The annual singapore prize is one of the most prestigious home-grown literary awards for published works. On Jan 11, award organiser Singapore Book Council (SBC) announced that it is opening up submissions to debut writers, illustrators and translators. It also added a new category for non-fiction.
The prize will recognise outstanding work in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. It will be awarded for books published between January 2017 and May 30 this year. The winner of the 2024 SLP will be announced in October.
A total of 224 books were submitted, up by 30 per cent from last year, and the winners for each category will be unveiled at an awards ceremony on Nov 7. The chief judges include Esplanade communications and content head Clarissa Oon for English creative non-fiction, Cultural Medallion recipient KTM Iqbal for Tamil poetry and Dr Sa’eda Buang of the Asian Languages and Cultures Academic Group for Malay fiction.
The prize is designed to reward the most important contributions to Singapore’s social fabric, and honour those who make a significant difference to their communities. The top 10 will receive a cash prize of up to S$25,000. This is the second time that the awards have been held. The inaugural award was handed out in 2018.
Applicants can submit their stories on social issues, community projects and the impact of their work through an online form. The finalists will be invited to present their stories at the event and have the opportunity to connect with a wide range of potential partners, including companies, government agencies, and philanthropic organisations.
This year’s awards are expected to draw more than 12,000 registrants from all over the world, representing all walks of life. In addition to the prizes, the event will see a wide variety of performances and activities, including an exhibition on “How Singapore’s Story Was Written”, and a special tribute to the late President-elect Halimah Yacob.
SINGAPORE — The triennial NUS Singapore History Prize has crowned its first winner – a tome that took 14 years to write and weighs an impressive 3.2kg. Khir Johari’s The Food of the Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago beat five other shortlisted books to take home the $50,000 cash prize.
The prize was mooted in an opinion column that NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani wrote for The Straits Times in April 2014. In it, he suggested that local philanthropists should set up a cash award for the best book on Singapore’s history.
The quality of this year’s submissions led judges to issue two special commendations without attendant cash awards. Reviving Qixi: Singapore’s Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival by Lynn Wong and Lee Kok Leong came in first runner-up, while Theatres of Memory: Industrial Heritage Of 20th Century Singapore by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan, Koh Keng We and Tan Teng Phee placed third. In a first for the prize, the judges also selected a Readers’ Favourite winner, which is decided by public votes.