The stories of ordinary Singaporeans have taken centre stage on the shortlist for this year’s National University of Singapore (NUS) History Prize. The list of six includes academic tomes such as Seven Hundred Years: A History Of Singapore (2019, available here), but also novels and non-fiction with a personal slant. The mix forgoes the traditional view of history as a record of big movers and shakers, says authors. For example, Kamaladevi Aravindan’s novel Sembawang (2020, available here) tells of life on a single estate in five decades.

The NUS prize was established in 2014 and this is its third edition. The inaugural winner was archaeologist John Miksic’s Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, 1300-1800. The citation called it “a fundamental reinterpretation of the place and history of Singapore”.

Last year, historian Hidayah Ibrahim picked up the prize for her Leluhur: Singapore Kampong Gelam. Her book, which combines synthesis with primary sources, was said to have been inspired by the belief that history can be written by anyone, not just professional historians. She hoped the prize would show that anyone who has lived through a significant portion of their lives in Singapore could write a book about their past.

This year’s other shortlisted works include academics Kwa Chong Guan and Tan Tai Yong for their work about the Chinese and British colonial encounter, Imperial Creatures. The citation for their book describes it as an “extraordinary contribution” that reframes Singapore’s history in the context of a wider Asian perspective. Other shortlisted entries are the history of NUS by historians Derek Heng and Peter Borschberg, and a book about the Singapore River by the historians Lim Kay Tong and Tan Siow Hui.

The winners of the Xero Beautiful Business Fund will be announced at an event later this month. Four of the winning SMEs from Singapore, Art Outreach Singapore, Oriental Remedies Group, Oysterly and Style Theory Singapore, will each receive S$15,000. The awards were presented by Britain’s Prince William at an extravagant ceremony at The Theatre Mediacorp on Tuesday. He walked the green carpet alongside host Hannah Waddingham, who was dressed in a sparkling black ball gown and matching dickie bow.

The prince will be in Singapore next week for the third annual Earthshot prize awards ceremony and to meet local organisations working on environmental solutions to climate change. He will also attend the United for Wildlife summit, which brings together law enforcement officials and businesses to combat the illegal trade in wildlife. William’s office at Kensington Palace says he will see how innovations like solar-powered dryers and food waste recycling can be used to solve global problems such as climate change and water shortages. The summit is part of the third annual Earthshot Prize Week, which starts on November 6 and features a series of events. The final awards ceremony will take place on November 7. For more information, visit the Earthshot website.