About the Singapore Book Awards

The Singapore Book Awards is organised by the SBPA annually to recognise the best in Singapore book publishing. The first book awards was introduced in 2012. The awards are given to publishers for their best books, and are open to all book publishing companies in Singapore.

Books considered for the Singapore Book Awards 2021 must:

i) Be published in one of the four official languages of Singapore.
ii) Have a Singapore ISBN number, and hard copies must be legally deposited with the National Library Board.
iii) Books that are sold in print must be sold in retail stores locally and/or overseas.
iv) For the 2020 Awards, books must be published in Singapore from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020.

Translated works (from a foreign language to a Singapore official language) are also acceptable, provided that they meet the above criteria.

The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2021 Singapore Book Awards has passed. Please contact the Secretariat at info@singaporebookpublishers.sg for assistance. 

Book Awards 2021

The Book Awards Finalists and Readers’ Choice Award Launch Event will be announced in a live stream on Friday 9 July 2021 on SBPA’s Facebook page. Following the announcement, short trailers of the Book Awards finalists will be streamed from Saturday 10 July to Sunday 18 July on SBPA’s Facebook page.

The winners of the above award categories, as well as the new award component Readers’ Choice Award and the 2021 Book of the Year will be announced during the hybrid Singapore Book Awards ceremony which will be held on the afternoon of Friday 24 September. Shortlisted publishers will be attending the Awards Ceremony in-person at the Auditorium in Jurong Town Hall. The Awards Ceremony will be livestreamed on the SBPA and ASEAN Book Publishers Association (ABPA)’s Facebook pages, and viewers could participate in the event virtually. This “phygital” event is sponsored by HP Singapore, Lazada, Markono Print Media, Rakuten Kobo and Storytel Singapore and supported by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), National Library Board (NLB), and the Singapore Book Council.

Singapore Book Awards Readers’ Choice Award

The Singapore Book Awards Readers’ Choice Award is a new component where avid readers are introduced to the best books published in Singapore annually. Readers play an important role in the book industry and the Singapore Book Publishers Association would like to include them in this annual celebration of the Singapore publishing industry’s achievements.  

How to vote?

• Readers can vote for their favourite title from the 38 shortlisted books across all 9 categories from the Singapore Book Awards.
• Voting can be done here.

Terms and Conditions for the 2021 Singapore Book Awards Readers' Choice Award can be found here.

Book Awards 2020

(Then-SBPA President Mr Peter Schoppert presenting his opening remarks for the virtual 2020 Book Awards Ceremony on 13 August.)

The 2020 Singapore Book Awards Ceremony was successfully held online on Thursday 13 August at SBPA's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. 

The winners of each category and Book of the Year were selected by a panel of judges comprising key industry personalities in Singapore known for their publishing, literary and media expertise. The winners, selected from 46 finalists in ten categories, cover multiple genres including architecture history, autobiography and biography, creative non-fiction, manga, graphic novels, Singapore history, local community history, local heritage cuisine, textbooks and supplementary education titles.

The 2020 Book Awards saw the introduction of the winners of the new award categories Best Audiobook Title, Best Digital Marketing Campaign and Best E-Book Title, as well as Special Mention for the Best E-Book Title and a Honorary Mention for the Book of the Year category. 

The Book Awards 2020 winning titles are:

Book Awards 2019 

(The 2019 Awards winners posing with then-SBPA President Mr Peter Schoppert [third from left].)

The 2019 Singapore Book Awards Ceremony was successfully held on Wednesday, 2 October 2019 at the Pavilion in the Conrad Centennial Singapore Hotel. 

The winners of each category and Book of the Year were selected by a panel of judges comprising key industry personalities in Singapore known for their publishing, literary and media expertise. The winners, selected from a shortlist of 36 finalists in seven categories, cover multiple genres including architecture, biography, history, drama, and supplementary educational titles. 

The Book Awards 2019 winning titles are:                            

Book Awards 2018     

(The award winners of 2018 Book Awards with Mr Baey Yam Keng, then-Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Culture, Community and Youth and Transport) [fifth from left] and then-SBPA President Mr Peter Schoppert [first from right].) 

The 2018 Singapore Book Awards Ceremony was successfully held on Friday 21 September at the Arts House. 

The winners of each category and Book of the Year were selected by a panel of judges comprising key industry personalities in Singapore known for their publishing, literary and media expertise. The winners, selected from a shortlist of 31 finalists in seven categories, cover multiple genres including architecture, biography, history, drama, and supplementary educational titles. 

The Book Awards 2018 winning titles are:                            

Book Awards 2017

(Then-SBPA President Mr Peter Schoppert presenting the Book of the Year 2017 prize to Mr Chuan Yeo and Mr Lai Chee-Kien, co-authors of the 2017 Book of the Year. Co-author Mr Koh Hong Teng was not present.)

The 2017 Singapore Book Awards Ceremony was successfully held on 28 March at the Pan Pacific Hotel. The winners of each category and Book of the Year were selected by a panel of judges comprising key industry personalities in Singapore known for their publishing, literary and media expertise. The winners, selected from a shortlist of 39 finalists in seven categories, cover multiple genres including architecture, biography, history, drama, and supplementary educational titles. 

The Book Awards 2017 winning titles are:

Book Awards 2016 

(Then-SBPA President Mr Peter Schoppert presenting the Book of the Year 2016 prize to Mr Edmund Wee, CEO and Publisher of Epigram Books.)

The Singapore Book Publishers Association (SBPA) relaunched the Book Awards in 2016. The winners of the 2016 Singapore Book Awards were announced on 11 May 2016, at a gala dinner in Hotel Rendezvous Singapore. There were eight categories for the 2016 Awards, up from six categories in 2012, to take into account the growth and development of the publishing industry during this period.

The Book Awards 2016 winning titles are:   

Book Awards 2012 

(Then-SBPA President Ms Triena Ong (fourth from left) posing with the judges and winners of the inaugural 2012 Publishing Awards.)

The Singapore Book Publishers Association (SBPA) started the inaugural Publishing Awards in 2012. There were five award categories for the 2012 Awards.

The Book Awards 2012 winning titles are: