The Singapore Prize is a biennial award presented to authors of Singapore-related books. It is one of the most prestigious home-grown book awards in the country, awarded for works in all four official languages by a panel of writers and industry experts. It is open to all Singaporeans and permanent residents, including those who have not previously won the prize. New categories for debut authors and translators were introduced this year, while a Readers’ Favourite award based on public votes is also available.
Khir Johari’s hefty cookbook The Food of Singapore Malays, which took 14 years to complete and weighs a staggering 3.2kg, has won a top prize at a major book award in Sweden. This is the latest laurel for the tome, which was named Best Cookbook at the Gourmand Food Culture Awards in 2023 and won the triennial NUS Singapore History Prize in October. Its success at the Swedish prize highlights the scholarly ambition of the work, which seeks to extend Singapore’s history beyond Sir Stamford Raffles and beyond colonial times.
A maker of solar-powered dryers, a soil carbon marketplace and groups that restore Andean forests and deter illegal fishing were among the winners of this year’s Earthshot Prize. The winners were announced at a ceremony in Singapore this week, where Britain’s Prince William spoke of the need to scale up innovation to tackle climate change. The Royal Foundation charity that launched the prize in 2020 chose Singapore as its base for Asia because of the country’s reputation as a hub for cutting-edge entrepreneurship and technology.
The winning companies and organisations are a diverse group that spans multiple sectors from agriculture to fashion. The solutions they have developed are designed to have a global impact, and range from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to restoring rainforests, according to the prize’s website. They are also designed to be affordable and scalable, with many of them already being implemented in their respective countries.
The prize organisers, GenZero and Conservation International (CI), say they hope the prizes will encourage others to take action on climate change. The three organisations are joining forces to bring the prizes into greater focus and promote them around the world. They have also formed a network of partners that will help the winners develop their solutions into larger-scale projects. CI’s vast expertise in biodiversity and its extensive network will be key to helping them do so, they add. The finalists will receive $100,000 each to fund their projects, along with mentorship and advice from the judging panel. They will be invited to join a new Global Impact Forum that will be hosted in Singapore next June to further support their growth and impact.