Singapore prize is the first international competition to award a book-length work that champions mindsets and values that have shaped Singapore. Its premise is that a shared imagination of the past, especially in history, is the critical glue holding societies together.
Launched in 2024, the prize is open to books written in English that have a significant Singapore element in their narrative. The prize is the richest pot for a Singapore book award, and carries a cash prize of $30,000.
The first winners were announced at a gala ceremony in June at the National Museum of Singapore. The inaugural winner was Professor John Miksic, whose Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800 won praise for its detailed archaeological evidence that Singapore’s story began more than 700 years ago. The second winner was Hidayah Amin for her Leluhur: Singapore’s Kampong Gelam which presents the history of a kampong in the context of changing economic, political and social history over the last 200 years.
A third prize was awarded to the 92-year-old National University of Singapore professor Emeritus Peter Ellinger for Down Memory Lane: My Life in Singapore (2023). Described by judges as “a monumental undertaking”, this memoir brings together many aspects of Singapore’s social and cultural history in its telling.
In addition to the main prizes, two commendations were also given. The first was for Theatres of Memory: Industrial Heritage Of 20th Century Singapore by Lynn Wong and Lee Kok Leong, which ranked second in the English category; while Reviving Qixi: Singapore’s Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan, and Koh Keng We, came in the Malay category.
The Young Scientist Award (YSA) is a scheme to publicly recognise scientists and engineers based in Singapore who have the potential to develop into world-class researchers. The award is administered by the Singapore National Academy of Science and supported by the National Research Foundation of Singapore*.
This year, the awards were presented to a diverse group of inspiring winners from a wide range of fields including entrepreneurship, public service and the arts. The ceremony was hosted by actresses Hannah Waddingham and Sterling K Brown, with performances from the likes of Bastille, OneRepublic, Bebe Rexha and Lana Condor.
A fourth new award, the inaugural Dr Alan Chan Spirit of Singapore Book Prize, was launched on April 18. Supported by a $1 million donation from Confucian scholar and businessman Alan Chan, the prize is aimed at encouraging the writing of works that champion mindsets and values that have shaped Singapore. These include equality, religious harmony and the value of hardwork. The book-length work can be either fiction or non-fiction, and may cover any time period, theme or field of Singapore’s history. Its judging panel includes eminent scholars, academics and business leaders. It is accompanied by a cash prize of $30,000, the highest for a Singapore book award.