The first prize devoted to Singapore’s history, worth $50,000, has been launched by NUS’ department of history. The competition, which will open to entries from Jan 1, aims to spur interest in the country’s past and make its complexities and nuances more accessible to non-academic audiences.
The judges for the inaugural Singapore prize, which was set up in memory of Christopher Bathurst KCMG, Viscount Bledisloe, were announced at a ceremony on Nov 10. The award is presented annually to a work of fiction, poetry or nonfiction by a Singaporean writer that reflects the themes of the Singapore Literary Festival and showcases Singapore as an international literary centre. The panel of judges includes prominent authors, journalists and academics.
Besides the main prize, there will be a readers’ choice category and the winner of the Singapore Literary Prize will receive an honourable mention and a $2,000 cash grant. This year, the judges will also select a runner-up and three merit winners, each of whom will receive $1,000 in cash.
In the fiction category, a number of familiar names have made the shortlist. The director of the Singapore Writers Festival, Yeow Kai Chai, is among them, along with Pooja Nansi, who has been a long-time writer at the festival. Also on the list are the 91-year-old Wang Gungwu, who is the oldest of the five writers shortlisted in the English creative nonfiction category, and Suratman Markasan, who was nominated for two works in the Malay creative nonfiction category.
The finalists in the fiction and nonfiction categories will be announced on Feb 11, with the final winner to be named on March 27. Besides presenting their works to the jury, the winners will take part in a series of events, including a book launch, readings and a discussion session.
This month, Prince William will visit Singapore to attend the third annual Earthshot Prize Awards. He will meet the finalists and see their innovation projects aimed at solving climate change and other global challenges. He will also host a summit hosted by United for Wildlife, a conservation organisation that he helped found. While he will not be participating in the Dragon Boat race, he is expected to try his hand at dragon boating. In his four-day trip, he will also try his hand at other popular sports in the country and learn about how Singapore is working to combat the illegal trade of wildlife products.