Prasanthi Ram wins Singapore Literature Prize

Nine Yard Sarees: A Short Story Cycle, by Nanyang Technological University lecturer Prasanthi Ram, has won the Singapore Literature Prize for English fiction.

Published in late 2023, the short story cycle about generations of a Tamil Brahmin family dispersed across Singapore, Sydney, New York and Connecticut is the 32-year-old’s debut.

Prasanthi said of her book, lauded by The Straits Times in 2023 as “one of the best debuts of Singapore fiction”: “I am completely in shock. I’m so humbled that the judges saw merit in Nine Yard Sarees, especially since I wrote this manuscript while caregiving for my late father. 

“I hope that more writers experiment with the short story cycle form because it was such a joy being able to dive into so many perspectives and contexts in a single work.”

At a ceremony at the Victoria Theatre on Sept 10, a three-member panel led by poet Cyril Wong said her writing was “skillful, assured, comedic at times, and profoundly moving”. It also described Prasanthi as “a clear-sighted and ruthlessly principled observer”, her collection showing “with remorseless precision the damage women inflict on each other and on the men in their families”.

Singapore Writers Festival director Yong Shu Hoong won his third trophy in the English poetry category for his 2022 collection Anatomy Of A Wave, a blend of poetry and prose reflections.

Yong, who previously won in 2006 for Frottage (2005) and in 2014 for The Viewing Party (2013), was commended for “a breathtaking collection, staggering in its genius creation”.

He was not present at the award ceremony, but told ST: “Anatomy Of A Wave is special because most of it was written during the worst days of the pandemic, which gave me the chance to revisit my past – the younger, more innocent days filled with 1980s pop nostalgia.”

The prize for best English creative non-fiction went to artist Shubigi Rao, whose Pulp III: An Intimate Inventory Of The Banished Book (2022) was the third instalment of her decade-long project on banished books.

Rao dedicated her win to brilliant women, declaring: “With every act of censorship, banning, burning, defunding and library closure, we are impoverished beyond measure. We are the sum of everyone else’s words, people we met or read. We are the book, and we must and will persist.”

There were three new categories in 2024 for best English debut, best English graphic novel and best English translation.

The best debut prize went to 91-year-old National University of Singapore Professor Emeritus Peter Ellinger, whose win for Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs (2023) made him the oldest winner of the Singapore Literature Prize.

His book recounts his life that intersects with many important historical events of the 20th century. Judges called it “a monumental undertaking”, adding: “The personal, political, historical and sociocultural are woven together with a beautiful coherence.”

The self-published Cockman (2022) by Kenfoo, in which a chicken from another dimension finds itself stranded on Earth in human form, won the inaugural English comic or graphic novel category, standing out for its “total lack of seriousness and compromise and its over-the-top audacity and absurdity”.

Author and prolific translator Jeremy Tiang was awarded the best English translation for his work with Chinese author Zhang Yueran’s Cocoon (2022), about two childhood friends talking through the night to put to bed dark secrets linking their two families in the long shadow of the Cultural Revolution.

A total of 17 writers, translators and comic artists were awarded the Singapore literature Prize, given out by the Singapore Book Council across four languages, on Sept 10.

Winners each received $3,000 in prize money and a hand-crafted trophy by artist Jason Lim.

list of winners

English

Poetry: Anatomy Of A Wave (2022) by Yong Shu Hoong
Fiction: Nine Yard Sarees: A Short Story Cycle (2023) by Prasanthi Ram
Creative Non-fiction: Pulp III: An Intimate Inventory Of The Banished Book (2022) by Shubigi Rao
Best Debut: Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs (2023) by Peter Ellinger
Comics/Graphic Novel: Cockman (2022) by Kenfoo
Translation: Cocoon (2022) by Zhang Yueran, translated by Jeremy Tiang

Chinese

Poetry: Poems From The Eternal Summer (2022) by Tan Chee Lay and Mediocre (2023) by Wang Zhe
Fiction: The Back View Of The Rainforest (2023) by Hai Fan
Creative Non-fiction: The Uncertain Republic: Lee Kuan Yew And Singapore (2023) by Chia Joo Ming
Best Debut: Memories Overflowing With Emotion (2023) by Chua Ee Gein

Tamil

Poetry: Yaamakkodangi (2023) by Mathikumar Thayumanavan
Fiction: Cheenalakshumi (2022) by Kanagalatha K
Creative Non-fiction: Appan (2023) by Azhagunila
Best Debut: Kaatralalyll (2023) by Tamilselvi Rajarajan

Malay

Poetry: In The Name Of Love (2022) by Samsudin Said
Fiction: Age Antidote (2023) by Farihan Bahron