The Singapore prize is a new award created this year by NUS to celebrate and reward publishing projects that have an impact on the way people understand Singapore’s history. Submissions can be non-fiction or fiction, as long as they have clear historical themes about the city-state. A panel of five judges will select the winner at the end of a three-year cycle. The first winner will be announced in October.
NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani, who mooted the idea for the prize in a column in the Straits Times last year, says the prize is “in line with the philosophy of the prize that nations are not merely geographic places. They are imagined communities that bind together in shared imaginations and the most important source of that shared imagination is history.”
This is the program’s 30th year, and organizers have chosen resonance as its theme. That’s a nod to the way literature can trigger emotions and memories, particularly as the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic continues in its third year. It also reflects the importance of resonance in the prize’s work in educating citizens about the history of their country.
Clara Chow is one of those who’ve tapped into this theme, having been shortlisted for her English fiction and English creative nonfiction books, as well as for her Chinese poetry book. It’s the first time in the program’s history that a writer has been shortlisted for multiple categories and languages.
She’s joined by the likes of Cyril Wong, whose two novels, Beachlight and Sembawang, have been published by Seagull Books and whose works have appeared in international magazines and anthologies. He was also a two-time Singapore Literature Prize winner, in 2006 and 2016.
The award’s other winners include Leo Burnett Singapore, which earned a Gold for McDonald’s in the Sustained Success category, demonstrating a long track record of effective advertising. Ogilvy Singapore also won Gold for Changi Airport Group, transforming an ordinary experience into something special.
More than 4,000 voters took part in this year’s Readers’ Favorite exercise, which allows readers to vote for their favorite shortlisted book in each of the four languages. The top vote-getter in each language wins 1,000 Singapore dollars, and those who vote can win book-purchase vouchers. You can find a full list of this year’s shortlisted titles here.