Shelly Bryant divides her time between Shanghai and Singapore as a writer, poet and translator. She has translated works for Epigram Books, Giramondo Books and the National Library Board in Singapore as well as curated poetry anthologies with Celestial Books and Alban Lake. She has also written and edited for various publications, including The Straits Times.
The third edition of the Earthshot Prize, which was launched by Britain’s Prince William in 2020 to shore up innovative solutions against the planet’s greatest environmental perils, was held in Singapore. Presenters included actors Cate Blanchett, Donnie Yen and Nomzamo Mbatha along with conservationist Robert Irwin.
Marylyn Tan became the first woman in the prize’s 28-year history to win for English poetry, with her arcane debut collection Gaze Back, which explores taboo subjects from menstruation to sexuality. Other winners included veteran Chinese fictionist Chia Joo Ming for his SG50-centric novel Kian Kok and speculative short story collection Lion City by Ng Yi-Sheng, who previously won for English poetry. Artist Shubigi Rao won the English creative non-fiction category for her second volume of her decade-long book project on books destruction, Pulp II: A Visual Bibliography Of The Banished Book.