The Singapore Prize is a book award that recognises outstanding published works on Singapore history. Established in 2014 as part of the SG50 celebrations, it was organised by NUS’ Centre for Asian Studies and is awarded to books on Singapore history that make significant contributions to our understanding of the country’s past. Its judging panel, chaired by Professor Kishore Mahbubani, also aims to promote the appreciation of Singapore’s history and culture through reading.
This year’s shortlisted works span the gamut from non-fiction writing to fiction and graphic novels. They examine the lives of iconic Indian poets, histories of Malaysian migrants in Singapore and a family’s search for their missing ancestor’s grave. A third work, written by Shubigi Rao and co-authored with her daughter, presents historical events through a layperson’s eyes.
Several new categories have been added to the prize this year, including best English debut, best English comics or graphic novels and best Singapore translation. The latter was won by Jeremy Tiang for his translation of Chinese author Zhang Yueran’s Cocoon (2022). The best debut award went to 91-year-old National University of Singapore (NUS) Professor Emeritus Peter Ellinger’s Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs (2024), which earned him the honour of being the oldest winner of the prize.
A total of 17 authors, translators and comics were recognised across the four languages at this year’s ceremony held at the National Museum of Singapore. The winning books are available for purchase at Kinokuniya and NUS Press stores in Singapore.
Singapore’s prize winners are showcasing the impact of their work and its potential to scale and influence others. They are helping to make a difference in their communities and the world, with some even making an impact globally. These are the types of stories that we should be looking out for, and those in the philanthropic sector would do well to take note.
The Earthshot Prize (TEP), the global initiative founded by Prince William, will be coming to Singapore this November as part of its TEP Asia tour. The awards ceremony will see five winners from around the world receive a catalytic SGD 1 million prize to scale their environmental solutions.
More on the event is available here. This is Publishing Perspectives’ 131st awards-related report in the series since its 2022 launch. Find out more about our coverage of awards here, and subscribe to our daily newsletter to get the latest industry news delivered straight to your inbox. You can also contact us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram. We love hearing from our readers! The submission deadline is 31 July 2022. More details on the submission process can be found here. Good luck!