The NUS Singapore Prize Has Doubled in Size and a New Category Created
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The NUS Singapore History Prize has been expanded and enhanced, adding a non-print media category designed to encourage more deeply engaging with Singapore’s history. From 2025, this prize will alternate between Arts & Multimedia Category and Book Category over six-year cycles – made possible thanks to generous funding provided by entrepreneur and philanthropist Alan Chan.
This award honours works of outstanding merit written in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil and was introduced to commemorate Singapore’s bicentennial of independence. Established in 2012 to mark this momentous event, the Prize serves as a top award for works in fiction, non-fiction and poetry written across these four languages; notable previous recipients have included Chia Joo Ming’s novel Kian Kok for English fiction prize and Wong Koi Tet’s short story collection Black Panther as Chinese creative non-fiction prize recipients.
This year, 60 selected students participated in digital conversations with Nobel laureates who provided insights into how values have helped to form modern Singapore. This included equality, diversity, religious harmony, meritocracy and resilience with emphasis placed on education, community services, innovation and creativity for artistic endeavour. Discussions during this event also stressed the need to create a sense of shared destiny and work together towards building a brighter future for everyone. Steven Chu, laureate in Physics from 1997; Angus Deaton (Economic Sciences Laureate 2015); Esther Duflo (Economics Laureate 2019); Kailash Satyarthi – peace Laureate 2014 and Serge Haroche (Physics laureate 2012). All were involved with online sessions: Steven Chu; Angus Deaton (2015) and Esther Duflo (Economics Laureate 2019) all took part.
NUS Singapore History Professor Rajeev Patke won the English language category with his book The Great Fire of London: A Cultural History. This groundbreaking work offers the first comprehensive overview of London’s 1666 Great Fire that left lasting consequences in terms of development, architecture, culture and identity.
Cyril Wong, an award-winning author of five books and former journalist, currently splits her time between Shanghai and Singapore. Her writings have appeared in international publications like Alban Lake, Epigram Books, HSRC and Rinchen Books; currently she’s working on her memoir about living in China as well as translating You Jin’s Northern Girls for Epigram Books.
A jury panel chaired by veteran diplomat and distinguished fellow of NUS Asia Research Institute Kishore Mahbubani will select the winner of the Singapore Prize. Mahbubani was instrumental in setting up the prize with an anonymous donor in 2014. According to a spokesman from the prize, she believes Singapore’s greatest challenge in the 21st century lies not with economic development but creating an inclusive national identity. “Our most treasured asset as a nation is our collective memory,” he noted, and this prize “is designed to ensure its continued development for future generations.” The prize will be presented in 2027 and nominations can begin as early as 2024 and close by 31 May 2027; then an esteemed jury panel will review them all and a winner will be revealed later that year.