The Singapore Prize is an biennial literary award presented by the National Book Development Council of Singapore that honors outstanding published works across Singapore’s four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. This year’s theme – Resonance – explores what impact literature can have in our daily lives.
The President’s Science and Technology Awards (PSTA) is Singapore’s highest honour bestowed upon scientists and engineers, in recognition of their contributions towards upholding research excellence in Singapore and strengthening scientific talent across the nation. First established as National Science and Technology Awards in 1987, in 2009 they were elevated to Presidential status to acknowledge their critical roles in maintaining research excellence here and contributing to Singapore’s vision of becoming an international research hub and global leader.
Hosted at Mediacorp Theatre, host Hannah Waddingham and co-host Sterling K Brown presented The Earthshot Prize 2023 winners to an audience. Actors Bebe Rexha and One Republic performed at the event while New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and former U.S. vice president Al Gore addressed via video link. Presenters dressed eco-friendly attire; William donned a 10-year-old dark green blazer while Yen donned an Alexander McQueen gown known for its sustainability credentials.
An anonymous donor contributed an extra $1 Million this year, doubling the prize amount from $200K to $250K and creating a brand-new Arts and Multimedia Category that will alternate every three years between 2025-2030 with Book Category as part of this six-year period.
This year’s competition boasted an unprecedented record number of entries, with five writers shortlisted in two or more categories. Clara Chow became the first writer in history of this program to win awards in all three of these areas at once!
Yong Shu Hoong won the English poetry category with Anatomy of a Wave, his seventh poetry collection. A lecturer in the English department at National University of Singapore where he teaches creative writing courses.
Peter Ellinger of NUS Professor Emeritus Peter Ellinger won first prize with Down Memory Lane while Wang Gungwu from Malay won Readers’ Choice for Home Is Where We Are Going in both categories – works which were described as being filled with the spirit of Singapore.
Cheryl Tan was awarded for The Unsung Heroes of Space – a documentary series which profiles unsung women who have contributed to space exploration’s success – while Mridula Sinha received second prize with The Girl From Bangalore which explores challenges and triumphs of being an Indian woman living in Singapore; Mridula Sinha became the first Indian ever to receive this honor; judges selected from over 400 candidates nominated by members of the public to judge these awards.