If the very idea of ink on paper sends you scrambling, head down Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) to see a very different side of the page.

Organised by the National Arts Council (NAC), SWF is one of the region’s most prestigious literary affairs, with a mind-boggling line-up of 126 local and international writers and a dazzling array of 177 free and ticketed programmes, ranging from workshops and master classes to panel discussions and literary meals, this year.

Dedicated to bringing the world’s foremost wordsmiths to our shores, as well as celebrating up-and-coming local and regional writers, the festival is multilingual, presenting works in each of Singapore’s four national languages.

Themed Transaction, this year’s festival runs from Oct 22-30 in six main locations in the Bras Basah area, a hallowed haunt of the local literati. And with the festival’s three tracks of programming – open to holders of the Festival Pass (at $15); separately ticketed events like lectures and master classes; and free of charge – mean there’ll most likely be something for everyone.

Popular entertainer Edmund Chen, who’s recently added “author” and “illustrator” to his lengthy list of professions, graced a recent media preview to present his latest children’s book, Dino Rulez.

He’ll be appearing at SWF as part of Little Lit!, a free multi-sensory playground for kids to experience books hands-on, with activities like diary-writing, readings, and even a tea party.

Inspired by the Changi Tree, a mythical megaflora of colossal proportions said to have been the area’s namesake, Dino Rulez follows a pair of children who fall into a hollow tree whose roots reach the centre of the earth. Combining a wish for children and parents to look for the “roots” of the country with a strong environmental message, Mr Chen also added an interactive dimension with highly detailed illustrations crammed with hidden objects for children to find.

Also at the event was Donna Ong, a visual artist invited to SWF because, as festival director Paul Tan quipped, “we want to be inclusive”. Interpreting the theme of Transaction as a “communicative action between parties”, she drew inspiration from the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami for her art installation Witness, which examines the differences between eyewitnesses accounts of the disaster and online posts by more removed netizens.

Staged in a former chapel at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), the installation will feature giant fans that send these comments, printed on pieces of paper, flying into the faces of visitors, encouraging them to consider the way they, too, communicate.

Visual art isn’t the only area that SWF crosses into, as Poetry of Song proves. A collaboration between SWF and Timbre Music Academy (TMA) – the “heart and soul” of which is to “provide platforms”, according to co-founder/owner of Timbre Group Danny Loong – the competition yielded more than 300 entries for poems on the theme “Love Notes”. The best ones were selected and will be turned into songs by TMA singer-songwriters like Luthfi Hamzah (The Common People), Ghaz (Goodfellas), and Sara Wee (53A).

At the event, Luthfi Hamzah performed ‘Take Me Back’, an emotive ballad about heartbreak based on Michelle Yang’s poem.

The songs can be streamed here, and you can vote for your favourite on SWF’s website from Oct 15. The winner will be declared at Timbre @ The Substation on Oct 26.

 

Details

Duration: October 22-30
Venue: Bras Basah area

Ticketing

Tickets run from $10 for a literary tour to $120 for a literary meal. The full list of ticketing details can be found here.

For more information, you can visit SWF’s Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as the official website.