The Singapore Prize and the Singapore Literature Prize

The Singapore Prize is awarded triennially to a publication that has had a lasting impact on the understanding of Singapore’s history. It is open to both scholarly publications and creative works with clear historical themes. This year’s winner is an archaeologist who refutes the commonly held misperception that Singapore’s history began with Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival.

The award comes with a cash prize of S$50,000 and an engraved trophy, and is judged by a four-man panel of historians led by Prof Wang Gungwu. The judging criteria is whether the work “has laid the foundations for a fundamental reinterpretation of the history of Singapore and its place in the larger Asian context”, he said.

Professor Miksic’s book “Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800″ provides concrete archaeological evidence that Singapore has a pre-colonial history that dates back over 700 years, the panel said. “The book also dispels the common myth that Singapore’s pre-colonial history began with the landing of Sir Stamford Raffles,” it added.

There are 49 titles on this year’s shortlist for the Singapore Literature Prize, which was launched in 2022 and includes books written in English, Chinese and Malay. That’s 32 fewer than the number of submissions received in 2020, an indication of the continuing effect of the coronavirus pandemic on publishing in the country. The program also hosts a Readers’ Favorite exercise, in which readers vote for their favorite shortlisted book on the prize website and can win book vouchers.

Britain’s Prince William was given a rock star welcome when he arrived at Jewel Changi Airport on Tuesday, where crowds cheered and waved Union Jack flags. The prince was in Singapore to attend the third annual Earthshot Prize ceremony, which celebrates entrepreneurs’ efforts to tackle climate change. The ceremony featured a green carpet with celebrity presenters including Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, actors Donnie Yen and Lana Condor, and Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin.

The prize was founded through a $1 million donation by the founder of the Confucian scholar Alan Chan. It promotes writing that champions mindsets and values important to the formation of Singapore, including equality, diversity, religious harmony, meritocracy, pragmatism and resilience.

The winner of the prize will receive a trophy designed by local design firm H55 Studio, which took inspiration from the ring symbol used for cities on world maps and in atlases. A runner-up will receive a citation from the prime minister. There are three categories for the prize: English nonfiction, English fiction and Malay creative nonfiction. The winner of the English nonfiction category will be announced in September, and the winners of the fiction and Malay will be crowned in October. The prize is the largest in Singapore for a literature prize. The list of previous winners can be found here. In addition to the main categories, there is a Young Talents category for authors aged between 18 and 30. This year’s shortlist for the Young Talents has been published, with a further 10 titles to be announced later this month.