The winner of the Singapore prize will receive a cash award of up to S$50,000. The Prize is open to book-length publications in English that have made a significant impact on our understanding of Singapore’s history.

The Singapore Literature Prize is a biennial award that recognises outstanding published works by Singaporean writers in any of the four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. It is organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) and is supported by the National Arts Council and the National Library Board.

It was an evening that saw a mix of glitz and glamour as 15 finalists gathered at the Theatre Mediacorp to collect their prizes in front of Prince William. The winners of the inaugural Earthshot Prize, a prize program launched by Britain’s Prince William Foundation, were honoured on Tuesday (April 24) for their innovative solutions to tackle climate change. From Indian manufacturers of solar-powered dryers to groups that restore Andean forests and deter illegal fishing, the winning ideas all aim to help people live healthier lives and have a positive impact on the environment.

The winners were announced at an extravagant ceremony in Singapore, which saw the Prince look coordinated with host Hannah Waddingham in a dark green velour suit and dickie bow. The event was also attended by a wide array of VIPs, from politicians to actors to academics and businesspeople.

A total of 12 books were shortlisted for this year’s competition, including the NUS History Prize winner Sembawang and Home Is Where We Are, a novel about a family living through leftist political movements in Singapore and Malaysia. The book was written by Kamaladevi, whose mother helped her research and translate the work from Tamil. “My intention was to write a story that looks at what historical events meant to average people,” she said.

Among the other books shortlisted was The Age of the Great Powers by Peter Hennings, which analyses the rise and fall of the world’s great powers over the course of the 20th century. It was written in 2017 and is a sequel to Hennings’ The End of the Past, which won the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize.

Prof Mahbubani was one of the members on the jury panel that chose the first winner of this year’s Singapore History Prize, archaeologist John Miksic, for his book, Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800. “This work offers a fundamental reinterpretation of Singapore’s place in Asian history,” Mahbubani said.

A total of 14 shortlisted entries for this year’s Singapore Literature Prize will be whittled down to a list of five finalists, which will then be judged by a panel comprising judges from the National Library, the Ministry of Education and other academics. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of up to S$50,000, which will be presented at an awards ceremony in July this year. The prize is also accompanied by a citation from the President of Singapore and an award certificate.