$50k Singapore history book prize up for grabs

Winning non-fiction work must deepen understanding of country's history
By Melody Zaccheus, The Straits Times, 14 Nov 2014

ORGANISERS of Singapore's first history book prize are encouraging historians, writers and anyone with an interest in telling the country's story to put together a book.

Up for grabs is $50,000 in prize money.

"Pull out your half-finished manuscripts from your drawers... and pick up the pen again," said Associate Professor Yong Mun Cheong of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the award organiser.

He was speaking at the official introduction of the award yesterday, alongside faculty dean Brenda Yeoh.

Nominations for the award start on Jan 1 next year - the year Singapore turns 50.

The organisers, who hope for about 30 to 40 submissions, are giving participants three years to put their books together. The prize will be presented in late 2017.

The prize money comes from a $500,000 donation from an anonymous donor. The money has been placed in an endowment fund, and it will be used to support a book prize every three years.

The non-fiction book must be authored or co-authored - rather than edited - and deepen the understanding of Singapore's history, added the organisers.

One of the judges, Professor Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, is also the man behind the prize idea.

Guidelines for the award are loose, he said. Topics can range from the lives of coolies, for instance, to more sensitive issues such as Operation Coldstore, a crackdown on extreme-left leaders in the 1960s.

The work can address any time period, theme or field of Singapore history, or should include a substantial analysis of any aspect of the country's history. The publication can even be a biography or an autobiography, he added.

"Nothing will be censored," Prof Mahbubani stressed.

In April, Prof Mahbubani, a noted academic, had appealed for a donor for a history book prize in The Straits Times' By Invitation column.

The donor, who became a Singapore citizen this year after living here for many years, met Prof Mahbubani in June. And the donation was his way of giving back, said Prof Mahbubani.

The other judges are professor of history Peter Coclanis, director of the Global Research Institute at the University of North Carolina in the United States; Banyan Tree Holdings senior vice-president Claire Chiang; and Professor Wang Gungwu, chairman of the East Asian Institute at NUS.

Submissions will first be narrowed down by an advisory committee which has not been appointed yet.

Said Prof Yeoh: "For a while now, we've had the Singapore Literature Prize... We've seen how that has had a galvanising effect on the literary scene and has spawned many talents.

"But we do not have a Singapore History Prize. The 50th anniversary of this young nation is a very opportune time for launching a prize like this that will help to catalyse, hopefully, a series of different reactions that will give more focus to historical consciousness."

Post by World Scientific Publishing Company.

More SG50 books in the works
A series penned by experts politicians and scholars to be published next year
By Charissa Yong, The Straits Times, 14 Nov 2014

MORE than 200 scholars, politicians and experts are coming together to pen chapters for a series of books to showcase the Singapore story.

The series of at least 20 books will be published throughout next year to mark Singapore's 50 years of nation-building.

"These books are a permanent record of Singapore's achievements in different areas," Dr K.K. Phua, chairman of the series' publisher World Scientific, said yesterday.

Each volume will focus on one area, from Singapore's urban planning and international relations to social issues and transport, added Dr Phua.

There will also be three books written in Chinese on the Chinese community and Singapore-China relations. The book on the Chinese community will have a chapter penned by The Straits Times' senior writer Leong Weng Kam.

The authors include major figures who have played a role in Singapore's nation-building, such as Ambassador-At-Large Tommy Koh, former chief of the Housing Board Liu Thai Ker and former chief defence scientist Lui Pao Chuen.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also the minister coordinating economic and social policy, will write a foreword for a volume on social issues such as population and inclusiveness.

The volume's editor, Singapore Management University psychology professor David Chan, said: "Why did the editors, in spite of being busy, agree in a short time to do this? Because it documents our accomplishments since independence. If you do not know what was done in the past, it's very hard to plan for the future."

The idea for the series came nine months ago, when former foreign minister George Yeo suggested to Dr Phua that the publishing company do something to celebrate Singapore's 50th birthday.

The books will be distributed globally, including to the British Library in London and America's Library of Congress, said Ms Doreen Liu, World Scientific's group managing director.

"We're telling the whole world what Singapore has achieved in the last 50 years," she said.

Each book will be between 250 and 500 pages and about 1,000 to 2,000 copies will be printed. They will be sold in all major bookstores as well as in digital format.

The series comes amid a backdrop of several moves to mark Singapore's golden jubilee, including a mega concert and a 8km heritage trail.