On Wednesday (December 14), the 2022 Singapore International Violin Competition winner, Ukrainian violinist Dmytro Udovychenko won its grand final worth USD $50,000. Denmark-based Anna Agafia Egholm and Hong Kong/Chinese violinist Angela Sin Ying Chan were also finalists.
Archaeologist Professor John Miksic of the NUS Department of Southeast Asian Studies was awarded with the inaugural NUS Singapore History Prize, proposed in 2014 by NUS Senior Advisor (University & Global Relations) Kishore Mahbubani to foster engagement with Singapore history while broadening definitions of what is considered history and attracting writers new to this field.
At this year’s Singapore Literature Prize awards ceremony hosted by Singapore Book Publishers Association, 12 books were recognized with awards. Most winners — such as Tamil writer rma cureess (Rama Suresh) — were first-time recipients; eight are written in English while four authors received recognition for works written in other languages.
As part of their sustainability theme, the awards ceremony took place on a green carpet with attendees wearing recycled clothing – including Alexander McQueen blazers from 10 years ago worn by its host; presenters donned Stella McCartney designs known for being eco-friendly; band One Republic performed alongside Bebe Rexha at this glittery event that was broadcast live via state-owned MediaCorp TVB.
As well as honouring Singapore history books, the awards recognize publications on topics ranging from education titles, professional books and children’s literature. A Book of the Year title is chosen among subsidiary winners to honor an outstanding work that makes an impactful statement about Singaporean culture, society and people.
Apart from literary awards, the Singapore Book Awards is also widely recognised for their annual Book of the Year accolade – selected from subsidiary winners in each language category and given only once ever! Rarely has one book received this prestigious recognition across multiple language categories.