Sixty-one books were presented to the public on Mar. 20, 2025 as the UP Press held a mass launch of its 2024 titles and kicked off its celebration of 60 years as the University鈥檚 academic publisher.
Comprising one of the most prolific and diverse harvests of the UP Press, 31 of the new titles were literary works, three titles were works on arts and culture, seven on literature and language, three on mass media and communication, three on science, 12 on social sciences, and one on urban planning. The 61st was a reprint of Muslims in the Philippines by Cesar Adib Majul, launched as part of a new series called Paraluman. The series reprints seminal scholarly and critical works. On top of these were 12 other reprints, bringing the total number of the 2024 titles to 73.
The launched titles included Encantada: The Essential Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo; Humadapnon (Hungaw) and Humadapnon (Ginlawan) of the Sugidanon Epics series, translated by Alicia Magos and Anna Razel Ramirez; Pamumuhay sa Panahon ng Ligalig: Si Bart Pasion at ang Rebolusyong Pilipino by Eduardo Tadem, translated by Gregorio Bituin Jr.; The Knowing is In the Writing: Notes on the Practice of Fiction (Second Edition) by Jose Dalisay Jr.; Sa Ngalan ng Tigaman (Santigaman): Saksi ang Mamaratbat at Babaylan (Edisyong Bilingguwal sa Filipino at Waray by Gloria Melencio, edited by Ma. Luisa Camagay, and translated to Waray by Charo Nabong Cabardo; Working Women of Manila in the Nineteenth Century (Revised Edition) by Ma. Luisa Camagay; Notes from the Philippine Underground by Francisco Nemenzo; and Recognizing Apolinario Mabini: Inquiries into the Struggle for Justice and Sovereignty by Epifanio San Juan Jr.
A detailed list of the new titles and their prices is available at .听
The launch was called 鈥淧agmayaw,鈥� a term which comes from the Waray 鈥渕ayaw,鈥� meaning giving thanks to the gods of nature. According to UP Press Director Galileo Zafra, it was an occasion to give thanks to the authors, editors, translators, artists, and all who contributed for the UP Press to perform its mandate.
The theme of the year-round celebration of the anniversary focuses on this mandate, which has been evolving. 鈥淒alayday: Pagsasanga at Pagtatagpo ng mga Agos鈥� speaks of the original mandate to publish studies and research following foreign standards, branching out to other directions. Zafra enumerated the current directions as: promoting publications in a wider range of disciplines; publishing diverse forms of creative works with different ways of depicting social realities; publishing and translating works from the regions; and publishing research and other works that sharpen the study of social ills.
鈥淗indi lamang basta sumunod ang UP Press sa pamantayang itinakda sa ibang bansa kundi umangkop sa mga nagbabagang konteksto ng lipunang Filipino sa paglipas ng mga dekada, habang nakikipagtulungan ito sa mga awtor, editor, tagasalin, at mga artist sa pagluwal ng kanilang mga malikhaing gawa, bagong saliksik at kritikal na pag-aaral,鈥� Zafra said. 鈥淚pinapaalaala ng Dalayday na saanman magsanga-sanga ang mga agos, magtatagpo pa rin sa mithiing lumikha ng karunungan para sa bayan.鈥�
National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario, whose book of poems, Ay! Kabihasnan, was one of those launched that afternoon at the Atencio-Libunao Hall in UP Diliman, gave one of the author responses: 鈥淎ng Filipino ang dapat na maging tulay sa komunikasyon sa buong Pilipinas at maging bodega ng karunungan at ng hiyas ng ating bayan,鈥� he said, encouraging more works and translations in Filipino, which he said would make the works and authors accessible to more readers in the country.
UP President Angelo Jimenez reiterated his high regard of the UP Press and of the books that gave him hope in a most critical moment in his life. 鈥淸The UP Press] is my cathedral of youthful hopes and dreams, the cradle of young imaginings, of aspirations to become something better, better for our people, selves, and families.鈥� He then spoke of his aspiration for a building it deserves, and doing everything he can to promote the UP Press.
