The 71 Works Shortlisted For the Singapore Prize
The 71 works shortlisted for the singapore prize, announced on July 16, showcase a diversity of writers and creatives. There is a mix of new and veteran authors across the fiction and non-fiction categories. The shortlists for each category include literary tomes, history, and non-fiction with a personal slant. It also includes novels, including the debut novel catskull by Myle Yan Tay and Cultural Medallion recipient Suchen Christine Lim’s Dearest Intimate.
The Singapore Literature Prize (SLP) is a biennial award given for works of literature published in the four official languages — Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. It is Singapore’s top literary accolade, and the winner of the SLP will be crowned the most outstanding book in Singapore in 2023.
A hefty amount of money was won on the Toto draw on Oct 2, with the highest winning ticket scoring a total of $12.7 million. The winning ticket, which was bought online, was a group 2 bet at $127,391 per share. This is the second highest amount ever won on a single Toto ticket.
NUS historian and judge of the NUS History Prize Prof Mahbubani said the shortlist “contains an interesting mix of academic work and historical fiction” with a personal slant, forgoing the traditional view of history as a record of big movers and shakers. His colleague and fellow judge, Claire Chiang, senior vice-president of Banyan Tree Holdings, added that the competition aims to address gaps in our understanding of local history.
A long list of submissions were made, ranging from memoirs to academic tomes, but the winning books would be those that “engage and inspire readers,” Mahbubani said. “The most important contribution is the way that these stories, whether factual or fictional, allow us to connect with the past in a meaningful way,” he added.
One of the winning titles is Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore by Kwa Chong Guan, Tan Tai Yong, Peter Borschberg and Derek Heng, which tells the story of the country’s economic development through its people. Another is the non-fiction tome Leluhur: A History of Kampong Gelam by Hidayah Amin, which shines a light on a community that many now see as a tourist attraction.
In the non-fiction category, there are two books on the 1950s, which was a critical juncture for the nation, and one that saw the first generation of immigrants grapple with the question of where their place in the new order lay. The other title, Imperial Creatures: Animals and the Making of Modern Singapore by Timothy P Barnard, takes a close look at the relationship between humans and wildlife in colonial times.
The winner of the SLP will be announced at a ceremony in December. The winner will receive a cash prize of S$50,000. The runner-up will get S$25,000, while the third place finisher will win S$10,000. CI’s global expertise and vast network will help guide the selection of winners, and provide connections to its range of partners committed to scalable solutions for nature and humanity.