PRESS RELEASE

Singapore, July 7, 2022 – The Singapore Book Publishers Association (SBPA), representing local and international publishing companies based in Singapore, officially announced the finalists for the Singapore Book Awards 2022 in the following categories:

• Best Magazine Title (New)
• Best Custom Publishing (New)
• Best Professional Title (New)
• Best Audiobook
• Best Illustrated Non-Fiction Title
• Best Literary Work
• Best Young Persons Title (7-18 years old)
• Best Educational Title
• Best Picture Book (5-7 years old)
• Best Non-Fiction Title
• Best Book Cover Design

42 of the best fiction and non-fiction titles by local and international publishing firms in Singapore were shortlisted. These 42 titles cover multiple genres such as autobiography and biography, creative non-fiction, graphic novels, Singapore history, local community history, local heritage cuisine, textbooks and supplementary educational titles. The Singapore Book Awards finalists will be announced in a live stream on Thursday, July 7, 2022, on SBPA’s Facebook page.

The winners of the award categories listed above, together with those of the Readers’ Choice Award and the 2022 Book of the Year, will be announced during the physical Singapore Book Awards ceremony which will be held in the evening of Thursday, on September 22, 2022. Shortlisted publishers will be attending the awards ceremony which includes a gala dinner at The Fullerton Hotel. The awards ceremony will be live-streamed on the SBPA and ASEAN Book Publishers Association (ABPA)’s Facebook pages and YouTube channel, allowing viewers to participate in the event virtually. This phygital event is sponsored by CLASS, Lazada, Markono Print Media, Rakuten Kobo, Storytel Singapore and Silversea Media; it is also supported by the Info-communications and Media Development Authority (IMDA), National Library Board (NLB) and the Singapore Book Council.

Following the announcement, a showcase of the Book Awards finalists will be streamed from Friday, July 8 to Tuesday, 19 July on SBPA’s Facebook page and YouTube Channel. 

Here are the finalists for the Singapore Book Awards 2022

1.  Best Magazine Title

• Expat Living Singapore
• BBC Earth Magazine
• Present Perfect: The Survival Issue

2.  Best Custom Publishing

• SCO: Hidden Gems
• Mapping the World: Perspectives from Asian Cartography
• The Covid-19 Chronicles: Singapore’s Journey from Pandemia to Peri-Pandemic Limbo

3.  Best Professional Title

• Super Scaling: Systemise, Break Free, and Skyrocket Your Business to Millions
• Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Law: Risks and Mitigation
• Regulation of Fintech in Asia-Pacific
• Engaging Millennials: 7 Fundamental Ways to Recruit, Reward & Retain the Largest Generation in the Workforce

4.  Best Audiobook

• Sacred Guardians: The Audio Drama
• Harris bin Potter and the Stoned Philosopher
• Larger Than Life
• Timothy and the Phubbers

5.  Best Illustrated Non-Fiction Title 

• Activist Architecture: Thoughts on Asian Architectural Education
• Diard and Duvaucel: French Natural History Drawings of Singapore and Southeast Asia (1818-1820)
• The Food of Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels through the Archipelago

6.  Best Literary Work

• The Formidable Miss Cassidy
• Persephone’s Choice
• The Arches of Gerrard Street

7.  Best Young Persons Title (7 – 18 years old)

• Awesome Women of Singapore
• Sherlock Sam and the Digital Detectives on Instanoodlegram
• Mistbound: How to Glue Back Grandpa

8.  Best Educational Title

• think! Mathematics 3A and 3B
• Social Studies Primary 4A
• 21 Impossible Things: Quantum Physics and Relativity for Everyone
• Your Adventures at CERN: Play the Hero Among Particles and a Particular Dinosaur!

9.  Best Picture Book (5 – 7 years old)

• Goodnight, Baby Ocean Animals
• Mr Roll Finds New Life
• Ubin Elephant

10. Best Non-Fiction Title

• Winston Choo: A Soldier at Heart
• Culture City. City Scape.
• Seaways and Gatekeepers: Trade and State in the Eastern Archipelagos of Southeast Asia, c. 1600 – c. 1906
• Beyond Storms and Stars: A Memoir
• America: A Singapore Perspective
• A History of Money in Singapore
• Soul of Ink: Lim Tze Peng at 100

11. Best Book Cover Design

• A Drip. A Drop. A Deluge: A Period Tragicomedy
• Bold Vision: The Untold Story of Singapore’s Reserves and Sovereign Wealth Fund
• The Punkhawala and the Prostitute
• Mr Goodchild

TICKET SALES

The Singapore Book Publishers Association (SBPA) will announce the 2022 Singapore Book Awards winners at the 2022 Book Awards Ceremony.

2022 Book Awards Ceremony will be hosted as a high-profile gala event at the Fullerton Hotel, one of Singapore’s most iconic buildings. This awards ceremony will invite 150 industry figures and important stakeholders to attend. It will be a hybrid event reaching out beyond the live audience. It will be held on Thursday 22 September 2022, from 7.00 pm to 9.00 pm at the Hotel Ballroom.

To be part of the celebration, book your seats now! Closing date: 1 August 2022. Email: cecilia@singaporebookpublishers.sg

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 2022 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 2022 Awards, books must be published in Singapore from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021.

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

Click the links below to refer to the rules and category guidelines:

Eligibility Rules

Category Guidelines

The deadline for submissions has closed. Please contact the Secretariat at info@singaporebookpublishers.sg for assistance. 

Book Awards 2021

The 2021 Singapore Book Awards Ceremony was successfully held as a hybrid event at the Auditorium in Jurong Town Hall and live-streamed at SBPA's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel on Friday 24 September. 

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 38 finalists in nine categories, cover multiple genres including autobiography and biography, creative non-fiction, graphic novels, Singapore history, local community history, local heritage cuisine, textbooks and supplementary educational titles.

The 2021 Book Awards also saw the introduction of the winners of the new Best Hybrid Book and Readers' Choice Award as well as Honorary Mentions for the Best Book Cover Design, Best Hybrid Book and the Book of the Year category. 

The Book Awards 2021 winning titles are:

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: