The Singapore Literature Prize (abbreviation: SLP) is a biennial award in Singapore to recognise outstanding published works by Singaporean authors in any of the four official languages: Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. The competition is organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) with the support of the National Arts Council and the National Library Board.
The Award was briefly discontinued in 1999 and 2002 due to economic problems. [1]
Year | Fiction | Poetry | Non-Fiction |
---|---|---|---|
2020 [2] | Malay Pointing the Sky by Jamal Ismail Labyrinth of Al Maut by Noor Aisya Buang Chinese Black Panther by Wong Koi Tet Kian Kok by Chia Joo Ming English Nimita’s Place by Akshita Nanda Lion City by Ng Yi-Sheng Tamil The Wooden Elephant by Sithuraj Ponraj Carriage will also board the Barge a day by Yousuf Rowther Rajid | Malay Sepatu Mimpi by Samsudin Said Chinese Love Comes Into Shape by Gabriel Wu English Gaze Back by Marylyn Tan Tamil It is Easy to be an Italian by Sithuraj Ponraj | Malay The Philosophy of Singapore Malay Creative Writing Process by Mohamed Pitchay Gani Mohamed Abdul Aziz Chinese dakota by Wong Koi Tet English Pulp II: A Visual Bibliography of the Banished Book by Shubigi Rao Tamil Banana Money by V. Hemalatha |
The 2016 edition received the most submissions ever in its 25-year history: 235 entries, compared to 2014's 182 and 2012's 57, with fiction receiving the most submissions. [4]
For the first time, the award offered 12 top prizes of up to $10,000 each for the best works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry in Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil. In previous years, fiction competed with poetry for one award in each language.
In July 2014, three judges of the English non-fiction category of the prize resigned in protest against the National Library Board's removal and pulping of controversial children's titles. Mr T. Sasitharan, a prominent arts educator; former journalist Romen Bose; and American author and Writer-in-Residence at Yale-NUS College, Robin Hemley were subsequently replaced. [6] The Prize also received flak for perhaps spreading itself too thin, and for naming the non-fiction prizes after a sponsor, the publisher World Scientific. [7]
A day after the winners were announced at an awards ceremony on 4 November 2014, poet-editor Grace Chia, whose poetry collection Cordelia was shortlisted but did not win in the English Poetry section, delivered a speech in absentia at the Singapore Writers Festival which accused the Prize of sexism. Chia wrote, "The fact that the prize has been given to two co-winners who are both male poets is deeply informing of choice, taste and affirmation. A prize so coveted that it has been apportioned to two male narratives of poetic discourse, instead of one outstanding poet - reeks of an engendered privilege that continues to plague this nation's literary community." Chia also posted her speech on Facebook before subsequently removing it. In response, one of the poetry judges, poet and literary critic Gwee Li Sui, said, "All entries have an equal chance of consideration for winning, and we discussed it based on that point alone, and on the strengths of the collections." The other poetry judges were prominent female poet Leong Liew Geok and poet Boey Kim Cheng. [8]
Singapore English is the set of varieties of the English language native to Singapore and Malaysia. In Singapore, English is spoken in two main forms: Singaporean Standard English and Singapore Colloquial English.
The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886.
Tan Swie Hian is a Singaporean multidisciplinary artist known for his contemporary Chinese calligraphy, Chinese poetry and contemporary art sculptures found in Singapore and many parts of the world.
The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans. It is written chiefly in the country's four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
Crimewatch is a Singaporean television programme produced by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force (SPF). It is aired on Mediacorp's Channel 5, Channel 8, Suria and Vasantham.
Kelvin Tan Wei Lian is a Singaporean former Mandopop singer who earned a living as a busker before he won the first edition of Project SuperStar in 2005. He has released three albums, All I Want Is... (2006), i-Weilian (2007) and Moving Notes...Kelvin Tan (2009). He also had a solo concert at the Singapore Expo, lead a choir at the opening ceremony at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and singing Singapore's 2009 National Day Parade's theme song.
A multitude of languages is used in Singapore. It consists of several varieties of languages under the families of the Austronesian languages, Dravidian languages, Indo-European languages and Sino-Tibetan languages. The Constitution of Singapore says the national language of Singapore is Malay. This plays a symbolic role, as Malays are constitutionally recognised as the indigenous peoples of Singapore, and it is the government's duty to protect their language and heritage. The constitution also states that the four commonly used languages of Singapore are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, with the lingua franca between Singaporeans of different races being English, the de facto main language. Singaporeans often speak Singlish among themselves. Singlish is an informal, colloquial form of English that is used in Singapore. Linguists define it as Singapore Colloquial English.
Lim Hwee Hua is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Transport concurrently between 2009 and 2011. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Serangoon division of Aljunied GRC between 2006 and 2011, and Marine Parade GRC between 1996 and 2006.
Alfian bin Sa'at, best known as Alfian Sa'at, is a prolific Singaporean playwright, poet, and writer. He is known for penning a body of plays, poems, and prose such as race, sexuality, and politics. Alfian has received a number of national literature awards, such as the 2001 Young Artist Award and three Life! Theatre Awards for Best Original Script. Alfian is the resident playwright of theatre group W!LD RICE.
The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign.
The Second Cabinet of Lee Hsien Loong of the Government of Singapore was sworn into office on 30 May 2006, following the 2006 general election for the 11th Parliament. As was the case previously, the Cabinet was made up exclusively of Members of Parliament from the governing People's Action Party (PAP).
Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious, and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian descent have made up the overwhelming majority of the population since the 19th century. The Singaporean diaspora is also far-reaching worldwide.
Yeng Pway Ngon was a Singaporean poet, novelist and critic in the Chinese literary scene in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Kimberly Chia Jing Yi is a Singaporean actress.
Long Long Time Ago is a 2016 Singaporean period film directed by Jack Neo. The film commemorates Singapore's 50th birthday and stars Aileen Tan, Mark Lee and Wang Lei as the main casts. It is released on 4 February 2016 in Singapore.
The Chief of the Defence Forces is the professional head of the Malaysian Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence. The CDF is based at Wisma Pertahanan, Kuala Lumpur, nearby to the Ministry of Defence. The CDF is the highest rank in Malaysia Armed Forces only after the YDPA which hold the title Commander-in-Chief.
Mohamed Latiff Mohamed was a Singaporean Malay poet and writer.
YES 933, formerly known as 933醉心频道, is a Mandarin radio station owned by Mediacorp in Singapore. The station now holds the slogan of 顶尖流行音乐电台,引领潮流时代. It is a 24-hour music station that plays contemporary hits. It also includes a modern trendy mixture of lifestyle, food and travel tips as well as on weekend getaways. This is a station that caters to youngsters by allowing them to get informed about what is trending now in terms of life and playing fresh new launch songs as a global premiere in the first minute. YES 933 ended its broadcast on 20 January 2017 at 10:00 at Caldecott Broadcast Centre and thereafter, moved to the new campus at 1 Stars Avenue. The first programme was broadcast there from 12:00 on the same day.
I Do, I Do, is a 2005 Singaporean romantic comedy film directed by Jack Neo and Lim Boon Hwee. It was the first time Neo had directed a romance film.