People · Asia-Pacific

Yong Shu Hoong's last Singapore Writers Festival as director runs 13 to 22 November

The 29th festival, themed Hidden in Plain Sight, has more than 200 programmes and over 300 writers, speakers and moderators.

By The Book Source29 September 20261 minute read

The 29th Singapore Writers Festival will run from 13 to 22 November 2026, and it will be the final edition led by festival director Yong Shu Hoong.

Under the theme Hidden in Plain Sight, the festival looks at crime, memory, translation, technology and the things people overlook or keep hidden. It has more than 200 programmes and over 300 writers, speakers and moderators.

New strands this year include a Crime & Mystery Spotlight and SWF Homage, which focuses on literary translation through a microsite and a public installation that will travel to libraries and community spaces. Programming in Chinese, Malay and Tamil has been expanded under guest curators Chan Cheow Thia, Muhammad Ilyia Kamsani and Neelakandan Sivanantham, and the SEA xChange strand brings in perspectives from across Southeast Asia.

Keynote speakers are Amitav Ghosh, on 14 November, Ruha Benjamin, and Stephen Witt, who will speak about Nvidia and AI. Other guests include Tan Twan Eng, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Seo Mi-ae, Robin Stevens, Jessica Townsend, June Hur and Balli Kaur Jaswal.

The main venues are Victoria Theatre, The Arts House, National Gallery Singapore and the Asian Civilisations Museum, with other events at NTU, West Coast Park, St John's Island, libraries and bookshops. Festival Pass sessions are first come, first served, some events are free, and SG Culture Pass credits can be used.

Original source: Bakchormeeboy ↗

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