The biennial award will continue to promote authors and their works to local and international audiences: The Book Council

The National Book Development Council of Singapore (The Book Council) has announced that the submission period of the 2016 Singapore Literature Prize (SLP) is now open.

Building on the success of the previous iteration, the revamped SLP will award works in three genres (Fiction, Poetry, and Non-Fiction) in all four national languages, for a total of 12 prizes. Every winner will receive $10,000 cash and many opportunities to promote their work, both locally and abroad, the Book Council said in a media statement on 30 October.

Previous Singapore Literature Prize winners include literary luminaries Lin Gao, Johar Buang, and KTM Iqbal, who have won other prestigious awards such as the SEA Write Award and the Cultural Medallion.

The SLP 2016 is now open for submissions until 8 January 2016. All Singaporean writers (citizens and permanent residents) who have published works from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015 are eligible to submit their entries. The shortlist will be announced in May 2016, and the winners will be officially announced at a gala dinner in July 2016.

Established in 1992, the Singapore Literary Prize is the most significant literary award for published literary works in Singapore. Organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore, the SLP is a biennial competition supported by the National Arts Council, and aims to promote Singapore literary talent by recognizing outstanding published works by Singaporean authors in all of the four official languages.