As part of its effort to foster greater understanding and appreciation of Singapore history, National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Department of History launched the NUS Singapore History Prize – awarded every three years and open to works written or translated to English from authors of any nationality – in 2014. It carries a cash award of $50k Singapore.

Archaeologist John Miksic won the inaugural prize with his book Singapore And The Silk Road Of The Sea, 1300-1800. This work provided archaeological proof that Singapore existed over 700 years before Sir Stamford Raffles set foot on it in 1819; previous historical information such as glass shards found during excavations at Fort Canning or Chinese trader Wang Dayuan’s literary records had hinted that Singapore may have existed for an extended period.

This year’s prize will honour works that explore the history and diversity of Southeast Asia as an archipelago and its inhabitants. A distinguished fellow from NUS Asia Research Institute Kishore Mahbubani first proposed this prize in his Straits Times column earlier this month; these experts will select and announce a winner towards the end of October 2024.

NUS History Prize will offer more than just a prize; in addition to exhibition and lecture features by its winner. Past awardees of this prize have included historians such as Jeremy Tiang who published The Death And Life Of Singapore’s First Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and The People of The Riverbank: A History of Kampong Gelam Communities (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish 2022).

Readers will have the chance to explore lesser-known histories and gain more insight into those who have contributed to Singapore’s progress over its 50th anniversary of independence. The prize serves as an appropriate way of honoring those whose efforts have made Singapore what it is today.

NUS will recognize three runners-up and publish an anthology of shortlisted works, available for sale at major bookstores. For more information about the prize and submission criteria and deadlines visit the NUS website here or join in public discussions organized by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of NUS.