We are very pleased to announce the results of the Goh Sin Tub Creative Writing Competition 2015 – Drama. Congratulations to the prize winners!
2nd Prize ($6,000): Isaac Lim Jue Hao for “Whither Are We Going?”
Joint 3rd Prizes ($4,000): Pooja Pandey for “Under The Mango Tree” and Barney Gopalakrishnen for “Cycle of Morality”
Special Commendation: Eugene Koh Wen Jun for “Baofa”
The judges decided not to award a first prize this year, as most of the entries feel unfinished or at best, works-in-progress. None of this year’s entries stands out as a piece of work quite worthy of a first prize.
Many of the entries are strong in terms of their writing but the judges were a little disappointed by the limited range of issues the writers chose to engage. A majority of the entries deal with the personal and the domestic, which in themselves are worthy subjects, but many entries focus on these at the expense of the larger and wider implications for humanity and its politics.
Having said this, the second prize winner, Whither Are We Going, is strong. The judges were impressed by its use of language and its dramatic and theatrical flair. The entry is overly didactic in parts, but is worth further development and the judges strongly recommend that the writer continues to work on it. The first of the joint third prize winners, Under The Mango Tree, has good strong characterization and a sound plotline but is over-written, and notwithstanding that feels unfinished. The second joint third prize winner, Cycle of Morality, innovatively uses devices from allegory and symbolist drama but needs to go further than its appropriating of literary and theatrical forms. The judges also felt strongly about Baofa. Although this entry does not quite make the grade, they felt that its story-telling and its conviction are worthy of a special commendation.
The judges congratulate all four writers on their work and look forward to their future contributions to play-writing in Singapore.
The biennial Goh Sin Tub Creative Writing Prize was established by Dr Sylvia Goh with an endowed gift to the Department of English Language and Literature at the National University of Singapore in memory and recognition of her late husband, Goh Sin Tub, who was one of Singapore’s best-known local writers.
Goh Sin Tub and Dr Sylvia Goh are both alumni of the University of Malaya (UM), one of NUS’ predecessor institutions. The Prize commemorates Goh Sin Tub’s life, achievements and support for education.
The genre for this Competition is drama. Subsequent competitions will feature other literary genres. The competition is open to all members of the NUS community at the time of submission of entry.
The closing date for the competition was 30 August 2015. Twenty-three qualifying entries were received.
Judging Panels
The judges for the first round of adjudication were Assoc Prof Ismail Talib and Dr Robin Loon from the Department of English Language and Literature, NUS; and Mr Lu Zhengwen, currently a Masters by Research student in English Literature at NUS.
The judges for the second round of adjudication were Assoc Prof Ismail Talib and Dr Robin Loon from the Department of English Language and Literature, NUS.