November is truly an explosion of events and festivals. Soon, The Singapore Writers Festival will be making a return. As an aspiring novelist and avid bookworm, this festival was my first true taste of the local book community. The festival will be taking place from 8 Nov to 17 Nov 2024.
There are over 200 programmes to look forward to, with more than 300 presenters. There will also be 40 international authors making an appearance. This year’s theme is “In Our Nature”, celebrating our environment and tackling sustainability and depictions of nature in literature.
I have already marked my calendar with several exciting panels and workshops. I’m particularly thrilled to catch these 10 international authors, with a wide range of programmes to choose from.
1. Esi Edugyan (Canada)
Esi Edugyan is a Canadian author of The Second Life of Samuel Tyne and Half-Blood Blues. The latter earned her first Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Washington Black, her latest novel, will be featured at this year’s festival. The novel tells the story of George Washington “Wash” Black, a young slave working the sugar fields in Barbados. Through an unlikely friendship, Wash manages to escape slavery and begins exploring what it truly means to be free.
The novel was a finalist for the Booker Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It earned her another Scotiabank Giller Prize. Currently, the novel is being adapted into a limited television series by Hulu/Disney.
For any fans of her novels, feel free to drop by her Meet the Author session at SWF. There, she will be engaging in a discussion with Dr. Anita Devi Pillai. They will discuss how historical fiction has the power to address difficult social issues such as power, identity and freedom.
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- Programme Name: Meet the Author: Esi Edugyan
- Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2024
- Time: 8pm to 9pm
- Location: Victoria Theatre
- Ticket Type: Ticketed
- Ticket Price: S$30
2. Cat Bohannon (US)
Cat Bohannon is an author and researcher. She graduated with a PhD in the evolution of narrative and cognition from Columbia University. Her poems and essays have been published in many publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and Poets Against the War.
Her book, Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, will be featured at this year’s festival. The book won the Foyles Non-Fiction Book of the Year in December 2023. It’s a non-fiction book that uncovers a groundbreaking discovery about how women’s bodies have shaped human culture.
Bohannon will be giving a Keynote presentation at the festival. Her talk will centre around her novel and how she untangled the complex web of history. She will discuss how the book challenges current biases and perceptions of our history. It is a deep exploration of human existence and evolution.
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- Programme Name: Festival Keynote Talk: Cat Bohannon
- Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2024
- Time: 7pm to 8pm
- Location: Victoria Theatre
- Ticket Type: Ticketed
- Ticket Price: S$30
3. Gregory Pardlo (USA)
Gregory Pardlo is an American author. His works include Spectral Evidence, a poetry collection, and Air Traffic, a memoir in essays. He spends his time as Co-Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice at Rutgers University-Camden and Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at NYU Abu Dhabi. He has received fellowships from various organisations in his career including the Guggenheim Foundation.
At this year’s festival, Pardlo will be showcasing his poetry collection Digest. This collection earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2015. It is a series of poems, each written in different styles that embody the American intellectual identity through time.
At SWF, Pardlo will be leading a masterclass, sharing his expertise and insights.
He will explore how he writes poems that derive from his own experiences. He will impact how, even through the trenches and darkness of our lives, we can create something beautiful.
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- Programme Name: After the Fire: Masterclass Talk with Gregory Pardlo
- Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2024
- Time: 2.30pm to 3.30pm
- Location: The Arts House, Chamber
- Ticket Type: Ticketed
- Ticket Price: S$30
4. Kwang Jin (South Korea)
Kwang Jin, whose full name is Cho Kwangjin, is a Korean author. Beyond writing, he has also dabbled in filmmaking, having directed and produced the film Cabriolet (2022). The film was featured at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.
At this festival, his featured work is the graphic novel series Itaewon Class which has been adapted into a television series of the same name. The series has gained popularity in Korea and Japan, telling the story of a group of young people navigating freedom while staying true to their personal values.
This year, he will be conducting a Meet The Author event, among other events. Local artist Clio Hui will be picking his brain on how the famous series came to be and how he feels about its resurgence in popularity. This new life comes after the release of the Japanese adaptation of the television series, Roppongi Class, among other versions.
Click here to get your festival pass now!
- Programme Name: Meet the Author: Kwang Jin
- Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2024
- Time: 3.30pm to 4.30pm
- Location: Victoria Theatre
- Ticket Type: Festival Pass
- Ticket Price: S$30 (Festival Pass), S$15 (SWF Youth Pass)
5. Baek Sehee (South Korea)
Baek Sehee is an author from South Korea who spent 10 years getting psychiatric treatment for her dysthymia, a condition where someone has persistent mild depression. The content of her book was shaped by insights gained from these therapy sessions.
I Want to Die but I Want To Eat Tteokbokki is a series of essays that Baek wrote. In this part-memoir, part self-help book, Baek recounts her 12 weeks of sessions with her psychiatrist. She takes the time, through these essays, to unravel the different behaviours that trap her in a loop of self-abuse.
With mental health advocate, writer and researcher Chan Li Shan, Baek will explore her journey as a writer and delve deeper into her works. This is the perfect opportunity for fans of Baek’s work to ask questions and learn more about her.
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- Programme Name: Meet the Author: Baek Sehee
- Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2024
- Time: 4pm to 5pm
- Location: Victoria Theatre
- Ticket Type: Ticketed
- Ticket Price: S$30
6. Hwang Bo-Reum (South Korea)
Hwang Bo-Reum is a Korean author who studied computer science and worked as a software engineer. Since becoming a writer, she has written several essay collections before releasing her first novel in 2017.
This novel, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop will be featured at the festival. It sold over 150,000 copies in Korea and has been sold in 9 territories. The book follows Yeongju, a burnt-out married woman from Seoul, who starts a new life in the countryside by opening a bookstore.
Hwang will be a part of a panel at SWF with Benjamin Chee and Wayne Rée, and moderated by Aaron Lee.
The group of them will be discussing the commonalities in the work culture between Singapore and South Korea. These two countries have the most stressed-out populations in the world. They will tackle how they manage this lifestyle and find the perfect work-life balance.
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- Programme Name: Are You Thriving, Surviving or Drowning at Work?
- Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2024
- Time: 5pm to 6pm
- Location: The Arts House, Chamber
- Ticket Type: Festival Pass
- Ticket Price: S$30 (Festival Pass), S$15 (SWF Youth Pass)
7. Rin Chupeco (Philippines)
Rin Chupeco is a non-binary Filipino-Chinese author. Raised in the Philippines, they find themselves being inspired by Asian folklore. Their works include The Girl from the Well series and The Never Tilting World series. Most recently, they released the first book in their Reaper series, Silver Under Nightfall.
Their book series The Bone Witch will be featured at the festival. It is a dark fantasy trilogy about witches, curses and resurrection. The story follows protagonist Tea as she hones her gift of necromancy, becomes the Bone Witch, and creates an army to take down the royal family.
Chupeco will be conducting a workshop on horror writing. They will be covering basic narrative structure as well as techniques on how to enhance your horror storytelling.
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- Programme Name: Twisted Tales: Stories to Die For
- Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2024
- Time: 1pm to 3pm
- Location: Asian Civilisations Museum, Demonstration Room (No wheelchair access)
- Ticket Type: Ticketed
- Ticket Price: S$15
8. Shehan Karunatilaka (Sri Lanka)
Shehan Karunatilaka is a Sri Lankan author. Throughout his professional life, he has embarked across the globe, having studied in New Zealand and lived in London, Amsterdam, and Singapore. His writing career began with Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, a strong debut that received critical acclaim.
At the festival, he will be highlighting his 2022 novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. This book won him the Booker Prize that year. Set in 1989 Sri Lanka, a tumultuous time for the nation, the story follows Maali Almeida as he traverses the afterlife and tries to solve his own murder.
At the festival, he will talk about this part-ghost story, part-whodunnit, and part-political satire with Pooja Nansi, festival director of SWF from 2019 to 2023. Together, they will talk about his writing career, memories, and how magical realism can enhance a story.
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- Programme Name: Meet the Author: Shehan Karunatilaka
- Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2024
- Time: 11.30am to 12.30pm
- Location: Victoria Concert Hall
- Ticket Type: Ticketed
- Ticket Price: S$30
9. Paula Morris (New Zealand)
Paula Morris is a New Zealand author of Maori and English descent. She is a novelist, short story writer-editor, essayist and literary academic. She founded the Academy of New Zealand Literature and Wharerangi, a known Maori literature hub in New Zealand.
She also co-edited the short story collection Hiwa: Contemporary Maori Short Stories with Darryn Joseph. It’s a series of short stories from 27 authors. The title of the collection is an homage to Hiwa-i-te-rangi, the ninth star of Mataraki. The star signifies growth and dreams for the year to come.
At the festival, she will be speaking to Nessa Anwar about crafting stories inspired by indigenous culture. She will speak about her journey of championing Maori voices and stories. She will also share how she balances cultural authenticity with universal themes.
Click here to get your festival pass now!
- Programme Name: From Tradition to Tale: Decoding Indigenous Storytelling with Paula Morris
- Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2024
- Time: 10am to 11am
- Location: Asian Civilisations Museum, Discovery Room (No wheelchair access)
- Ticket Type: Festival Pass
- Ticket Price: S$30 (Festival Pass), S$15 (SWF Youth Pass)
10. Sarah Malik (Australia)
Sarah Malik is a Pakistani-Australian investigative journalist, author and television presenter. Her focus deals with the intersection between gender and race, tackling issues such as migration, gender inequality, and domestic violence. Her latest work is Safar: Muslim Women’s Stories of Travel and Transformation.
This year, SWF will be highlighting her debut essay collection, Desi Girl: On Feminism, Race, Faith and Belonging. The book is an autobiographical series that depicts Malik’s upbringing as an Australian Muslim. It tackles the Islamophobia she faced post-9/11 and the beginnings of her journey as a writer and activist.
She will be coming down to conduct a workshop on memoir writing. Fiction writers can also benefit by learning the different facets of one’s life that can be moulded into a fascinating story.
Click here to get your festival pass now!
- Programme Name: Life’s Pages: Memoir Writing Adventures with Sarah Malik
- Date: Sun, 17 Nov 2024
- Time: 4pm to 6pm
- Location: Asian Civilisations Museum, Demonstration Room (No wheelchair access)
- Ticket Type: Ticketed
- Ticket Price: S$20
