The Singapore Prize is a biennial literary award for outstanding published works in Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil that were written by Singaporeans or Singapore permanent residents. It is the oldest ongoing book award in the country and the biggest prize awarded for Singapore literature. It has 12 top prizes of up to $10,000, ranging from non-fiction and literary works to poetry. Each winner also receives a trophy and a 12-month Storytel audiobook gift subscription.
The 2023 edition of the Singapore prize saw the most finalists in the history of the awards, with five writers making it to the final cut across two categories and four languages. This is the first time a writer has been shortlisted for both English fiction and Chinese creative nonfiction in the same year. Writer Clara Chow, who won the English fiction category for her novel Black Panther, is the only author to be shortlisted in three categories in the program’s history.
Five green innovators — from a maker of solar-powered dryers to a soil carbon marketplace and groups that work to make electric car batteries cleaner, restore Andean forests and deter illegal fishing — were unveiled as winners at Tuesday’s Earthshot Prize ceremony in Singapore. Britain’s Prince William, whose Royal Foundation charity launched the 10-year award program in 2020, said the solutions presented by the finalists proved that “hope does remain” as the world grapples with climate change.
He was joined by a host of celebrities, including Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett and actors Donnie Yen and Nomzano Mbatha, who walked the “green carpet” with him at the event at The Theatre Mediacorp. The heir to the British throne made his first trip to Asia for the event.
During his stay in the city-state, the prince visited the Gardens by the Bay to see its new 40-meter high Rain Vortex, which is the world’s largest indoor waterfall that was lit green for him. He also visited the Istana palace, one of Singapore’s historic landmarks.
In addition to the main prizes, this year’s winners received special commendations that did not come with cash awards. These included Reviving Qixi: Singapore’s Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival by Lynn Wong and Lee Kok Leong and Theatres of Memory: Industrial Heritage Of 20th Century Singapore by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan Tiong Hee, Koh Keng We, Tan Teng Phee and Juria Toramae.
This is the third year that a Singaporean book has won the prestigious NUS Singapore History Prize, which was established in 2021. It is named after the city-state’s founder and takes its name from the Straits Settlements, which were originally a collection of small villages and towns that now make up Singapore. The prize seeks to recognise the importance of the Singapore Story in preserving the nation’s heritage, and is awarded by a panel of judges comprising historians and members of the public. The winner’s book will be presented by the president of NUS and will become part of the university’s library collections.