Singaporean writer Sharlene Wen-Ning Teo made history this year when she won both an English and Chinese book prize under this program’s history – marking an unprecedented accomplishment! Judges for both categories said they were impressed with Ponti, Teo’s debut novel featuring characters and ideas from diverse cultural backgrounds and nationalities – receiving both prizes together for her debut. Teo received the Deborah Rogers writers’ award of PS10,000 while British author Ian McEwan read an excerpt at Victoria Theatre Singapore during its award ceremony.
This year, an unprecedented record number of voters participated in the Consumer Choice category – which gives readers the chance to select their shortlisted book from four works of fiction and creative nonfiction – than ever before! Over 4,000 individuals cast votes; double what participated last time! In total, four authors shared this title; Ali bin Salim won for The Way Home while Daryl Qilin Yam, Pan Zheng Lei and Jeremy Tiang all took home honors with State Of Emergency as their shortlisted works.
On Tuesday evening at state-owned Media Corp’s theater in Singapore, Earthshot charity held their 10th Singapore Prize award ceremony and announced the winners. Celebrities including Yenny Coy and Sterling K Brown performed during this festive occasion, with Prince William from Britain serving as its patron. Khir Johari’s Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago was named winner and received a $50,000 cash prize as it had won this year.
Kamaladevi Aravindan’s novel Sembawang (2020, available here) won big at the National University of Singapore’s triennial Singapore History Prize with a cash award of $50,000 from their award jury, who noted its focus on average citizens rather than great historical figures as an outstanding read.
Cyril Wong won the 2022 Singapore Literature Prize for his short story collection Our Little World, first published in a literary journal and then as an ebook. The judges lauded its complexity of narrative and language and how it combined personal with political narratives as well as past with present issues.
National Heritage Book Awards for Youth was the final award presented, honoring young people who demonstrate exceptional community work and represent Singapore’s future. Harrison and Si Min, founders of an online social enterprise that offers virtual experiential learning to youths, were named winners; judges described them as caring individuals who have gone above and beyond in providing aid to others.
This year’s winners will be honored at an award ceremony in October, under the theme of resonance – exploring how literature can elicit emotions and memories. Additionally, to commemorate its 30th anniversary this year and return to its original physical format with 12 categories representing all four official languages of Singapore city-state. A full list of winners is available here.