The Singapore Prize is a biennial book award in Singapore that recognises outstanding published works by authors from the country’s four official languages of Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. It is the second highest literary award in Singapore after the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, and is sponsored by the National Book Development Council of Singapore.
The prize was originally called the National Book Prize and was established in 1962. It was briefly discontinued in 1999 and 2002 due to economic problems, but resumed in 2006 with a revamped selection criteria that includes a focus on Singapore-based authors. The resulting prize has grown to become one of the most prestigious awards in Southeast Asia, with submissions for this year’s edition reaching a record high of 235 entries.
This year, four writers beat out their competitors to lay claim to the Readers’ Favourite award. They are Ali bin Salim, Daryl Qilin Yam, Pan Zheng Lei and rma cureess. The writers will receive a hand-crafted trophy and a 12-month gift code to audiobook platform StoryTel. The readers, meanwhile, stand to win book vouchers worth $50 each.
The winners of the 2023 Singapore Prize were announced at a ceremony in Mediacorp Campus, which was attended by Britain’s Prince William. The five green innovators were working on projects including a cleaner lithium-ion battery for electric cars and tighter marine enforcement to end illegal fishing and support ocean conservation.
During his visit, the prince will meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loon and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and will tour the country’s landmark heritage sites. He is also expected to pay a courtesy call on Singapore’s foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan.
Britain’s Prince William was in Singapore on Tuesday to attend the Earthshot Prize ceremony, which awarded 1 million pounds ($1.23 million) to five green innovators. The winning innovators were working on projects such as a cleaner, recyclable lithium-ion battery for electric cars and a tightening of marine enforcement to end illegal fishing and support ocean Conservation.
The NUS Singapore History Prize is the first book prize devoted to Singapore’s history. It is a biennial award that recognises books that promote mindsets and values important to the shaping of the nation. The prize was established through a $1 million donation from Confucian scholar Alan Chan and launched on April 18. Its judges include NUS President Tan Tai Yong and professors from the university’s Department of History, who are tasked with selecting five books from nominations submitted by the public. These include the themes of equality, diversity, religious harmony, meritocracy, pragmatism and resilience. The judges will also decide how to select the winner for each of the three-year cycles. The panel is assisted by a nominating committee of experts. The criteria for each cycle will be announced at least a year in advance.