TWO Filipino American authors have been honored at the 20th annual Massachusetts Book Awards, the Massachusetts Center for the Book announced this month.
Grace Talusan, author of “The Body Papers” who lives in Medford, was awarded with the Nonfiction Award. Her debut memoir, which was released in April 2019, explores a Filipino immigrant’s battle with cancer and childhood abuse, and voices the resilience and hope of a survivor.
“No matter what happened to me in my life, I would be interested in reading and writing. But I think that with the things that happened to me, writing was a form for me to process those experiences, whether it’s being different with immigration or how I dealt with my niece having cancer or me having to go through the decision to have surgery. All of that I definitely processed through reading and writing,” Talusan previously told the Asian Journal.
Holden resident Oliver de la Paz was one of the Poetry Honors for his July 2019 collection, “The Boy in the Labyrinth.” Paz’s unique collection includes prose, questionnaires, and standardized tests in an allegory that is searching for understanding about two sons on the autism spectrum, the organization said.
“We are honored to bring these books to the attention of Commonwealth residents,” said Sharon Shaloo, executive director of Massachusetts Center for the Book. “We look forward to celebrating and promoting these titles virtually from the Center website this Fall.” (AJPress)
