The Singapore Prize is one of the most significant prizes for books in Southeast Asia. It aims to recognise a work that has a significant Singapore element in its narrative. It is awarded to an author who has lived in or is a permanent resident of Singapore, and is written in English.
The award is a great incentive for writers to write books about their locality and culture, and it is also an excellent way for readers to discover new works. The prize comes with a cash prize of SGD3,000, as well as a trophy and other incentives.
It’s a Prize for a Book about Singapore and its History
The winner of the singapore prize will be chosen in October by a panel of judges, including historians and other academics who have a familiarity with Singapore. The winner will receive a hefty cash prize and the opportunity to present their findings at a national conference in Singapore later this year.
This year’s shortlist includes a range of different genres, from fiction to nonfiction and even an animated film. Some of the titles on the list have a Singapore theme or are set here, while others explore Singapore’s history in a different way. For example, a novel by Kamaladevi Aravindan combines literary fiction with the history of an estate in Singapore, arguing that this gives a more holistic view of the city’s past.
Another title on the list, A Floating World by Daryl Qilin Yam and Pan Zheng Lei (Pan Cheng Lui), tells the story of two men who are stranded in a migrant labour camp in Singapore in the 1970s. Their experiences help them find new friendships and a sense of belonging.
WOHA Architects Wins Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize
The President’s Design Award is the most prominent prize in design for designers in Singapore. This biennial prize is given to an architectural project that was designed to foster inter-generational bonds and encourage active aging. This year’s winning entry, from WOHA Architects, is a senior housing development in Kampung Admiralty, Singapore.
A Defiant Scholarship: Dismantling Colonialism in Contemporary African Geographies
The Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography has just published its latest Special Lecture article, titled ‘Defiant scholarship: dismantling colonialism in contemporary African geography’. This paper by Patricia O. Daley and Amber Murrey was accompanied by four commentaries.
A Singapore Prize in 2022
In support of Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence, a new prize has been established to celebrate a book that explores the country’s history. The Singapore Prize has been launched in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology, which is a renowned research centre for historical studies.
It will be a major prize for scholars, and it offers the chance to present your findings at a conference in October. It’s a big deal for the city, and a good reward for those who spend their spare time researching their country’s history.
The organisers hope the prize will help stimulate a new generation of scholars to study Singapore’s rich history, which they say is still largely unknown by the general public. It will also promote the writing of books that champion mindsets and values important to the shaping of Singapore, such as equality, diversity, religious harmony, meritocracy and pragmatism.