Indian-origin lecturer wins Singapore Literature Prize for English fiction, ‘Nine Yard Sarees'

Singapore: An Indian-origin lecturer at Nanyang Technological University has won the prestigious Singapore Literature Prize for English fiction with her debut short story collection, Nine Yard Sarees. Prasanthi Ram, 32, saw her work published in late 2023.

Her collection explores the lives of a Tamil Brahmin family spread across cities like Singapore, Sydney, New York, and Connecticut.

Prasanthi said of her book, “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,” The Straits Times quoted Prasanthi as saying.

At the award ceremony held at Victoria Theatre on Tuesday, the judging panel, led by poet Cyril Wong, praised her writing as “skilful, 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”.

The award for best English creative non-fiction went to Shubigi Rao, an Indian-origin artist, for her book Pulp III: An Intimate Inventory Of The Banished Book (2022). This book is the third part of her decade-long project on banned literature.

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,” the Singapore daily quoted her as saying.

The prize for best English debut was awarded to 91-year-old Professor Emeritus Peter Ellinger from the National University of Singapore. His memoir, Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger's Memoirs (2023), makes him the oldest winner of the Singapore Literature Prize. His book reflects on his life and intersects with many key 20th-century historical events. Judges called it “a monumental undertaking”, adding: “The personal, political, historical and sociocultural are woven together with a beautiful coherence.”

In total, 17 writers, translators, and comic artists received the Singapore Literature Prize, presented by the Singapore Book Council across four languages on Tuesday.

The Tamil section winners are Poetry: Yaamakkodangi (2023) by Mathikumar Thayumanavan, Fiction: Cheenalakshumi (2022) by Kanagalatha K, Creative Non-fiction: Appan (2023) by Azhagunila, and Best Debut: Kaatralalyll (2023) by Tamilselvi Rajarajan. 

Agency