Singapore Literature Prize 2024: Myle Yan Tay, Suchen Christine Lim on shortlist
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Myle Yan Tay (left) was nominated for his debut novel catskull (2023) and Cultural Medallion recipient Suchen Christine Lim was nominated for Dearest Intimate (2022).
PHOTOS: JOEL LIM, NATIONAL ARTS COUNCIL
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SINGAPORE – The Singapore Literature Prize (SLP) 2024 announced its shortlist of 71 works across 18 categories on July 16.
Organised by the Singapore Book Council (SBC), the list includes a mix of new and veteran writers for both fiction and poetry in English.
For fiction, Myle Yan Tay was nominated for his debut novel catskull (2023) and Cultural Medallion recipient Suchen Christine Lim was nominated for Dearest Intimate (2022).
Lim won the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize in 1992 with her third novel Fistful Of Colours (1992). She was also nominated in 2004 for A Little Bit Of Earth (2001) and in 2008 for The Lies That Build A Marriage (2007).
Among the poetry nominees are debut poet Ally Chua with Acts Of Self Consumption (2023), Singapore Writers Festival director Yong Shu Hoong with Anatomy Of A Wave (2022) and artist Jason Wee for From A (Undesirable) Diary (2023).
It is the fourth nomination for Yong, who was a co-winner in both 2006 (for Frottage, 2006) and in 2014 (for The Viewing Party, 2014). He was also nominated in 2020 for Right Of The Soil (2018).
Singapore Writers Festival director Yong Shu Hoong is among the nominees in poetry for his work Anatomy Of A Wave (2022).
PHOTO: DANIEL SIM
Beginning in 1992 with only a fiction prize, the award is one of the most prestigious Singaporean literary prizes for published books. It has taken place biennially since 2006, when it introduced language categories for works in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
The awards were expanded in 2014 to include poetry and creative non-fiction. On Jan 11, SBC announced that the 2024 edition would include categories for comics and graphic novels in English, and fiction published between 2021 and 2023 translated into English by any Singaporean or permanent resident.
Debut novels across all four languages now compete in their own categories, with all shortlisted works across genres eligible.
Adding an interactive element to the awards, SLP invites readers to guess the winners at str.sg/7TEw
The Readers’ Favourite award, introduced in 2020 and based on public votes, will not be given out in 2024.
The winners will be announced on Sept 10.
Book it/Singapore Literature Prize 2024 Ceremony
Where: Victoria Theatre, 9 Empress Place str.sg/wWRX8
When: Sept 10, 6.30pm
Admission: Free
Info:
