 2006 TOYM awardee Michael Allen Cacnio.
