The heir to the British throne and his celebrity guests celebrated books and sustainability in equal measure at a glamorous event in Singapore on Thursday. Prince William stood in front of a 40-meter high Rain Vortex, the world’s largest indoor waterfall, which was lit green for his arrival. The prince and other presenters walked the green carpet, which was made of sustainable materials. The event was held at a theater in state-owned Media Corp, with performers including the bands One Republic and Bastille. British actor Sterling K. Brown, actors Hannah Waddingham and Bebe Rexha, and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also attended. William is in Singapore for the launch of the Earthshot Prize, which his charity, The Royal Foundation, launched in 2020 to promote innovative solutions and technologies to combat global warming.
The first winner of the NUS Singapore History Prize was archaeologist John Miksic’s book, Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800. Miksic’s work shows how fragmented historical records, literary references and archaeological finds converged to point towards the existence of Temasek in the 13th century, long before Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819.
“This book is a remarkable achievement,” said the chair of the jury panel, Professor Kishore Mahbubani. “It is not only a work of scholarship but also a piece of oral history that enables us to hear the voices of those who once lived here.”
Among the other winners were historians and authors of nonfiction works. In the English nonfiction category, historians Harrison Wong and Si Min Lee were both shortlisted for their books on the TOTO game. Launched in 1968, the TOTO game was the first lottery game in Singapore, and it has since evolved into a multi-billion dollar business. Its name is a portmanteau of the words ‘Totalisator’ and ‘Lotto’.
The citation for Leluhur: Singapore Kampong Gelam by Ms Hidayah Mohamed described it as both a synthesis of history and primary source, due to its author’s personal inputs into the research. It also highlighted the fact that the story of Singapore is not static, with new insights and information continuously emerging.
“It is great to see that there are still many stories to tell, even as we celebrate our golden jubilee,” said Mahbubani. “The NUS Singapore History Prize is a wonderful example of this.”
The prize, which was established in 2014 to mark the SG50 celebrations, is the first to be devoted exclusively to the country’s history. It is administered by NUS’ Department of History. The winner receives a cash prize of S$50,000. It is funded by an anonymous philanthropist. More details are available on the NUS website. Publishing Perspectives congratulates the winning authors and wishes them well in their future endeavors. Click for more book award news from around the world or more on the global publishing industry. This is our 131st awards-related report since our relaunch as Publishing Perspectives in January 2019. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get our latest content.