Illustration by Whooli Chen
Island of Dreams
30 OCT – 8 NOV 2015
梦想 国 PU L AU A SPI R A SI
S I N G A P O R E W R I T E R S F E S T I VA L . CO M
PROGRAMME GUIDE
Ticketing Details
FESTIVAL PASS: $20
• Panel discussions, authors’ dialogues, and solo presentations
TICKETED EVENTS: $5 – $60
• SWF Stage: SWF lectures and performances
• SWF Class: Workshops and masterclasses
• SWF3 Workshops
• Literary tours
• Publishing Symposium 2015
FREE EVENTS
• SWF POP
• Book launches
• SWF3 programmes (unless ticketed)
• Readings
• Exhibitions
• Utter 2015: Head Trips screening
• Closing Debate
Contents
2
4
6
10
12
16
17
18
68
70
76
110
111
112
114
People’s choices
Acknowledgements
Forewords
SWF2015 Commission by Gwee Li Sui
SWF Stage
Literary Pioneers
SWF Track Highlights
Programmes
Country Focus: Indonesia
Book Launches
Authors and Presenters
Other events
SWF team
SWF Survival Guide
Venue Map
LEGEND
We’re very excited to unveil the 2015 programming, with five new festival tracks to
guide you through more than 300 events to be held at the newly revamped Empress
Place district. Just look out for these icons at the corner of each event:
Information is correct as of 15 October.
Please refer to www.singaporewritersfestival.com
for the latest updates.
SWF Stage
Marquee Events
SWF Class
Workshops &
Masterclasses
SWF3
(SWF For Families)
Children and
Young Adult
SWF Beyond
Transce nding
Language
and Genre
SWF Pop
Fun & Surprising
Pop-Ups
1
People’s choices
We speak to several people on what they will be
looking out for at this year’s festival.
Michelle Martin
Drive time news anchor and presenter of the
only radio talk show that celebrates reading,
Talking Books. Danny Yeo
Renowned television and radio personality
I’m a notorious bathroom singer, have a secret passion for
Japanese literature and am a keen observer of all things
to do with social justice; hence my three picks.
Vernetta Lopez Actress and radio DJ
Panel WHY MUSIC INVOKES SUCH RICH EMOTIONS Panel THE FUTURE OF WORK pg 22
pg 33
There is a musicality to every text and the panel, Why
Music Invokes Such Rich Emotions combines such
interesting perspectives on the power of music to move.
Panel UNRAVELING HARUKI MURAKAMI pg 35
So many of us would not be able to appreciate the genius
of Murakami without the artistry and genius of Motoyuki
Shibata, the renowned translator who is a literary builder
of bridges of great sensitivity.
Panel FEMALE POWER, DECONSTRUCTED pg 28
I am also so looking forward to hearing what Deborah
Levy and Eleanor Wong think feminism means here in
Singapore.
座谈会 在世界的另一端书写 pg 35
孝忠是周游列国的自由行者，也是艺高胆大的编写能者。
他是新加坡的异数，更是出版业的奇葩。从他身上能得
到的，何止旅游贴士，还有深度思考以及丰富阅历。若要
推荐开拍具个人特色的新型旅游节目，心目中的首选就是
他！节目还没拍成前，先来亲身聆听他的叙述吧。
These are the events I’m looking forward to.
With technology advancing the way it does, it would be
interesting to explore how work as we know it may change.
PHILIP BALL: THE DANGEROUS ALLURE OF
BEING INVISIBLE pg 36
文学先驱 南洋商报文艺副刊《文林》的编辑策略与现代
意识 pg 53
三位协助塑造本地报章内容、媒体生态、读者思想的前辈
能集聚一堂，多么难得可贵！这场分享应该要爆料、揭内
幕、引发讨论，怎能错过呢？
Who wouldn’t want to be invisible?
Panel SCRIPTING A NATION pg 31
A Samad Said is an icon. It would be privilege to hear from
him.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU IS YOUR ATTITUDE
PROBLEM pg 47
Sounds like a lot of fun, spending the night hanging
out with Huzir Sulaiman, Cyril Wong, Lim Yu-Beng,
Pooja Nansi and more!
Siti Marianah Production manager
Panel THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN MALAY LITERATURE pg 61
Characters like Radin Mas and Puteri Gunung Ledang have
fascinated me since my school days. They represented a time where
women played an important role in stories. Today, more female
Malay authors are getting well known as their novels are being
dramatised for TV and their stories appeal to many. I would love
to attend the panel discussion titled, Role of Women in Malay
Literature. I believe it will discuss the importance of women in
the writing scene – from an authorial perspective as well as from
the depiction of women. I also like to find out if there is indeed a
difference in the way women and men tell their stories.
Reneé Sequeira
Senior manager
Jean Bachelor Client relationship manager
SWF Lecture CAN WE HAVE IT ALL?
WITH MRS MONEYPENNY pg 55
I would recommend Can We Have It All? With Mrs
Moneypenny. Having been a working mother all through
the lives of my children, I think this session will be a good
opportunity to hear someone else’s views and for me to
take stock of my choices thus far.
2
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU IS YOUR ATTITUDE
PROBLEM pg 47
The event I’m looking forward to is What I Love
About You is Your Attitude Problem! Who can
resist the lure of partying the night away with big
names such as Huzir Sulaiman and Lim Yu-Beng.
I’m especially looking forward to seeing Becca
D’Bus. Throw in supper and a nasi lemak breakfast,
and there’s no better way to spend the weekend.
3
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Singapore Writers Festival 2015 Steering Committee
chairman: Philip Jeyaretnam
members: Barrie Sherwood, Chitra Sankaran, Clarissa Oon, Danny Yeo,
Fong Hoe Fang, Gene Tan, Kelley Cheng, Khor Kok Wah, Lee Chor Lin,
Phan Ming Yen, Sa’eda Buang, Tan Chee Lay, Troy Chin, Valerie Cheng,
Wai Yin Pryke, Woo Mun Ngan and Zhang Wenjie.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Programme Contributors:
ABA Productions, Association of Singapore Tamil Writers, Centre for Chinese
Language and Culture (CCLC), , Lianhe Zaobao, Malay Language Council of Singapore,
NTU Division of Chinese, NUS Department of Malay Studies, Peranakan Arts Festival,
The Select Centre, Singapore River Explorer, *SCAPE Co. Ltd., Singapore Book Publishers
Association with the Frankfurt Book Fair, Singapore Section, International Association
of Arts Critics (AICA), Esplanade Co Ltd, Timbre Music Academy, The Straits Times,
TrendLit, 無界限講堂 UnThinkTank, Word Forward Limited, Desmond Kon, Gwee Li Sui,
Goenawan Mohamad, Huzir Sulaiman & Checkpoint Theatre, Roger Jenkins, Verena Tay.
ORGANISED BY
SUPPORTED BY
IN CELEBRATION OF
SPONSORS
KEY PROGRAMME & VENUE PARTNER
U.S. Embassy Singapore
PROGRAMME & VENUE PARTNERS
FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL:
Goh Yew Lin, our awesome volunteers
VENUE PARTNERS
OFFICIAL AIRLINE
SUPPORTERS
4
FESTIVAL BOOKSTORE
OFFICIAL MEDIA
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
SWF3 BOOKSTORE
OFFICIAL PRIVILEGE CARD
SUPPORTING BOOKSTORE
5
FOREWORDS
I have attended numerous editions of the Singapore Writers Festival, as a writer and an
audience member, but this will be my first as Festival Director.
In our Golden Jubilee year, the Singapore Writers Festival offers the opportunity for both
celebration and reflection.
It has been a challenging year. My team and I have been wondering how to take the Festival
forward and chart new territories. This is especially so in a year with historical significance.
As the nation turns half a century old, the Festival welcomes you to ponder its theme: Island
of Dreams. Where have we been and where do we go from here?
This year’s theme is Island of Dreams, conjuring hope, fantasy and surrealism, with an
underside of fears, nightmares and neuroses. Some dreams inspire, others frighten, but
either way we are gripped and haunted by the subconscious - what lies beneath.
The theme fits this year of SG50. As the nation celebrates its Golden Jubilee, we should
reflect on the past, appraise our achievements and consider the dreams that have made us
who we are.
We will continue to probe the word and its myriad possibilities. After all, what is art, but a
medium to tell a story or to convey a message, and aren’t the literary arts often the root for
such ideas to germinate?
These hybrids can be seen in interdisciplinary programmes through our new SWF Beyond
track which break down silos and transcend language and genre. Our partner, The Select
Centre, has curated a series of intercultural programmes. There are also fresh, creative
mashups with new partners such as The Esplanade and National Gallery Singapore.
Look out for four other new festival tracks: SWF Stage for marquee events; SWF Class for
workshops and masterclasses; SWF3 (SWF For Families) which encompasses children’s
literature as well as young adult writing; and finally SWF POP with its menu of year-round,
surprising pop-up events. We hope these five new tracks will amplify the festival’s diverse
programming.
Beyond our shores, we acknowledge the Festival’s place within the international festival
circuit. With the country nestled in a region of richly varied cultures, the Festival occupies
an opportune position for the world to discover new Singaporean and South-east Asian
writing. Come join us!
Yeow Kai Chai
Festival Director
6
Let us think about the history we need built and continue building, with intellects Ho
Kwon Ping and Bertha Henson inviting us to dream up a future for the country in ‘Imagine
Singapore…’. There will be many panel discussions on the Singapore story, and stories
of Singapore, narratives that sometimes weave together, and sometimes pull apart. The
National Arts Council has also specially commissioned Singathology, an important, multilingual compilation of 50 new works from Singapore’s best writers which will be launched
at this year’s Festival.
This year, we welcome Yeow Kai Chai as the new Festival Director and I look forward to
seeing the Festival evolve as he injects his own special energy and effervescence. You may
have already noted several new elements to the Festival this year. With these changes
come a new identity and a new way forward for SWF.
I am confident that you will be inspired to dream bigger and better, and will come away from this year’s Festival enriched and fulfilled yet wishing that the days and nights of
reading, talking, arguing and laughing could go on forever.
Philip Jeyaretnam
Chairman, Steering Committee
7
Seek refuge at The Select Centre Bookroom amidst the
festival madness! Get your hands on books from
featured authors and more, including titles not available anywhere else in Singapore. Meet other book lovers
as you navigate 10 exciting days of festival activities!
8
9
SWF2015 Commission
10
11
SWF STAGE
Featuring Michael Sandel
Moderated by Kenneth Paul
Day 5 November
Time 7pm – 8pm
Venue UCC, Hall
$35
Tan
Come for this exclusive session with Michael Sandel – Harvard
political philosopher, “moral rock star” and author of the New York
Times bestseller, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? – for a lively
discussion of markets, democracy, and big ethical questions confronting
global society today.
Questions for Michael Sandel can be sent ahead ofthe lecture to
nac_swf@nac.gov.sg.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the U.S. Embassy Singapore.
主题演讲 另一个中国
嘉宾 陶杰、许知远
主持人 李冠芳
日期 31 October
时长 2pm – 5pm
地点 Victoria Theatre
Chip Tsao
$35
Featuring Chip Tsao, Xu Zhiyuan
Moderated by Lee Kuan Fung
Date 31 October
Time 2pm – 5pm
Venue Victoria Theatre
In 1971, John Lennon sang: “You may say I’m a dreamer/But I’m
not the only one/I hope some day you’ll join us/And the world will
be as one.” Imagine Singapore in 2050, 35 years later. What kind of
society would you want to live in? Are Singaporeans still pursuing
the 5Cs: Career, condominium, country clubs, cash and credit cards?
Or are they going for a whole new set of 5Cs? Three speakers delve
into their personal experiences which shape them today, and their
aspirations for tomorrow.
WHAT DREAMS REVEAL ABOUT OUR
SECRETS AND DESIRES
SWF Lecture
Ho Kwon Ping
Bertha Henson
Pooja Nansi
$20
WHEN MEANING IS MANAGED:
THE FATE OF LITERATURE
SWF Lecture
$15
An Indonesian man of letters, Goenawan Mohamad was a fierce critic
of the Suharto regime which ruled Indonesia for much of the late
20th century. He founded Tempo, a magazine which covers news and
politics within the country. His radical and outspoken political views
often occlude the quality of his poetic output. He will touch on the
polarised state of writing in Indonesia, and how writers navigate and
assert their voices in this sphere where messages are being managed.
China is no doubt a rich topic ripe for discussion, and who better than
Hong Kong’s Chip Tsao and Beijing’s Xu Zhiyuan, both revered in
their own right, to tackle the subject? Catch both columnists and literati
together in Singapore as they chew on the topic with their characteristic
wits, depth and engaging insights.
12
Featuring Ho Kwon Ping, Bertha Henson, Pooja Nansi
Moderated by Paul Tan
Date 7 November
Time 1pm – 2.30pm
Venue Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, Summit 2
Featuring Goenawan Mohamad
Moderated by Peter Schoppert
Date 31 October
Time 4pm – 5pm
Venue TAH, Chamber
This session is co-presented with 無界限講堂UnThinkTank.
$35
This event is made possible with the assistance of the British Council.
与無界限講堂UnThinkTank联合呈献。
This session is in Mandarin with simultaneous English interpretation.
IMAGINE SINGAPORE…
Dreams “tell us something we don’t want to know we know,” says Booker
Prize nominee, Deborah Levy. Walk the dark side as she delves into the
world of dreams, exploring twin desirous obsessions of need and want.
She will share compelling excerpts from her short story collection, Black
Vodka, and the Man Booker shortlisted novel, Swimming Home.
“许多有钱人为外游感到发愁，他们想去Chinese-free的地方（Free不是自由，
而是「见不到」的意思）。”——陶杰
“世界焦虑于如何理解中国，中国也在焦虑于如何理解自身。”—— 许知远
“中国”，究竟是什么概念？世界人看到的中国，是同一个中国吗？
SWF Lecture CHINA RE-VISIONED
Featuring Deborah Levy
Moderated by Carolyn Camoens
Date 1 November
Time 4pm – 5pm
Venue Victoria Theatre
$35
中国的话题太丰富，等待被讲述。陶杰（香港）、许知远（北京）两大文人将相聚
新加坡，讲解您所不知道的 “另一个中国”，展开一场兼具睿智、深度与趣味的才
子对谈。
SWF Lecture
S W F S TAG E
MICHAEL SANDEL ON THE MORAL
LIMITS OF MARKETS
SWF Lecture
Xu Zhiyuan
This event is curated by The Arts House as part of the SWF Country
Focus: Indonesia.
13
SWF STAGE
Featuring Heather McGregor
Moderated by Petrina Kow
Date 7 November
Time 5pm – 6pm
Venue Suntec Singapore Convention
Centre, Summit 2
S W F S TAG E
CAN WE HAVE IT ALL?
WITH MRS MONEYPENNY
SWF Lecture
$20
& Exhibition
Former Financial Times Weekend columnist Mrs Moneypenny
is of the opinion that women will only be average at everything if
they try to excel at everything. PepsiCo CEO Indra K Nooyi has
said that women can’t have it all. Are people starting to accept that
“Supermom” is a myth? Whether you are an ambitious careerist
looking to smash the glass ceiling, a stay-at-home mother or a
supportive husband, this session is for you.
In Each Hand a Cutlass
Music ISLAND OF DREAMS
Featuring In Each Hand A Cutlass,
Date 30 October
Time 8pm – 9.30pm
Venue Victoria Theatre
This event is made possible with the assistance of the British Council.
Music
DIMENSIONS & DEMONS
Featuring Daren Shiau, Riot !n Magenta,
Date 5 November
Time 8pm – 9.30pm
Venue Esplanade, Recital Studio
$25
I Am David Sparkle
This one-off double-bill gig features two of Singapore’s most adventurous rock bands: In Each Hand A Cutlass
and I Am David Sparkle. They will each perform specially curated 45-minute sets based on the festival theme.
Dave Chua, weish, Stephanie Ye, Ferry
Riot !n Magenta
$20
I am David Sparkle
Music
STORY SONGS BY TINY RUINS
$25
Featuring Hollie Fullbrook
Date 1 November
Time 8pm – 9pm
Venue TAH, Chamber
As frontwoman of her acclaimed band Tiny Ruins,
New Zealand’s Hollie Fullbrook has been winning
fans as illustrious as David Lynch and Kurt Wagner
(Lambchop). Her latest album, Brightly Painted One,
won Best Alternative Album at the New Zealand
Music Awards last year. She will perform songs from
her repertoire, which are exquisite narratives of the
highest order.
Stephanie Ye
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU IS
YOUR ATTITUDE PROBLEM
SWF Stage
$50
R18
Date 6 November – 7 November
Time 7pm – 7am the next day
Venue TAH, various
weish
Ferry
Daren Shiau
Dave Chua
This is a creative mashup of the most original kind: Singapore musicians and writers join hands to come up with
original compositions for a night you’ll never forget. What creative sparks will come out of this? The artists will
be present at the end of the performance for a Q&A session.
This event is co-presented with Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
14
Curated by Huzir Sulaiman, ‘What I Love about You is
Your Attitude Problem’ features new and specially
commissioned works of Singapore drama, poetry, songwriting
and prose, alongside musical performances and visual arts
exhibitions. It illuminates the journey of the self, and all its
challenges and pleasures. Happiness, desire, adventure, the
comforts of friendship and the complexity of family – this is
what long nights were made for.
Huzir Sulaiman
15
Literary Pioneers
Literary supplements and
modernist writers in Singapore
chinese literature
SWF TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
Pau) from the 1980s sought to breathe new life
into the literary scene. Join editor Toh Lam Huat
and writers, Ng Wai Choy and Tong Noong Chin,
as they share how they took the leap forward with
pioneering approaches to writing and editing.
From Fudiao and Wenlin in Nanyang Siang Pau,
to Wenyicheng in Lianhe Zaobao, literary supplements
of Chinese newspapers from the 1980s and 1990s were
a public platform for Singaporean Chinese modernist
writers to showcase their works and technique; as
well as a space, in print, for the editors to display their
styles and sensibilities. Engage with editors and writers
as they discuss their ideas & editorial strategies,
and recount their journey from emerging writers
to experienced editors, writers or academics. The
historical context sheds light on the trends brought
forth by these literary pioneers, the movements they
led, and their influence on the local Chinese literary
scene, as well as the outlook for the future. 南洋商报文艺副刊:《文林》的编辑策略与现代意识
These sessions are in Mandarin.
Featuring Chia Joo Ming, Low Pooi Fong, Quah Sy Ren, Chua Chim Kang
Moderated by Liw Pei Kien
Date 7 November
Time 5.30pm – 6.30pm
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
This event is curated by The Arts House and copresented with Lianhe Zaobao and Dr Liw Pei Kien.
文艺副刊与新华现代主义作家
回首新加坡从80到90年代期间华文报章的「文艺副刊」，
如《南洋商报》的《浮雕》、
《文林》与《联合早报》的
《文艺城》等，它们一方面是新华现代主义作家展现创作
意识与技巧的公共场域，一方面也是副刊编辑风格展演的
文本空间。座谈会“文艺副刊与新华现代主义作家”将邀请
当年的编者与作者一起讨论这些副刊的编辑理念与策略，
追溯他们从文艺青年到资深编辑、作家或学者的成长历
程，了解他们的探索精神、现代意识、审美倾向、创作技法
等。希望让后来者认识这些创作群体在那个特定时期所开
创的文学潮流、引领的文艺趋势、对新华文学场的影响及
未来的展望。
由艺术之家筹划、联合早报和刘碧娟博士联合呈献。
EDITORIAL STRATEGIES AND
MODERNISM IN WENLIN
Featuring Toh Lam Huat, Ng Wai Choy, Tong Noong Chin
嘉宾 杜南发、吴韦材、董农政
主持人 刘碧娟
地点 TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
80年代《文林》的编辑和作者们，对于「文艺副刊」有更
高的理想与追求，他们期待副刊给文坛带来新气象。这场
座谈会邀请《文林》主编杜南发与作家吴韦材、董农政对
谈，让观众了解「文艺副刊」在当年怎样开创新领域，实践
多元的编辑与写作手法。
EDITORIAL STRATEGIES IN WENYICHENG
AND ‘A GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE’
Spearheaded by editors Chia Joo Ming and
Low Pooi Fong, the series ‘A Group of Young
People’ featured young and emerging writers, as well
as provided a nurturing platform that inspired works
and explorations. Join the editors and writers, Quah
Sy Ren and Chua Chim Kang, as they share their
literary journey with ‘A Group of Young People’.
联合早报文艺副刊：
《文艺城》 的编辑策略与
“年轻族群”
嘉宾 谢裕民、刘培芳、柯思仁、蔡深江
主持人 刘碧娟
地点 TAH, Kumon Blue Room
这场座谈会邀请《文艺城》编辑谢裕民和刘培芳，与他们
策划的“年轻族群”系列作者中的柯思仁、蔡深江对谈，让
观众了解《文艺城》编辑当时如何为新生代写作者筹划创
作特辑，激发写作热情，促使文艺园圃上的新手向更宽广
的书写场域探索与发展。
SWF Class
SWF Beyond
• Songwriting with Hollie Fullbrook pg 21
• Picturing Stories with Chris Haughton pg 35
• Stay Offline and Read a Book (To Your Child)
• Panel | No One Is An Island pg 23
• Workshop | Makan Mischief pg 26
• Workshop | How Do You Translate a Poem
• Eye/Feel/Write: Experiments in
Workshops & Masterclasses
(Roger Jenkins) pg 36
•
(
) pg 22
• 从边缘视角写作 pg 33
• 旅游文学的写作玄机 (许知远) pg 49
• How To Write A Weekly Column by
Mrs Moneypenny pg 60
• World Building Basics (Justin Cronin) pg 63
• Masterclass Pop Lives (Dylan Jones) pg 49
• Masterclass Writing Beyond the Lyric
with Christian Bok pg 59
• Masterclass Susan Orlean’s Art in Fact:
Finding Narratives, Telling Stories pg 64
Transcending Language and Genre
pg 32
Ekphrasis I pg 32
• Panel | The Tricky Art Of Translation pg 35
• Panel | Vision for a National Canon pg 41
• Performance | A Quest For Dance pg 42
• A Clockwork Orange pg 41
• Music | Servants of the Word pg 46
• Eye/Feel/Write: Experiments in
Ekphrasis II pg 50
• Panel | Be Happy: The Big-O Years pg 56
• Panel | Songs of SG 51 – 100 pg 57
• Film | Adaptation pg 56
• Film | Snowpiercer pg 63
• Panel | Adapting a Singapore Literary Text
There are workshops under Singapore Writers
Festival For Families. Please refer to the SWF3
programme booklet or visit
www.singaporewritersfestival.com for details.
for Screen pg 67
• Performance | Singapore Crosstalk pg 44
SWF POP
SWF3
• Music | Lorong Boys Take On SWF pg 18
• Music | Take Two pg 24
• Music | Wobology Live! pg 34
• Destiny: Story Slam Singapore pg 39
• Music | JAWN pg 52
• 诗歌接龙 pg 58
• Music | Jaime Wong & Hubbabubbas pg 62
Refer to the SWF3 programme booklet for full
details.
Fun & Surprising Pop-Ups
S W F T R AC K H I G H L I G H T S
S W F L I T E R A RY P I O N E E R S
SWF LITERARY PIONEERS
(SWF for Families) Children and Young Adult
Moderated by Liw Pei Kien
Date 7 November
Time 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
With lofty ideals and pursuits, editors and writers
of Wenlin (literary supplement of Nanyang Siang
16
17
PROGRAMMES 30 OCTOBER | FRIDAY
7pm
Music
Performance
Lorong Boys take on SWF
FREE
Don Quixote
$28
Featuring Niniek
L Karim, Landung Simatupang,
Adra Karim and Sri Hanuraga
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
8 . 3 0 pm
Screening
READING Stories from Islands,
Songs from Islanders
FREE
UTTER 2015: HEAD TRIPS
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S.
FREE
Embassy Screening Room
Featuring Whiti
Hereaka, Zen Hae,
Madeleine Thien, Kelvin Tan
Moderated by Alison Jean Lester
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
Whiti Hereaka
Zen Hae
Madeleine Thien
Kelvin Tan
30 OCT | FR I
30 OCT | FR I
Featuring Lorong Boys
Duration 1 hour 15 minutes
Venue TAH, Lawn
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 30 OCTOBER | FRIDAY
These fun-loving, home-grown musical showstoppers
will rove around the Festival area and deliver unique
takes on both classic and contemporary pieces.
8 pm
Music Island of Dreams
$20
Featuring: In
Each Hand A Cutlass, I am David Sparkle
Duration: 2 hours
Venue: Victoria Theatre
The phrase ‘Island of Dreams’ conjures up an
image of a utopian destination, and the promise
of discovery, as well as the tears and fears in the
odyssey therein. This one-off double-bill gig
features two of Singapore’s most adventurous rock
bands: In Each Hand A Cutlass and I Am David
Sparkle. They will each perform specially curated
45-minute sets based on the festival theme.
Landung Simatupang
This multi-layered performance combines music,
visuals and theatre to bring to the stage leading
Indonesian thinker and letterman, Goenawan
Mohamad’s poetic homage to Cervantes’ story of
Don Quixote de la Mancha.
Don Quixote is a collection of poems published
by Goenawan, in which he rereads and recreates
Cervantes’s work, while adding to existing
interpretations of Don Quixote from around the world.
This event is performed in Bahasa Indonesia with
English surtitles.
This event is curated by The Arts House with the
programming support of Goenawan Mohamad as part of
the SWF Country Focus: Indonesia.
In Each Hand a Cutlass
18
Geographically and emotionally, islanders stand apart
from the mainland, forging their own points of view.
We bring together compelling stories, histories and
social commentaries from islands.
PANEL SG50 as a media
Phenomenon
Featuring Tan Tarn How, Sithuraj Ponraj,
Hairianto Diman, Riz Sunawan
Moderated by Koh Buck Song
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
The written word meets animation as Singapore
Writers Festival (SWF) and The Filmic Eye present
five animation short films adapted from original short
stories and poetry by Singapore writers Alfian Sa’at,
Amanda Lee Koe, Dave Chua, Chow Teck Seng
and Vanessa Ng. These texts are brought from page
to screen by established and emerging animation
directors Tan Wei Keong, Samantha Seah, Henry and
Harry Zhuang, Ang Qing Sheng and Darran Kuah.
Amidst all the ongoing excitement over SG50, this
panel takes a step back to critically examine the way
SG50 has been framed, particularly in the light of
former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s passing.
This panel, will facilitate a candid discussion of the
way the media has reflected and circulated sentiments
surrounding Singapore’s jubilee year.
19
Panel HUMOUR AS MIRROR
TO SOCIETY
Featuring James Suresh, Felix
Moderated by Adrian Tan
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
Cheong, Miel
Mengemukakan Suratman Markasan
Dipengerusikan oleh Mohd Raman Daud
Jangka masa 2 hours 30 minutes
Lokasi TAH, Kumon Blue Room
substantial part of his life to nurturing and promoting
Malay literature in Singapore and the region. He has
contributed much to the intellectual culture through
his writing.
This session is in Malay. This event is co-organised with the
Workshop
TOTE BAG TYPESETTING
Instructed by Typesettingsg
Duration 3 hours
Venue TAH, Living Room
$15
Malay Language Council of Singapore.
Panel RAISING THE PROFILE OF
ASIAN LITERATURE
PASS
Featuring Linh Dinh, Laksmi Pamuntjak, Koh Jee
Leong, Eun Heekyung
Moderated by Desmond Kon
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Humour is a powerful tool, especially for stressedout Singaporeans who are caught up in the rat
race. It can also shine a light on societal injustices,
sometimes at the risk of one’s life – see the fall-out of
the Charlie Hebdo incident. Humour writer James
Suresh, illustrator Miel and humourist Felix Cheong
will expound on why it’s important to laugh, even
at oneself.
座谈会 我的家庭、我的回忆录
PASS
嘉宾 孙宇立, 朱亮亮
主持人 杜南发
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
视觉艺术家孙宇立及前电视编导朱亮亮近年来相继出版
以家族故事为基础的自传。来上一堂速成课，学习掌握把
家族历史化为永恒文学的艺术。
Panel
MY FAMILY, MY MEMOIR
Featuring Sun Yu-li, Choo Lian Liang
Moderated by Toh Lam Huat
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play
This session is in Mandarin.
Untuk meraikan sasterawan unggul Singapura, Siri
Kuliah Tun Seri Lanang ini akan menampilkan
para sasterawan yang pernah menerima Anugerah
Tun Seri Lanang anjuran Majlis Bahasa Melayu
Singapura(MBMS). Sempena Pesta Penulis
Singapura tahun ini, Suratman Markasan akan
diketengahkan sebagai tokoh sasterawan bagi siri
ini. Suratman telah menggunakan sebahagian besar
usia beliau untuk menyubur dan menyemarakkan
sastera di Singapura dan juga rantau ini. Beliau
telah banyak menyumbang kepada budaya
intelektualisme melalui penulisan beliau. Kami
mengalu-alukan kehadiran para peminat sastera
untuk bersama-sama meneroka pemikiran
dan penulisan Suratman dalam sesi ini.
For ages 15 and above.
Please refer to the SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Eun Heekyung
Conference TUN SERI LANANG LECTURE
SERIES: SURATMAN MARKASAN
Den
PASS
Featuring Suratman Markasan
Moderated by Raman Daud
Duration 2 hours 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
The Tun Seri Lanang Lecture series celebrates
Malay laureates in Singapore. This year, Suratman
Markasan delivers a lecture on Malay literature as
part of the series. Suratman Markasan has devoted a
Workshop SONGWRITING WITH
HOLLIE FULLBROOK (TINY RUINS)
Featuring Hollie Fullbrook
Duration 3 hours
Venue TMA, Hall
$50
Winner of the Best Alternative Album at the
New Zealand Music Awards 2014, Tiny Ruins
frontwoman Hollie Fullbrook counts David Lynch
and Kurt Wagner (Lambchop) among her fans. In
this workshop, she will share her songwriting process.
Participants will get to attempt writing exercises
involving wordplay and rhyming strategies.
Sesi ini dianjurkan bersama Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura.
Both visual artist Sun Yu-li and former television
producer Choo Lian Liang have published epic
memoirs based on their families. Come for a crash
course on the art of transforming your family history
into stellar literature.
20
PASS
31 OCT | SAT
31 OCT | SAT
SIRI KULIAH TUN SERI LANANG:
SURATMAN MARKASAN
10am
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 31 OCTOBER | SATURDAY
Koh Jee Leong
US-based writer, Linh Dinh, South Korea’s Eun
Heekyung, Indonesia’s Laksmi Pamuntjak and
Singapore’s Koh Jee Leong join Desmond Kon
to discuss how much the literature from Asia has
progressed in international consciousness, and what
else can be done.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
U.S. Embassy Singapore.
Suitable for: Aspiring songwriters
Materials: Pen and paper
Storytelling
ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT
Presented by Shalni Doshi
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
FREE
For ages 4 and above.
Please refer to the SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
21
Workshop
ANIMATION ON A PHONE
$5
Instructed by Chris Haughton
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
famous Tamil novelist and scriptwriter Jeyamohan
will share his insights on the relationship between
the literary and performing arts. Learn how to write
stories, screenplays and dialogues for films using
literature.
For ages 7 to 9. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to the SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
FREE
10. 3 0am
Presented by Paro Anand
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
FREE
THE FUTURE OF WORK
12 pm
For ages 7 to 12. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Panel ST CONVERSATIONS: SHOULD
HAWKER FOOD BE MORE EXPENSIVE?
PASS
Ayesha Khanna
Known for his work in renowned Tamil films like
Papanasam, Kaaviya Thalaivan and Naan Kadavul,
conjunction with TranslateSingapore 2015.
RELIVING THE LITTLE INDIA RIOT
PASS
Featuring Prabhu Silvam, Zakaria Zainal
Moderated by Wong Kim Hoh
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Featuring Douglas Tay, Dennis
Moderated by Wong Ah Yoke
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber Twenty-five years ago, we did not have the Internet
and e-mail did not exist. Some jobs that existed then
no longer exist today. Two decades from now, work
as we know it will most likely not exist. The changing
nature of work is to be expected and the future
PASS
Wee
Wong Ah Yoke speaks with Douglas Tay and Dennis
Wee, and asks the question on the minds of all who
worry about the survival of authentic local dishes:
should hawker food be more expensive? Douglas Tay
is the owner of A Fishball Story at Golden Mile food
centre, a rare first-generation hawker in Singapore,
and Dennis Wee is the chairman of real estate agency
Dennis Wee Group and a judge for The Straits Times
and Lianhe Zaobao’s annual Hawker Masters award
programme.
Panel
Centre
This session is co-presented with The Select Centre in
Panel
Featuring Ayesha Khanna, Kuik Shiao Yin,
Devadas Krishnadas
Moderated by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Duration 1 hour
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
FREE
FREE
China on the world stage, established translators
from Australia and Singapore share their views
and experiences on bridging East and West. What
is the status and role of translation in the literary
world? Come hear them out as they demystify this
lesser-known but absolutely essential part of the
writing world.
A panel of children’s literature lovers share their top
10 must-read books, perfect for families. Hosted by
avid reader and owner of Closetful of Books, Denise
Tan, this event celebrates the love of stories. Attend
the session and stand to take away a complete set of
writers’ picks for your family to enjoy.
WRITING FOR PERFORMANCE
SHOUT WITH ME!
Storytelling
Panel
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Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Heritage Centre. Registration is required.
11 . 3 0am
Featuring Jeyamohan
Duration 4 hours
Venue Indian Heritage
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
This session is in Tamil and is co-organised with the Indian
Panel 10 BOOKS YOUR FAMILY
SHOULD READ
Featuring Adeline Foo, Emily Lim,
Kenneth Quek
Moderated by Denise Tan
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
Workshop
definitely requires a new generation of skills. But do we
even have the vocabulary to describe this new skills set?
NO ONE IS AN ISLAND
PASS
Featuring Jeremy Tiang, Ari Larissa Heinrich
Moderated by TBC
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Writer Prabhu Silvam and photographer Zakaria
Zainal put together Riot-Recollections, a portraiture
of individuals caught up in 2013’s Little India Riot,
Singapore’s first riot in over 40 years since the 1969
racial unrest. They will explain the process of getting
witnesses’ accounts and dissect the art-form of telling
a story through writing and photography.
Workshop WHERE THE WILD
THINGS AREN’T
Instructed by Carina Hales
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
31 OCT | SAT
31 OCT | SAT
10am
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 31 OCTOBER | SATURDAY
$5
For ages 7 to 9.
Please refer to the SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Workshop
THE ARRIVAL
$5
Featuring Serena Ho
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
For ages 10 to 12.
Please refer to the SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
With demand for translation between Chinese and
English expected to rise with the growing clout of
23
1pm
STORIES FROM ISLANDS,
SONGS FROM ISLANDERS II
Reading
1 . 3 0 pm
FREE
Music
TAKE TWO
FREE
Featuring Take Two
Duration 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Lawn
Deborah Levy, Mieko Kawakami,
Omar Pérez López, Daren Kamali,
Deborah Emmanuel
Hosted by Clara Chow
Translated by Motoyuki Shibata
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
Featuring
与無界限講堂UnThinkTank联合呈现。
SWF Lecture
31 OCT | SAT
What is unique about the literatures from islands:
a sense of isolation? A strong unique identity? A
special affinity to the rhythms of the seas? Writers
from islands come together for a bonfire of words
and music.
CHRIS HAUGHTON: SHH! HE HAS
A PLAN
Featuring Chris Haughton
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
FREE
The Japan Foundation and the British Council.
FREE
主题演讲 另一个中国
English interpretation. This session is co-presented
with 無界限講堂UnThinkTank.
Panel
THE ULTIMATE SINGAPORE DISH
PASS
Christopher Tan, Seth Lui, Adam Shah,
Devagi Sanmugam
Moderated by Celine Asril
Duration 1 hour
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
$35
“许多有钱人为外游感到发愁，他们想去Chinese-free的
地方（Free不是自由，而是「见不到」的意思）。”—陶杰
“世界焦虑于如何理解中国，中国也在焦虑于如何理解自
身。”— 许知远
“中国”，究竟是什么概念？世界人看到的中国，是同一个
Singapore food aficionados - Christopher Tan, Seth
Lui, Adam Shah and Devagi Sanmugam – nominate
their Singapore dish and explain what makes the dish
Singaporean. They will debate and pick a winner.
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Panel ASIAN SPECULATIVE FICTION:
HAS OUR TIME ARRIVED?
Play Den
From epic fantasy to science fiction, these modes
.
.
.
.
PASS
PASS
Featuring Na Muthukumar
Moderated by TBC
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
India’s celebrity poet and two-time National Award
winner, Na Muthukumar, has worked with almost
every contemporary Tamil film music composer.
Known for weaving poetry into many popular
award-winning theme songs, he is the go-to guy in
the movie industry. Join him as he brings to light the
birth of modern Tamil poems.
This session is in Tamil.
Panel
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
Featuring SP Somtow, Ken Liu
Moderated by Thiruselvi Gopal
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation
PASS
NA MUTHUKUMAR AND HIS POETRY
OF SONGS
This session is in Mandarin with simultaneous
Featuring
嘉宾 陶杰、许知远
主持人 李冠芳
时长 3 hours
地点 Victoria Theatre
中国吗？
What does “China” really mean? Is there more than
one “China”? And does the world see the same
“China” as we do? China is no doubt a rich topic ripe
for discussion, and who better than Hong Kong’s
Chip Tsao and Beijing’s Xu Zhiyuan, both revered
in their own right, to tackle the subject? Catch both
columnists and literati together in Singapore as they
chew on the topic with their characteristic wits, depth
and engaging insights.
:
.
1 hour
TAH, Kumon Blue Room
2 . 3 0 pm
For ages 4 to 6.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
This event is made possible with the assistance of
24
$35
31 OCT | SAT
2 pm
Mieko Kawakami
This session is in English and Mandarin.
For ages 4 to 6. Parent and child participation.
Please refer the SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
CHINA RE-VISIONED
of speculative fiction have emerged from both the
East and the West in uniquely inflected ways. SP
Somtow and Ken Liu discuss the emergence of Asian
speculative fiction and its place in contemporary
literature.
Featuring Chip Tsao, Xu Zhiyuan
Moderated by Lee Kuan Fung
Duration 3 hours
Venue Victoria Theatre
Take Two – part of the NOISE Singapore programme
– is influenced by Brit-rock, jazz and indie pop. They
offer their blend of guitar-driven musical incarnations
that are full of crafty chord work and foot-stomping
grooves. This is the band who had the honour to open
for Travis at their gig in Singapore, so be sure to move
and groove when Take Two takes the stage.
PICTURE BOOK PICNIC WITH AH GUO
Featuring Ah Guo
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
中国的话题太丰富，等待被讲述。陶杰（香港）、许知远
（北京）两大文人将相聚新加坡，讲解您所不知道的 “另一
个中国”，展开一场兼具睿智、深度与趣味的才子对谈。
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 31 OCTOBER | SATURDAY
GETTING PUBLISHED OVERSEAS
PASS
Featuring Alvin Pang, Koh Jee Leong, Toh Hsien Min
Moderated by Fong Hoe Fang
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Alvin Pang, Koh Jee Leong and Toh Hsien Min are
among a brigade of forward-looking Singaporeans
who are instrumental in promoting Singapore writing
overseas. In this panel, they share the lessons on how
to get your works published overseas, and what to do
after that.
25
2 . 3 0 pm
Workshop
DRUM CIRCLE
Instructed by Ivan Harris
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
For ages 8 to 12. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
This event is curated by The Arts House as part of the
3 pm
Panel
Storytelling
THE LOST TAIL
SWF Country Focus: Indonesia.
When she and her little brother, Kai, run into trouble,
the mynah comes to their rescue. Through this
workshop, children will learn to appreciate the diverse
language and cultural environment in Singapore, even
as they have fun picking up words in the common local
languages that they can use every day. This delicious
interactive adventure at the hawker centre is aimed at
children between five and 10.
This session is mostly in English. For ages 5 to 10.
This session is co-presented with The Select Centre in
FREE
Presented by Hope & Jade
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
THE JAPANESENESS OF THINGS
conjunction with TranslateSingapore 2015.
PASS
Panel STORIES FROM THE EDGE:
DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE STREETS OF SINGAPORE
Featuring Motoyuki Shibata, Roland Kelts,
Ted Goossen
Moderated by Phan Ming Yen
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Featuring Russ Soh, Prabhu Silvam
Moderated by Madeleine Thien
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening
This session is in Mandarin and English.
For ages 7 and above.
Please refer to the SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
PASS
Panel
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
Room
In many countries, the people sector is an important
means of achieving influence over community and
national issues. Will we see active citizenry rise
in Singapore? Can the people sector and social
enterprises have a larger impact in our communities?
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
What are the representations and misrepresentations
of Asia in graphic novels? Two acclaimed graphic
novelists, who have explored different forms and
genres based on Asian content, expose the stereotypes
and how they transcend them.
4 . 3 0 pm
Storytelling
TURNING WIND TO WATER
FREE
Presented by Roger Jenkins
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
Literary Tour WORDS OVER WATER:
A CELEBRATION OF THE SINGAPORE
RIVER AND MARINA BAY THROUGH SINGAPOREAN WRITING
Hosted by Verena Tay
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue River Explorer Stand, UOB Centre
Embarkation Point
Motoyuki Shibata
What makes something Japanese? Three editors
of Monkey Business – Motoyuki Shibata, Ted
Goossen and Roland Kelts – zero in on the qualities
of contemporary Japanese literature, even as it
appropriates Western values.
This event is made possible with the assistance of
$15
An Indonesian man of letters, Goenawan Mohamad
was a fierce critic of the Suharto regime which ruled
Indonesia for much of the late 20th century. He
26
Play Den
5pm
PASS
Durreen Shahnaz, Tan Lai Yong,
Kuik Shiao Yin
Moderated by Aun Koh
Duration 1 hour
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
WHEN MEANING IS
MANAGED: THE FATE OF LITERATURE
Featuring Goenawan Mohamad
Moderated by Peter Schoppert
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
For ages 10 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Featuring
SWF Lecture
Featuring Troy Chin, Lefty
Moderated by Lim Cheng Tju
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation
4 pm
Panel ASIA AND EXOTICA IN
GRAPHIC NOVELS
31 OCT | SAT
31 OCT | SAT
$5
founded Tempo, a magazine which covers news and
politics within the country. His radical and outspoken
political views often occlude the quality of his poetic
output. He will touch on the polarised state of
writing in Indonesia, and how writers navigate and
assert their voices in this sphere where messages are
being managed.
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 31 OCTOBER | SATURDAY
The Japan Foundation.
Workshop
Russ Soh
MAKAN MISCHIEF
Presented by Tan Joo Hymn,
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Living Room
$5
Evelyn Wong
A young girl, Jen, meets a clever but mischievous
mynah who can talk – and not just in one language!
You’ve heard this from detractors: Singapore is
a clean, green and sterile city. Not for these two
Singapore writers. Short-story writer Russ Soh zooms
in on the areas along the East Coast Parkway; and
writer-documentarian Prabhu Silvam waxes lyrical
about the architectural landscape around the Golden
Mile-Beach Road district.
$18
adult
$10
child
Singaporean writers have often drawn inspiration
from different parts of the country to create texts that
speak from the heart on what it means to live on this
island we call home. Verena Tay, editor of the Balik
Kampung series, has curated a selection of Singapore
poems and prose excerpts written in English,
Mandarin, Malay and Tamil that will be read out
to audiences as they take a bumboat ride along the
Singapore River and around Marina Bay.
Tickets available at the Singapore River Explorer ticketing
booth located at Raffles Place Jetty from 19 October.
This event is co-organised with Singapore River Explorer.
27
5. 3 0 pm
Panel
Panel
FEMALE POWER, DECONSTRUCTED
Featuring Deborah Levy, Eleanor Wong
Moderated by Michelle Martin Duration 1 hour
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
PASS
HOW DARK IS TOO DARK?
Featuring Paro Anand, Whiti
Moderated by Lo Hwei Shan
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
FREE
7pm
7. 3 0 pm
Panel DEATH AND GRIEVING:
WRITING AS RECOVERY
Hereaka
Multi-hyphenates, Deborah Levy and Eleanor Wong,
write complex, multi-faceted women characters.
They will read and have a conversation with 938LIVE
Talking Books host, Michelle Martin.
Readers relate to Young Adult literature as they
delve into issues such as social pressure, body image
and bullying. But can YA fiction be too dark, with a
negative influence on young minds? Paro Anand and
Whiti Hereaka explore YA as a safe space to explore
dangerous topics.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
For ages 13 and above.
Featuring Brooke Davis, PP Wong
Moderated by Zhang Ruihe
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation
PASS
Play Den
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
PASS
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Panel
POETRY AS REVOLUTION
Brooke Davis
Australian author Brooke Davis and British-born
Chinese writer PP Wong discuss their respective
debut novels, Lost and Found and The Life of a Banana,
which grapple with the difficult issues of death, grief
and displacement through the eyes of young female
protagonists.
PASS
Omar Pérez López, Ravi Shankar,
Daren Kamali, Michael Farrell
Moderated by Marc Nair
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Featuring
XINRAN ON THE FIRST GENERATION OF
ADULTS OF CHINA’S ONE-CHILD POLICY
Panel IS THE TAMIL LITERARY SCENE
OUTWARD-LOOKING OR INSULAR?
Featuring Na Muthukumar, Jeyamohan, KTM
Moderated by Sithuraj Ponraj
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Omar Pérez López
Shelley said in his Defence of Poetry that “poets
are the unacknowledged legislators of the world”
and many poets have taken up the challenge since
then. They have been rabble-rousers, protesters,
even revolutionaries. But when does such poetry
become sloganeering, and is it still capable of real
social change today? Poets Omar Pérez López, Ravi
Shankar, Daren Kamali and Michael Farrell discuss.
28
PASS
PASS
$18
adult
$10
child
Singaporean writers have often drawn inspiration
from different parts of the country to create texts that
speak from the heart on what it means to live on this
island we call home. Verena Tay, editor of the Balik
Kampung series, has curated a selection of Singapore
poems and prose excerpts written in English,
Mandarin, Malay and Tamil that will be read out
to audiences as they take a bumboat ride along the
Singapore River and around Marina Bay.
Tickets available at the Singapore River Explorer ticketing
booth located at Raffles Place Jetty from 19 October.
This event is co-organised with Singapore River Explorer.
8 pm
KE MANA TUMPAH KUAH, KALAU
TIDAK KE NASI: MUZIK PUISI
Mengemukakan A Samad
Jangka Masa 1 hour
Lokasi TAH, Chamber
PASS
Said, Az Samad
Iqbal
In an increasingly inter-connected world, how has
Tamil literature evolved? Has it responded to the
world’s social trends or remained tethered to communal
issues? Three literary giants from India and Singapore,
Na Muthukumar, Jeyamohan and KTM Iqbal, will
contextualise the Tamil scene on the global stage.
This session is in Tamil.
Featuring Xinran
Moderated by Alison Jean Lester
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
A CELEBRATION OF THE SINGAPORE RIVER AND MARINA BAY THROUGH SINGAPOREAN WRITING
Hosted by Verena Tay
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue River Explorer Stand, UOB Centre
Embarkation Point
31 OCT | SAT
31 OCT | SAT
British Council.
Literary Tour WORDS OVER WATER:
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 31 OCTOBER | SATURDAY
A Samad Said
The first generation raised under China’s one-child
policy have reached adulthood, but find themselves
drifting between clashing cultures. Xinran, Britainbased author and a child of the Cultural Revolution,
traces their journeys in her new book, Buy Me the Sky.
This session is in English.
Ke mana tumpah kuah kalau tidak ke nasi.
Penggubah dan pemain gitar Az Samad, anak
sasterawan negara Malaysia, A Samad Said,
mendapatkan inspirasi dari Barat serta Timur untuk
muziknya. Sesi khas ini memaparkan pasangan
anak dan ayah yang akan menyampaikan sebuah
persembahan muzik dan sastera sambil menerangkan
bagaimana mereka mendapat ilham seni mereka.
29
31 OCT | SAT
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: THE MUSIC
OF VERSE
Featuring A Samad Said,
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PROGRAMMES 1 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
PASS
Az Samad
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Writer
A Samad Said won accolades from the Malay
literary community for his contributions to the scene
winning him, among other awards, the Pejuang
Sastera (Literary Expert) in 1976. His son, composerguitarist Az Samad, draws inspiration from the West
and the East in his music. This special session features
the duo who will present a musical/literary item and
explain their creative impulses.
This session is in Malay.
8 . 3 0 pm
EPIC INTERNATIONAL
POETRY NIGHT
Reading
FREE
It’s a global feast of words! Come join us for a
unique, thought-provoking evening as seven
acclaimed poets from around the world gather for an
evening of poetry reading.
This event is made possible with the assistance of
The Japan Foundation and the U.S. Embassy Singapore.
Panel
GREY ANATOMY
Featuring Danielle Lim, Justin Ker,
Moderated by Bridgette See
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
Chan Li Shan
Listen to three Singapore writers who share personal
insights on lives beleaguered by illness and mental
problems. Danielle Lim wrote The Sound of SCH, a
moving account of her uncle’s untold struggle with a
crippling mental and social disease, and her mother’s
difficult role as caregiver. 2014’s Singapore Advocacy
Awards “Most promising advocate” and a recovered
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Panel
THE AGE OF POST LABELLING
10am
Panel
THINGS NOT TO ASK A WRITER
Featuring Adeline Foo, Joshua
Moderated by Ian Chung
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Chamber
PASS
Ip, Shamini Flint
Featuring Ari Larissa Heinrich,Tania De Rozario,
Hirzi Zulkiflie
Moderated by Balli Kaur Jaswal
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Mengemukakan A Samad Said
Dipengerusikan oleh Hairianto Diman
Jangka masa 1 hour
Lokasi TAH, The Japan Foundation Play
Joshua Ip
“How do you write a bestseller?” is the No. 1 question
writers hate to hear. Want to know what else writers
don’t want to be asked, and the questions to avoid
asking at a literary festival such as this one? Wise up
by attending this panel.
Panel
SWF POP SHOP
Saturday, 31 Oct & 7 Nov
12 – 7 pm
TAH, Entrance
This session is in English.
PENGISAHAN NEGARA BERSAMA
A SAMAD SAID
PASS
What are the subtle differences in changing
representations of gender and sexuality in texts and
translations across the world? Are labels still useful
in a global scene where identity is becoming more
pliable? Translator-author Ari Larissa Heinrich,
writer Tania De Rozario and popular YouTube
personality, Hirzi Zulkiflie, will join moderator Balli
Kaur Jaswal to cast light on this significant trend.
The trio discuss the influence of their homeland on
their works, and how being abroad has filtered their
perspective on modern China and shaped their own
identity through time.
CHINESE REDEFINED
Featuring Xinran, Ma Daishu, Hong
Moderated by Toby Eady
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
Ying
PASS
Den
Tidak ramai penulis yang berpeluang merasai
perkembangan sesebuah negara - dari masa
kedamaian hinggalah waktu pergolakan dan
perubahan kuasa. Namun begitu, penulis serta
pemenang anugerah A. Samad Said telah
menyaksikan banyak perubahan yang berlaku sejak
zaman berzaman di tanah airnya, bahkan barubaru ini beliau telahpun menganggotai sebuah parti
politik untuk menyuarakan pendapatnya. Melalui
sesi ini beliau akan meninjau peranan penulis dalam
meriwayatkan dan mengisahkan sesebuah negara, dan
juga meneliti strategi-strategi yang digunakan.
Sesi ini akan diadakan dalam bahasa Melayu.
A SAMAD SAID: SCRIPTING A NATION
Featuring A Samad Said
Moderated by Hairianto Diman
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
1 NOV | SUN
Featuring Mina Ishikawa, Michael Farrell,
Myay Hmone Lwin, Ravi Shankar, Tang Jui Piow,
Heng Siok Tian, Linh Dinh
Hosted by Aaron Lee
Translated by Motoyuki Shibata
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
patient, Chan Li Shan was the youngest Singaporean
to publish a first-person narrative of mental illness, A Philosopher’s Madness. Justin Ker, a medical doctor
at the National Neuroscience Institute, was inspired
by his patients and his experience in hospitals to write
his debut collection of short stories, The Space Between
the Raindrops. PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 31 OCTOBER | SATURDAY
PASS
From peaceful times to days of turmoil and changes
in a country’s leadership, not many writers can boast
they have seen it all. Award-winning writer A Samad
Said, however, has witnessed decades of changes in
his homeland and recently joined a political party to
air his views. In this session, he will probe the role of
writers in chronicling and scripting the nation, and
the strategies used.
Come join us at our first ever SWF POP
Shop. Get cool SWF souvenirs including
terrariums and cupcakes!
Look out for the following stores at
SWF POP Shop.
Ma Daishu
This session is in Malay.
Born in China, they have all spent substantial time
overseas. Ma Daishu, an illustrator and graphic
novelist from Chengdu, is based in Barcelona; Xinran,
a journalist, author and speaker for women’s issues
from Beijing, is based in London; and Hong Ying
spent years in London before moving back to Beijing.
31
Panel
WHAT LIES BENEATH
The Eye/Feel/Write texts from 2014 and 2015 have
been compiled in the anthology Experiments in
Ekphrasis, which is available for sale at the Festival
Bookstore.
工作坊 诗歌翻译入门
10am
PASS
Brooke Davis, Eun Heekyung,
Leonora Liow, Whiti Hereaka
Moderated by Heng Siok Tian
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Featuring
导师 邓倩兮
时长 2 hours
地点 TMA, Hall
Please register at www.singaporewritersfestival.com by
将一首新加坡现代中文诗译成英文，需要掌握哪些基本的
翻译与文学理论和技巧？这一堂入门课，让参加者初涉诗
歌翻译的世界。工作坊将引领参加者一起认识诗人、了解
诗作的创作时代背景和灵感来源，发掘新加坡长久以来留
下的极其丰富的多元语言多元文化遗产。参加者会分成小
组尝试集体翻译选定诗歌，各组再相互就完成的译作进行
交流。参加者只须略懂中文即可，堂上会提供辅助材料协
助参加者理解中文原诗。
活动以中英文进行，适合12岁–18岁的青少年。
联合呈现。
1 NOV | SUN
PASS
11 am
Workshop HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE
A POEM?
Instructed by Teng Qian Xi
Duration 2 hours
Venue TMA, Hall
$10
In this introductory-level workshop, participants
learn about basic translation and literary concepts
by translating a contemporary Singapore poem from
Chinese into English. The background of the poet,
historical context and/or inspiration for the poem will
be covered, allowing insights into Singapore’s rich
multilingual and multicultural legacy. Participants
will be split into small groups to carry out “consensus
translation” before the translated works of the
different groups are compared. Participants only need
to have rudimentary knowledge of Chinese as notes
will be provided.
This session is in English and Mandarin.
For ages 12 to 18.
This session is co-presented with The Select Centre in
conjunction with TranslateSingapore 2015.
32
Desmond Kon
After writers were inspired by artworks at Singapore
Art Museum to produce last year’s texts, editor
Desmond Kon has invited another 10 distinguished
authors this year: Alfian Sa’at, Chow Teck Seng,
Divya Victor, Eric Tinsay Valles, Gwee Li Sui, Jerrold
Yam, Latha, Lee Tzu Pheng, Leong Liew Geok
and Yong Shu Hoong. They will respond to heritage
artworks at the new National Gallery Singapore.
Hear them read their pieces, which would be
compiled in an anthology to be launched at the SWF.
This session, hear Alfian Sa’at, Eric Tinsay Valles,
Divya Victor, Gwee Li Sui and Jerrold Yam read their
pieces. National Gallery curator, Shabbir Hussain
Mustafa, will also provide insight into each artwork
on this walking tour.
PASS
Featuring Philip Ball, Hollie Fullbrook,
SP Somtow, Peter Kellock
Moderated by Joyce Koh
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Workshop
A LITTLE BIT LOST
$5
Instructed by Chris Haughton
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
For ages 4 to 6. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
SP Somtow
11 . 3 0am
THE BURDENS OF A BASTION
Featuring Zen Hae
Moderated by Farish Noor
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
Zen Hae is considered by his peers to be a bastion of
Betawi literature, a “native” sub-cultural community
of Jakarta, it now finds itself being pushed out by
the cosmopolitan thrust of the city. He discusses the
problems of writing from marginalized tradition and
its future.
This session is curated by The Arts House as part of the
SWF Country Focus: Indonesia.
Panel
SHORT DOES NOT MEAN EASY
PASS
Featuring Ken Liu, Stephanie Ye, Daren Shiau
Moderated by Philip Holden
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
“A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick – a
couple of thousand words to take you around the
universe or break your heart,” opines Neil Gaiman.
Some of today’s best proponents of the art form –
American Ken Liu and Singaporeans, Stephanie Ye
and Daren Shiau – will analyse the craft.
From Bach fugues to nursery rhymes to tribal beats,
music lies at the origins of human culture – or
at the heart of our attempt at self-definition. We
are thrilled, moved and driven by melodies in our
everyday lives. Science writer Philip Ball, musician
Hollie Fullbrook, and composers, SP Somtow and
Peter Kellock, try to unravel music’s mysterious ways.
工作坊 从边缘视角写作
1 NOV | SUN
Human relationships and family ties provide the
bedrock for the biting, bittersweet fictions of Brooke
Davis, Eun Heekyung, Whiti Hereaka and Leonora
Liow. Their stories scratch the surface of normalcy
to expose tenuous connections. The authors will read
.
excerpts of their stories.
EYE/FEEL/WRITE: EXPERIMENTS
IN EKPHRASIS I
Featuring Desmond Kon, Alfian Sa’at,
Eric Tinsay Valles, Divya Victor, Gwee Li Sui,
Jerrold Yam
Duration 2 hours
Venue National Gallery, Singapore Courtyard
on a first-come-first-served basis.
活动配合新加坡翻译节2015与精选中心(The Select Centre)
Leonora Liow
6pm on 31 October. The tour is limited to 30 participants,
Panel WHY MUSIC INVOKES SUCH
RICH EMOTIONS
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 1 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
$20
导师 许知远
时长 1 hour 30 minutes
地点 TAH, Living Room
站在边缘写作，需要敏锐视角，捕捉主流之外容易让人漠
视的课题。本届作家节难得请来知名文人许知远，听他分
享如何深入了解社会鸿沟、解构各种沉默的力量，化为文
学创作的灵感与使命。
Workshop
WRITING FROM THE FRINGE
Featuring Xu Zhiyuan
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Living Room
Writing on the fringe requires a keen eye for topics
off the beaten track. Here’s a rare opportunity to learn
from incisive Chinese columnist Xu Zhiyuan the tips
and tricks to crafting an essay based on understanding
the gaps and deciphering the silences in society.
This session is in Mandarin.
33
12 pm
1 .15pm
Panel ST CONVERSATIONS:
MADNESS N MAYHEM
PASS
Featuring Chan Li Shan, Yohanna Abdullah
and Leela Jesudason
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Music WOBOLOGY LIVE!
Featuring Wobology
Duration 45 minutes
Venue TAH, Lawn
FREE
WHEN DREAMS COME TRUE
FREE
Presented by Karen Lee
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
For ages 4 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
FREE
Guitarist Rupak George, producer Richard Meade
and poetic soul sister Deborah Emmanuel are
Wobology, a trio who trade spacey and reggae vibes.
They will bring you to infinity and beyond with their
out-of-this-world musical style.
TALES OF SEA AND FOREST
Instructed by Elieth Sardiñas, Kiran
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
Shah
For ages 7 to 9. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
DREAMCATCHER ART
Instructed by Katherine
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, Foyer
FREE
Mah
Please refer to SWF 3 pull out for full details.
Storytelling
For ages 4 to 6.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Workshop
Materials needed: Coloured pencils and pens,
A4 white and coloured paper, scissors, glue
Craft
LITTLE KIDS, BIG IDEAS: HANG NADIM
AND THE GARFISH Featuring Hidayah Amin, Tan Ai Khim,
Lee Seow Ser
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
Suitable for: Art/literature students and picture
book enthusiasts.
2 pm
1pm
$5
$50
THRESHOLD STORIES
Presented by Chuah Ai Lin
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
For ages 10 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Panel OUTSIDE LOOKING IN:
OVERCOMING THE RISK OF
EXOTICISING
PASS
嘉宾 陶杰、欣然、叶孝忠
主持人 胡文雁
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
站在地球的另一端，天地是不是就更广阔？在遥远的异
乡回望，开拓了哪些新视角新启发？作家节请来三位走出
故乡到世界写作的环球公民，听听他们有些什么心得与
体会。
Panel
FROM WORLDS AWAY
PASS
Featuring Chip Tsao, Xinran, Yap Seow Choong
Moderated by Woo Mun Ngan
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Is the grass greener on the other side? What new
perspectives does one gain beyond one’s homeland?
Hear from three global citizens who have established
their writing careers navigating beyond their home
grounds.
This session is in Mandarin.
Featuring Madeleine Thien, Adam Lewis Schroeder
Moderated by Phan Ming Yen
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
How should one position oneself when writing about
South-east Asia from a foreigner’s perspective? How
does one avoid the pitfalls of Orientalism? Canadian
writers, Madeleine Thien and Adam Lewis Schroeder,
discuss their experiences travelling to and writing
about Asia.
Panel
FREE
PASS
1 NOV | SUN
1 NOV | SUN
Workshop PICTURING STORIES WITH
CHRIS HAUGHTON
Instructed by Chris Haughton
Duration 3 hours
Venue TAH, Living Room
A character may be a simple square and nothing more
but if used well it can tell a story more engagingly and
entertainingly than if it were a complex drawing. In
this workshop, we will choose a story and try to re-tell
it with a new visual language, one that can bring the
story across in an inventive new way.
Wong Kim Hoh speaks with Chan Li Shan, Yohanna
Abdullah and Leela Jesudason about their encounters
with mental illness and the process of overcoming
their struggles. Chan Lishan grappled with
schizophrenia for several years and has written a book
called A Philosopher’s Madness, Yohanna Abdullah
grappled with bipolar disorder for 15 years and also
has a book chronicling her struggles. Leela Jesudason
has set up a support group for people grappling with
mental illness.
Storytelling
座谈会 在世界的另一端书写
2 . 3 0 pm
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 1 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
Panel
UNRAVELLING HARUKI MURAKAMI
Featuring Motoyuki Shibata, Roland Kelts,
Ted Goossen
Moderated by Lian Pek
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
THE TRICKY ART OF TRANSLATION
Featuring Yeo Wei Wei, Alfian Sa’at
Moderated by Jeremy Tiang
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
The role of a translator is not only to translate but also
to mediate or, as Umberto Eco has said, to negotiate.
Translators Yeo Wei Wei and Alfian Sa’at cite their
own case studies and point out the do’s and don’ts.
Roland Kelts
Haruki Murakami is mainstream to international
audiences but an outsider to Japan. Translator
Motoyuki Shibata and critic Roland Kelts join Ted
Goossen, the translator of Murakami’s latest English
release, Wind/Pinball, for a discussion on their elusive
jazz-loving friend Murakami, his writing, and his
influence.
This event is made possible with the assistance of
The Japan Foundation.
34
35
2 . 3 0 pm
PIRATE PARTY!
Featuring Abby L Kahei, Lyon Sim
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
FREE
This session is co-organised with the Association
For ages 7 to 9.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
of Singapore Tamil Writers.
3. 3 0 pm
3 pm
STAY OFFLINE AND READ
A BOOK (TO YOUR CHILD)
Featuring Roger Jenkins
Duration 2 hours
Venue TMA, Hall
Storytelling STORIES ABOUT US
$30
“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick
up a book and read to a child.” Afraid to sound silly
reading aloud to your son? Want to tell your daughter
a story but don’t know how to make the words come
to life? Roger Jenkins will give you plenty of ideas and
opportunities to practise some read-aloud techniques
in this workshop for parents who want to read to their
young ones.
Workshop THROUGH MY EYES –
MY WORLD, MY HOME
Instructed by Oniatta Effendi
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
$5
PASS
Eric Tinsay Valles, Azhar Ibrahim,
Tan Chee Lay, SP Thinnappan
Moderated by Chitra Sankaran
Duration 4 hours
Venue NLB, Imagination & Possibility Rooms
Featuring
For the first time ever, SWF presents a seminar that
takes stock of Singapore literature across the four
languages. Initiated and organised by the Association
36
Presented by Adib Kosnan
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
This session is in Malay and English.
For ages 7 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
BLENDING FACT WITH TRADITION
Featuring Laksmi Pamuntjak
Moderated by Andrew Conroe
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
Laksmi Pamuntjak’s bestselling debut novel AMBA
Sebuah Novel (The Question of Red) is about the
historical violence in 1965, in which up to one million
accused Communists in Indonesia were massacred.
It is set against a modern take on the story of Amba
and Bhisma from the Indian national epic poem The
Mahabharata. Pamuntjak will discuss how this terrible
chapter of Indonesian history has long been silenced
and why the juxtaposing and referencing of ancient
texts is so prevalent in Indonesian literature today.
This session is curated by The Art House as part of the
WHAT DREAMS REVEAL
ABOUT OUR SECRETS AND DESIRES
Featuring Deborah Levy
Moderated by Carolyn Camoens
Duration 1 hour
Venue Victoria Theatre
SWF Lecture
$20
Each morning in every family, men, women and
children, if they have nothing better to do, tell each
other their dreams. We are all at the mercy of the
dream and we owe it to ourselves to submit its power
to the waking state. – Andre Breton, 1924.
Dreams “tell us something we don’t want to know we
know,” says Booker Prize nominee, Deborah Levy.
Walk the dark side as she delves into the world of
dreams, exploring twin desirous obsessions of need
and want. She will share compelling excerpts from
her short story collection, Black Vodka, and the Man
Booker shortlisted novel, Swimming Home.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
British Council.
SWF Country Focus: Indonesia.
4 pm
PHILIP BALL AND THE DANGEROUS
ALLURE OF BEING INVISIBLE PASS
Panel
HELP, MY SON DOESN’T READ
Featuring AJ Low, Paro Anand,
Moderated by Adeline Foo
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
Featuring Philip Ball
Moderated by James Penner
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
5pm
FREE
Monica Lim
Panel
MYANMAR: WHAT’S NEXT?
Featuring Nilanjana Sengupta, Myay Hmone
Moderated by Yan Naung Oak
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
BALLADS OLD AND NEW
Featuring Dawn Wong, Kailin
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
FREE
Yong
5. 3 0 pm
Panel SG50 ANTHOLOGIES: WHAT
MAKES SINGAPORE SINGAPORE
PASS
Featuring Angelina Choy, Cheong Suk-Wai,
Gwee Li Sui, Susan Long, Arun Mahizhnan
Moderated by Richard Angus Whitehead
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
PASS
Lwin
All eyes are on Myanmar, which is opening up to
the rest of the world. Join Indian author Nilanjana
Sengupta, who released her latest book The Female
Voice of Myanmar: Khin Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi,
and Myanmar publisher-author Myay Hmone Lwin,
Sing-Along
For ages 7 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Why are we so seduced by the idea of invisibility?
If you could be invisible, what would you do? These
are intriguing questions raised by the latest book by
esteemed science writer Philip Ball. As he sees it, the
story of invisibility has less to do with how it could
be achieved but more to do with why we want it and
what we would do with it. He will give a half-hour
talk and engage in a Q&A.
For ages 10 to 12.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Conference SINGAPORE LITERATURE
DIGEST – WEAVING TOGETHER
A NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON
SINGAPORE LITERATURE
FREE
to discuss the wave of changes in the country, and
what it means for the rest of South-east Asia.
1 NOV | SUN
1 NOV | SUN
Workshop
of Singapore Tamil Writers (ASTW), it brings
together writers and academics, Eric Tinsay Valles,
Azhar Ibrahim, Tan Chee Lay and SP Thinnappan.
A total of four papers will be presented on the current
state of the English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil
literature in Singapore.
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 1 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
AJ Low
Is it true that it’s harder to get boys to read? How
should parents encourage their sons to put down that
nerf gun and pick up a book? Singapore authors – with
children and without – share their tips and thoughts.
Several anthologies have been published to
commemorate Singapore’s 50th birthday. These
include the Institute of Policy Studies’ Singapore
Chronicles; The Straits Times Press and the National
Library Board’s Living the Singapore Story: Celebrating
our 50 years 1965–2015; The ST Press’ 50+ Things
To Love About Singapore; and Marshall Cavendish’s
Singathology, featuring 50 new works of Cultural
37
Panel NEW JAPAN RISING: VOICES
FROM THE EDGE
Medallion and Young Artist Award recipients. This
panel, comprising the anthologies’ editors and writers,
will examine the narratives of the nation.
PASS
Check out two exciting voices from the Land of
the Rising Sun. Poet and singer-songwriter Mieko
Kawakami teases out language’s possibilities, while
tanka poet Mina Ishikawa revitalises the traditional
poetic form. They are joined by critic Roland Kelts,
Ted Goossen and Motoyuki Shibata, co-editors of
Monkey Business International, a magazine that casts
light on contemporary Japanese literature.
嘉宾 虹影、韩丽珠
主持人 张曦娜
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, Kumon Blue Room
世界著名的华人女作家虹影代表作《饥饿的女儿》是一部
自传式长篇小说，赤裸裸地为文化大革命的牺牲者发声。
享誉为“香港最优秀年轻作家”的韩丽珠，写作风格独树一
帜，擅于在作品中展现无助的深层挣扎与不懈的探索，获
评论家以卡夫卡相较。听两位当代杰出女作家畅谈各自的
最新作品如何透过文字的力量突显被疏离的一群。
PP Wong
This event is made possible with the assistance of
The Japan Foundation.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore.
Panel
ALIENATED IN FICTION
PASS
Featuring Hong Ying, Hon Lai-Chu
Moderated by Teoh Hee La
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
座谈会不光是童书：绘本的意义
Panel
Hong Ying’s Daughter of the River is an unapologetic
memoir which speaks for those sacrificed by the
China Cultural Revolution. Hon Lai-chu, whose
absurd style of writing has been compared to Franz
Kafka, often expresses futility, inner struggles and a
search for meaning in her writing. Hear them discuss
their newest works that shed light on the alienated
through the power of words.
THE APPEAL OF THE UNDEAD
PASS
Featuring Adam Lewis Schroeder, Lefty,
Nicholas Yong
Moderated by Simon Reynolds
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Panel
Featuring PP Wong, Monica Cantieni
Moderated by Clara Chow
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
PASS
With a light and quirky touch, the immigrant
experience is seen through the eyes of two young girls.
The five-year-old narrator in Monica Cantieni’s The
Encyclopedia of Good Reasons collects German words
and phrases in a matchbox while her adoption is being
finalised. Over in London, 12-year-old Xing copes
with Cockney-Chinese accents in PP Wong’s The Life
of a Banana.
38
Lefty
They never die… Zombies have had a stranglehold on
the popular consciousness for the last few years and
show no sign of slowing down. Comic artist Lefty
and novelists Adam Lewis Shroeder and Nicholas
Yong are diehard zombie fans. They explain the
appeal of the undead and how they feature in their
own works.
STORY SONGS BY TINY RUINS
$25
Featuring Hollie Fullbrook
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
绘本只是视觉描述吗？好的绘本如何激发读者的想象？知
名绘本作家与插画家齐集作家节，讨论各自的创作，以及
绘本在多媒体时代存在的价值与意义。
Featuring Ma Daishu, Ah Guo, Ye Zi
Moderated by Niu You Xiao Sheng
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening
I DO NOT SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE
Music
嘉宾 马岱姝、阿果、椰子
主持人 牛油小生
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Panel NOT JUST CHILD’S PLAY:
WHY PICTURE BOOKS MATTER
This session is in Mandarin.
One of life’s greatest mysteries is the question of
destiny. It’s the perennial search for the answer to
“What am I meant to do?” Join Story Slam Singapore
storytellers as well as audience members who will
share their real-life stories and their search for
meaning in the world.
PASS
7pm
FREE
1 NOV | SUN
1 NOV | SUN
8 pm
DESTINY: STORY SLAM SINGAPORE
Featuring Story Slam Singapore
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Living Room
Mieko Kawakami, Mina Ishakawa,
Ted Goossen, Motoyuki Shibata, Roland Kelts
Moderated by Yeo Wei Wei
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Featuring
5. 3 0 pm
座谈会小说中的疏离世界
PASS
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 1 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
PASS
Room
Are picture books more than just visual narratives?
How do the best picture books excite our
imagination? Acclaimed writers and illustrators
in this genre gather to discuss their craft and the
importance of picture books in the age of multimedia
overload.
As frontwoman of her acclaimed band Tiny Ruins,
New Zealand’s Hollie Fullbrook has been winning
fans as illustrious as David Lynch and Kurt Wagner
(Lambchop). Her latest album, Brightly Painted One,
won Best Alternative Album at the New Zealand
Music Awards last year. She will perform songs from
her repertoire, which are exquisite narratives of the
highest order.
This session is in Mandarin.
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9am
PROGRAMMES 2 NOVEMBER | MONDAY
2 pm
SINGAPORE PUBLISHING SYMPOSIUM $160
/day
Time 9am – 6pm
Venue The Arts House
7pm
FREE
Other topics covered include: in depth looks at the
fastest-growing Southeast Asian markets (Indonesia,
Vietnam, Philippines & Myanmar); innovations
in crowd-funding between readers, authors and
publishers; the latest ideas in self-publishing; and the
roles of agents in the region. There will be opportunities for writers to pitch
projects to agents and publishers, and for media
professionals to get individual input and advice at our
expert tables.
Latha, Annaliza Bakri, Chow Teck Seng
Moderated by Gwee Li Sui
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Workshop Crafting Poetry
from Artefacts
Instructed by Na Muthukumar
Duration 4 hours
Venue Indian Heritage Centre
FREE
Here’s a chance to learn from Tamil poet-lyricist
Na Muthukumar on how to pen poems based on
artefacts at Indian Heritage Centre (IHC) in Little
India. Draw inspiration from IHC’s permanent
galleries featuring architecture, sculpture, jewellery,
costumes and paintings. Sign up for a guided tour
at IHC, submit a poem in Tamil inspired from
an artefact, and have your poem reviewed by Na
Muthukumar in an open discourse.
Please visit www.singaporewritersfestival.com for
full details.
Conducted in Tamil, this programme is open to
students aged 15 to 20. For more information, email
NHB_IHC@nhb.gov.sg. Registration for poem
submissions will be capped at 25 pax; however, the
discourse will be open to the public.
This event is co-organised with the Singapore Book
This event is co-organised with the Indian Heritage Centre.
Publishers Association and the Frankfurt Book Fair.
PASS
Singapore’s multicultural and multilingual heritage is
often taken for granted. While the English, Chinese,
Malay and Tamil literary scenes have flourished
over the years, there has not been any sustained
systematic effort to encourage interflows between the
different language mediums. What implications does
this have for the development of a national canon?
Has Singapore leveraged sufficiently on the unique
advantages that its cultural and linguistic diversity
brings? As Singapore celebrates its 50th year of
independence, talented young writers from different
language backgrounds explore possible ways forward
in this panel.
This session is co-presented with The Select Centre in
conjunction with TranslateSingapore 2015.
FEMINISM IN INDONESIAN
LITERATURE TODAY
PASS
Featuring Ayu Utami
Moderated by Jane Wong
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Living Room
Writer and activist Ayu Utami took the literary world
by storm with her now seminal novel Saman in which
female sexuality was explicitly written about for
the first time in Indonesia. Though some labelled it
‘pornographic’, her detractors failed to recognize that
her work in its essence is about the freedom to express
the individual’s will, including women’s sexuality. 17
years since its publication, Utami reflects on the state
of feminist writing in Indonesian literature today.
FREE
Since 1990, the Creative Arts Programme (CAP),
an annual creative writing programme for secondar
and junior college students organised by the
Ministry of Education, has groomed generations
of poets, fictionists and dramatists. It celebrates its
25th anniversary with a special showcase of alumni
and current CAPers. Terence Heng, Teng Qian
Xi, Jasmine Goh, Ang Kia Yee, Tan Jing Min and
Joanelle Toh are some of the CAPers who will join
moderator/emcee Koh Xin Tian for a sharing session
with teachers and mentors.
7. 3 0 pm
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
Featuring Alexandra Spencer-Jones
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
When discussing his most famous book A Clockwork
Orange, Anthony Burgess once noted that it “is
significant that the nightmare books of our age…
[are] about what may be termed dystopias… in
which an imagined megalithic government brings
human life to an exquisite pitch of misery.” Half a
century later, the “dystopian” literary genre has seen a
resurgence. Alexandra Spencer-Jones, director of the
latest stage production of A Clockwork Orange, will
speak about adapting this contemporary literature
classic, and why she chooses to focus on the themes of
“power and manipulation… dictatorship and youth”.
2 NOV | MON
2 NOV | MON
There will be a strong emphasis this year on the latest
trends in book marketing and promotion, including
social media marketing, and as well as the efforts that
booksellers, publishers and authors can take together
to keep local book industry ecosystems strong while
continuing to build a global presence. VISION FOR A NATIONAL CANON
Featuring
The Singapore Publishing Symposium, organized
each year as part of the Singapore Writers
Festival, brings together authors and potential authors
with publishers, booksellers, educators and publishing
experts and innovators. Speakers include Jurgen Boos, President of the
Frankfurt Book Fair, publishing futures commentator
Porter Anderson, self-publishing innovator Arpita
Das, crowd-funding expert Guy Vincent and
agent Toby Eady. From the region come experts
like Tha Tun Oo, of the Today group in Myanmar,
Graciela Mendoza-Cayton of the Philippines Book
Development Council, and many others, together
with local publishing and bookselling leaders.
Panel
CREATIVE ARTS PARTY: WE ARE 25!
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TMA, Hall
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 2 NOVEMBER | MONDAY
This session is curated by The Art House as part of the
SWF Country Focus: Indonesia.
One lucky winner will receive a pair of tickets to
A Clockwork Orange at this session. SWF attendees
can also redeem the special “Friends of ABA” 10%
discount to A Clockwork Orange through all SISTIC
channels by quoting the password “ABA2015”.
This session is co-presented with ABA Productions Pte Ltd.
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PROGRAMMES 3 NOVEMBER | TUESDAY
8 . 3 0 pm
Performance
A QUEST FOR DANCE
PASS
Wong Chee Meng, Santha Bhaskar,
N. Nedumaran
Moderated by Stephanie Burridge
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Featuring
In conjunction with the launch of A Quest for Dance,
the memoirs of the late Singapore dance pioneer PK
Bhaskar, a Malay poem (‘Terkocak’ by A. Ghani
Hamid, writing under the pen name Lazuardi)
and an English poem (‘Anger’ by Alvin Pang) will
be interpreted through traditional Indian dance,
choreographed by Cultural Medallion recipient,
Santha Bhaskar. Showcasing the rich possibilities
in a multicultural society, the performance will be
followed by a short discussion on the intercultural and
interdisciplinary legacy of one of Singapore’s most
respected artists.
travel literature called ‘knowmadic’. This allows
readers to experience the writer’s physical, spiritual
and emotional journey as they contemplate their own
conflicts and anxieties. It is all about transformation
as a knowmad not only longs to change the world but
to be changed by it. Join Wibowo to learn more about
how to be a knowmad.
9am
This session is curated by The Art House as part of the
Please visit www.singaporewritersfestival.com
for full details.
SWF Country Focus: Indonesia.
Panel THE PLIGHT OF THE ASIANAMERICAN WOMAN WRITER
Featuring Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Sally
Moderated by Leong Liew Geok
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
Wen Mao
conjunction with TranslateSingapore 2015.
6. 3 0 pm
GOLDEN POINT AWARD CEREMONY 2015
Duration 2 hours
Venue TAH, Chamber
Admission By invitation
only
Come join the Sekaliwags on another fun-filled,
space goo-covered adventure between the timelines of
Singapore. WAKE UP YOUR IDEA!! What could
possibly go wrong?
For ages 17 and above.
Mature themes and some strong language.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
The 2015 award is managed by The Arts House.
8 pm
SINGATHOLOGY: WHAT WE
TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SINGAPORE
Reading
Shirley Geok-lin Lim
An outstretched fifth finger. A girl slips and falls in
a temple. A tablet with joss sticks. Rooms without
mirrors. Angkor Wat. What do they all have in
common? In their collaborative writing project The
Adopted: Stories from Angkor, Heng Siok Tian, Phan
Ming Yen, Yeow Kai Chai and Yong Shu Hoong
share how one can turn self-imposed rules and
restrictions of a literary project into tools that inspire
their craft to an even deeper level.
BEING KNOWMADIC
Featuring Agustinus Wibowo
Moderated by Pamela Ho
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Living Room
$10
PASS
Novelist Celeste Ng was invited by an American
festival organiser who said he needed an AsianAmerican woman fiction writer to balance his speaker
line-up. “There aren’t a lot of you out there,” he had
said, evidently embarrassed. Taken aback, Celeste
said she could think of at least “several dozen” writers
who could fit the bill. So, why is there such a blind
spot in the US when it comes to Asian-American
women writers? Two Asian-American writers, Shirley
Geok-lin Lim and Sally Wen Mao, discuss.
FREE
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
Featuring Philip Jeyaretnam, Tan Mei
3 NOV | TUE
2 NOV | MON
PASS
Featuring Heng Siok Tian, Phan Ming Yen,
Yeow Kai Chai, Yong Shu Hoong
Moderated by Gene Tan
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
/day
Duration 9am - 4.30pm
Venue The Arts House
Prize winners will be announced at the award
ceremony of the Golden Point Award, Singapore’s
premier creative writing competition for short story
and poetry in the nation’s four major languages.
Presented by the National Arts Council, this
competition serves as a platform for literary excellence
and launching new writers.
This session is co-presented with The Select Centre in
Panel THE ADOPTED: WRITING
CREATIVELY WITHIN RESTRICTIONS
SINGAPORE PUBLISHING SYMPOSIUM $160
(DAY 2)
Performance XPOWERDREAMS:
WAKE UP YOUR IDEA!
Featuring Sekaliwags
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 2 NOVEMBER | MONDAY
Ching,
Wong Yoon Wah, Rama Kannabiran, Gwee Li Sui,
Isa Kamari
An eclectic panel of writers read from their pieces
published in the ambitious collection, Singathology:
50 New Works from Singapore’s Award-Winning Writers.
Comprising different languages, themes, genres and
styles, this panel – like the anthology that inspires it
– celebrates the nation’s literary diversity. The general
editor of the anthology, Gwee Li Sui, discusses the
challenge of bringing order to such a wide-ranging
and daring body of work.
As one of Indonesia’s leading travel writers, Agustinus
Wibowo has pioneered a new genre in Indonesian
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7pm
Panel WHAT IS THE POINT OF
READING LITERATURE?
PASS
Featuring Tan Tarn How, Loh Chin Ee,
Suzanne Choo
Moderated by Koh Buck Song
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
With fewer students opting for O-level Literature,
is Singapore at the risk of becoming a nation of nonreaders? Tan Tarn How, Loh Chin Ee and Suzanne
Choo paint a dystopian scenario where Literature
vanishes from the syllabus.
Workshop THE PIONEER GENERATION:
EXPRESS YOURSELF
Instructed by Shirley Geok-lin
Duration 2 hours
Venue TAH, Living Room
FREE
This event is curated by The Arts House as part of the
Performance
It’s Singapore’s 50th anniversary and esteemed poet/
fictionist Shirley Geok-lin Lim is giving the nation a
birthday gift – by conducting a free poetry workshop
only for those aged 50 and above. Whether you are
a first-timer or a secret writer toiling away quietly,
here’s a chance to learn from the best.
Materials needed: Pen and paper
Visit www.singaporewritersfestival.com to register.
8 pm
POETRY IN MUSIC – UBIET
AND KRONCONG TENGGARA
Music
$28
Den
SINGAPORE CROSSTALK
Featuring Han Lao Da
Moderated by Lee Chee Keng
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
韩劳达，为配合新文集出版，呈献以新加坡当前社会百态
入题的相声，节目会同时提供英文翻译，让观众能完全沉
浸在这项中国表演艺术中全面体会逗趣幽默的语言表演
艺术，也通过笑声从侧面认识新加坡。
节目以中英文进行。与精选中心（Select Centre）联合呈献。
8 . 3 0 pm
Panel CRITICAL STAGE: WRITING
ABOUT VISUAL ARTS
PASS
Featuring Iola Lenzi, Adele Tan, Viviana Mejía,
Lee Weng Choy
Moderated by Lee Weng Choy
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
So what distinguishes art criticism from a review
or a news report about art? And what exactly do
art critics do? Art professionals in Europe formed
the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art
(AICA) to promote art writing and networks of critics
from around the world. Four members of AICA’s
Singapore Section will share their backgrounds, and
discuss how criticism in Singapore has developed over
the years, before discussing the present challenges and
opportunities for art writing here.
Crosstalk (or xiangsheng) is a traditional
Chinese comedic performance conducted as a
monologue or a dialogue, delivered in a rapid
bantering style. In conjunction with the launch of
the collected essays of Cultural Medallion recipient
Han Lao Da, one of the region’s most accomplished
crosstalk exponents, performers will put on a
skit with uniquely Singaporean themes. English
translations will be provided to allow all audience
members to experience this popular Chinese art form.
Be prepared for an uproarious, gut-busting time!
This event is co-organised with the Singapore Section,
This session is in English and Mandarin.
SWF is proud to present our young writers
undergoing the 12-month Mentor Access Project
(MAP). The mentees will present excerpts of their
writings, including poems, prose and plays. Come
join us in this lively session and discover our young
literary talents.
This session is co-presented with The Select Centre in
conjunction with TranslateSingapore 2015.
表演 新加坡相声
嘉宾 韩劳达
主持人 李集庆
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, Chamber
PASS
International Association of Art Critics (AICA SG).
MENTOR ACCESS
PROGRAMME 2014-2015 SHOWCASE
Reading
Featuring Mentees of 2014 MAP
Moderated by Savinder Singh, Chris
Duration 1 hour
Venue TMA, Hall
FREE
4 NOV | WED
4 NOV | WED
A shared urban phenomenon which once linked
Singapore musically to many coastal port towns of
Indonesia, kroncong was the product of many centuries
of cultural experiments in the Indonesian archipelago.
It is the music of the monsoons that brought to our
waters not only ships and spices, but the guitar, the
accordion, the Portuguese fado, the rhythms of the
Ottoman, all seducing the words of the archipelago.
The popular sound of our grandparents’ entertainment
heard in movies, amusement parks and parties,
kroncong was the Indie music scene that sprouted in
the first half of the 20th century. Kroncong Tenggara
revives old-time favourites with a newness that can
only come from musical virtuosity and years of islandhopping research. For the Singapore Writers Festival,
the group will also demonstrate the musical dynamics
of Indonesian literature by singing the words of
contemporary Indonesian poets.
SWF Country Focus: Indonesia.
Lim
Featuring Ubiet, Dian HP, Riza Arshad
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play
PROGRAMMES 4 NOVEMBER | WEDNESDAY
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 4 NOVEMBER | WEDNESDAY
Mooney-Singh
This event is co-organised with Word Forward Limited.
中国传统表演艺术相声，融入新加坡主题，会激发出什么
样的火花？本区域杰出相声作家，也是新加坡文化奖得主
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PROGRAMMES 6 NOVEMBER | FRIDAY
7pm
MICHAEL SANDEL ON
THE MORAL LIMITS OF MARKETS
Featuring Michael Sandel
Moderated by Kenneth Paul Tan
Duration 1 hour
Venue UCC, Hall
SWF Lecture
$35
Do bankers deserve to make a hundred times more
than what school teachers earn? Is the free market
fair? And what are the real costs of economic
inequality and the role of markets in achieving the
public good? Come for this exclusive session with
Michael Sandel – Harvard political philosopher,
“moral rock star” and author of the New York Times
bestseller, Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? – for
a lively discussion of markets, democracy, and big
ethical questions confronting global society today.
Questions for Michael Sandel can be sent ahead of
the lecture to nac_swf@nac.gov.sg.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
U.S. Embassy Singapore.
8 pm
SERVANTS OF THE WORD
$15
Elizabeth Inandiak, Endah Laras, Jennifer Lindsay, Landung Simatupang
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
Featuring
There will be a Q&A session after the performance.
Performed in Bahasa Indonesia, English, Javanese
and French.
This event is curated by The Arts House as part of the
SWF Country Focus: Indonesia
Music
DIMENSIONS & DEMONS
$25
Daren Shiau, Riot !n Magenta, Dave Chua, weish (.gif), Stephanie Ye, Ferry
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue Esplanade, Recital Studio
Featuring
7pm
SWF Stage WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU IS YOUR ATTITUDE PROBLEM
$50
Featuring Meira Chand, Huzir Sulaiman,
Jimmy Ong, Claire Wong, Nessa Anwar,
Raimi Safari, Fahmy Riza, Yusuf Haron, Alvin Lim,
Faith Ng, Chen Yingxuan, .gif, ila, Kiat, Intriguant,
Philip Jeyaretnam, Lucas Ho, Jennifer Anne
Champion, Cyril Wong, Shah Tahir, Kenny Leck,
Lim Yu-Beng, Farish Noor, Pooja Nansi, Joel Tan,
Shiv Tandan, Oon Shu An, Yazid Jalil, Al-Matin
Yatim, Chang Ting Wei, Joses Ho, Isabelle Desjeux,
Zakaria Zainal, Becca D’Bus, Brendon Fernandez,
Luke Vijay Somasundram, Kailin Yong
Duration 12 hours
Venue TAH, various
transformed into an edgy celebration of words and
the human connection.
Checkpoint Theatre presents an exciting series of
24 text-based performance events over 12 hours.
From dusk on Friday, 6 November, to dawn on
Saturday, 7 November, The Arts House will be
Please refer to www.singaporewritersfestival.com or
the What I Love About You Is Your Attitude Problem
pull-out for full details.
Curated by Huzir Sulaiman, ‘What I Love about
You is Your Attitude Problem’ features new
and specially commissioned works of Singapore
drama, poetry, songwriting and prose, alongside
musical performances and visual arts exhibitions.
It illuminates the journey of the self, and all its
challenges and pleasures. Happiness, desire,
adventure, the comforts of friendship and the
complexity of family – this is what long nights were
made for.
This is a creative mashup of the most original
kind: Singapore musicians and writers join hands
to come up with original compositions for a night
you’ll never forget. What creative sparks will
come out of this? The artists will be present at the
end of the performance for a Q&A session.
This event is co-presented with Esplanade – Theatres
6 NOV | FRI
45 NOV
NOV || WED
THU
Music
Elizabeth Inandiak’s imaginative encounter with that
text titled Centhini, Forty Nights and One of Rain,
which she wrote in French; and Pariyem’s Confession,
written in Indonesian by Linus Suryadi and translated
into English by Jennifer Lindsay. Servants of the Word
illustrates the power and fluidity of these texts, as
well as their translation as sounds moving between
languages. Be prepared to listen with your eyes!
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 5 NOVEMBER | THURSDAY
on the Bay.
FRIDAY | 6 NOV
1pm
Panel
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: LAKSA
Featuring Philip Chia, Josephine Chia
Duration 1 hour
Venue Perankan Arts Festival Community
Elizabeth Inandiak
Servants of the Word is an experience of translation,
performed by translators of Indonesian, English and
French, with a Javanese musician-performer. The
performance-reading takes extracts from three texts;
the 19th century Javanese poetic work Serat Centhini;
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PASS
Stage
Cook and food writer Philip Chia and non-fiction
writer Josephine Chia share with us how Peranakan
culture plays a fundamental role in the food it
creates. Philip will be doing a cooking demo during
the discussion. The next time you slurp that bowl of
laksa, you may have a different perspective of what
it represents.
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10am
SUSAN ORLEAN – WIT AND WISDOM:
PASS
CAPTURING THE HUMOUR AND
HUMANITY IN NARRATIVE NON-FICTION
Featuring Susan Orlean
Moderated by Richard Angus
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
Whitehead
PROGRAMMES 7 NOVEMBER | SATURDAY
VENTURING INTO THE EDGE-LAND
WITH ROB COWEN
Featuring Rob Cowen
Moderated by Shawn Lum
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation
Panel
The world is rich with stories, and readers are hungry
for great narrative. Susan Orlean, New Yorker staff
writer and New York Times bestselling author of seven
books, is known for finding the heart and humour
in stories – whether it’s the tale of a toothless orchid
hunter or the world’s most famous dog actor. How
can we find compelling subjects? And how can we
write fact with spirit and emotion? Susan shares what
inspires, amuses and ultimately resonates for her and
the reader.
LITERARY PRIZES: BANE
OR BOON
7 NOV | SAT
British Council.
48
Get a glimpse into childhood from bygone days and
intriguing family histories from four seniors as the
nation celebrates its golden birthday. These writers
were part of a memoir-writing workshop series
organised by the National Library Board in 2015.
They will share narratives from the book My Life, My
Story: Personal Narratives by Singapore’s seniors.
CRIME AND MISDEMEANOURS
$20
Suitable for: Published writers
Materials needed: Pen and paper
对旅游作家来说，整个世界都是创作灵感来源。原《孤独
星球》中国出版人叶孝忠投身旅游文学创作多年，足迹遍
及全球80多个国家，出版过多部以旅游与时尚设计为主题
的个人专著。听他畅谈如何通过文字与照片把世界带给读
者，以及旅游作家要怎么为自己争取权益。
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
Workshop YAP SEOW CHOONG’S GUIDE
TO TRAVEL WRITING
Instructed by Yap Seow Choong
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Living Room
SARAH MOUNSEY: PAW PRINTS
ON THE MAGIC SOFA $20
FREE
This session is in Mandarin.
Masterclass
POP LIVES
Instructed by Dylan
Duration 3 hours
Venue TMA, Hall
$60
Jones
For ages 4 to 6. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Thaddeus Rutkowski, Jason Y Ng,
Felix Cheong, Nils Nordberg,
Sophie Hannah
Moderated by Philip Holden
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
Royal Norwegian Embassy Singapore and NORLA.
10. 3 0am
To travel writers, the world is their oyster. Learn to
bring the world to your readers and find out how to
negotiate your rights as a travel writer. Lonely Planet
(China) publisher Yap Seow Choong specialises
in travelogues and city guides, and have published
award-winning books on travel and design in China
and Taiwan.
Featuring
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
British Council.
Featuring Sarah Mounsey
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
FREE
Join an international line-up of authors –
Jason Y Ng (Hong Kong), Thaddeus Rutkowski (US),
Nils Nordberg (Norway), Felix Cheong (Singapore)
and Sophie Hannah (UK) – as they share their
favourite story, anecdote or piece of reading based on
the theme, ‘Crime and Misdemeanours’.
genre. This masterclass includes a Q&A session and a
writing exercise.
Workshop
CUT, SHAKE, ROLL
Instructed by Chuah Ai Lin
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
$5
7 NOV | SAT
Are literary prizes relevant today? Most often, the
naysayers bray that either the achievement does not
warrant the commendation or the individual awarded
should have been someone else. Robert DouglasFairhurst, who was a Man Booker Prize judge,
Singapore Literature Prize judge Gwee Li Sui and
South African author Mark Gevisser debate the topic.
PASS
Featuring Shamimah Mujtaba, Wong Swee Fong,
Anne Lim, Yap Swi Neo
Moderated by Verena Tay
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Reading
PASS
Featuring Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Gwee Li Sui,
Mark Gevisser
Moderated by Aaron Lee
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
Play Den
OUR LIVES, OUR STORIES
工作坊 旅游文学的写作玄机
导师 叶孝忠
时长 1 hour 30 minutes
地点 TAH, Living Room
Living in the Garden City known as Singapore, it
is easy to take for granted the Botanic Gardens and
the many trees which line the streets. It’s timely then
to listen to British nature writer Rob Cowen, who
discovers an “edge-land” of wood, meadow, field and
river on the outskirts of Yorkshire. His beautifully
written memoir, Common Ground, brings to life a
panoply of smells, colours and textures, reasserting
that nature “is all around us. It is in us. It is us”.
Panel
PASS
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 7 NOVEMBER | SATURDAY
For ages 7 to 9. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
How do you access the lives of pop culture
personalities like David Bowie, Jim Morrison and
Elvis Presley? Participants will learn how to avoid
cliches, hagiography and the traditional ways of
writing biographies through a close study of the
49
11 am
EYE/FEEL/WRITE: EXPERIMENTS
IN EKPHRASIS II Featuring Desmond Koh, Lee Tzu Pheng,
Chow Teck Seng, Latha, Leong Liew Geok,
Yong Shu Hoong
Duration 2 hours
Venue National Gallery, Singapore Courtyard
PASS
The Eye/Feel/Write texts from 2014 and 2015
have been compiled in the anthology Experiments
in Ekphrasis, which is available for sale at the SWF
Bookstore.
Featuring Navin, Pandiyan, Selva, Nepolian
Moderated by Maunaguru Sidharthan
Duration 1hr 30 minutes
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Please register at www.singaporewritersfestival.com by
Featuring the increasingly popular Vallinam writers
from Malaysia, the session would delve into the
importance of grooming next generation writers and
how Tamil Literature crafts the National Identity of
the State. Singaporean writers Nepolian, Selva and
Sidharthan Maunaguru will lend their perspectives on
how the Singapore Tamil Literary scene has evolved
and what it means to be a Tamil writer in Singapore.
WANDERLUST AND THE
PROMISE OF THE OTHER
Panel
This session is in Tamil.
Christian Cailleaux, Marc Nair,
Nicholas Hogg
Moderated by Barrie Sherwood
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Why do writers travel? Performance poet, Marc Nair,
graphic novelist Christian Cailleaux and novelist
Nicholas Hogg share a similar yearning to discover
new land, meet new people and, in the process,
transform themselves. They will share excerpts from
their works and explain their motivations.
50
PASS
PASS
Featuring
FREE
Storytelling
WE’RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT!
Presented by Shalni Doshi
Duration 30 minutes Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
For ages 4 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
FREE
陈黎 世界文学与我
嘉宾 陈黎
主持人 陈志锐
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
台湾诗人陈黎堪称中文当代诗坛最精彩多变、敢于创新的
其中一把声音。听他分享多元语言如何相互撞击与磨合，
迸发出意想不到的火花，以及博大精深的各类世界文学之
间的互动关系。各语言读者都不容错过！
CHEN LI: WORLD LITERATURE AND ME
Featuring Chen Li
Moderated by Tan Chee Lay
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
Join Chen Li, one of the most exciting and innovative
voices in Chinese poetry, in a discussion on how
languages inspire and play off one another and the
dynamic relationship between world literatures.
A must-go for voracious readers of all languages!
This session is in Mandarin.
Meet Young Adult (YA) fantasy fiction sensation
Rachel Hartman, who makes her first trip to
Singapore. Her book, Seraphina, was awarded the
2013 William C. Morris Award for the best YA
work by a debut author. An event not to be missed,
especially for those who enjoy dragons; if you like
Christopher Paolini, you’ll love Rachel Hartman.
For ages 13 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
1pm
Panel
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT: MEE SIAM
Featuring Philip Chia, Josephine Chia
Duration 1 hour
Venue Perankan Arts Festival Community
7 NOV | SAT
7 NOV | SAT
11 . 3 0am
RACHEL HARTMAN: DRAGONS AND
SHAPE-SHIFTERS
Featuring Rachel Hartman
Moderated by Pamela Ho
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
U.S. Embassy Singapore.
Panel CREATING NATIONAL IDENTITY
THROUGH LITERATURE
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
12 pm
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
This session, hear Lee Tzu Pheng, Chow Teck Seng,
Latha, Yong Shu Hoong and Leong Liew Geok read
their pieces. National Gallery curator, Charmaine
Toh, will provide insight into each artwork as well, on
this walking tour.
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
PASS
When the shooting’s over, the violence continues.
War and conflicts cast long shadows in the disparate
works of the following artists: Macedonian poet
Nikola Madzirov, fantasy and sci-fi writer Justin
Cronin, and illustrators-artists Jean-Marc Rochette
and Olivier Bocquet (Snowpiercer). They share their
inspirations for their books, and how reality seeps into
their milieus.
After writers were inspired by artworks at Singapore
Art Museum to produce last year’s texts, editor
Desmond Kon has invited another 10 distinguished
authors this year: Alfian Sa’at, Chow Teck Seng,
Divya Victor, Eric Tinsay Valles, Gwee Li Sui, Jerrold
Yam, Latha, Lee Tzu Pheng, Leong Liew Geok
and Yong Shu Hoong. They will respond to heritage
artworks at the new National Gallery Singapore.
on a first-come-first-served basis.
AFTER THE RUINS
Featuring Nikola Madzirov, Justin Cronin,
Jean-Marc Rochette, Olivier Bocquet
Moderated by Lim Cheng Tju
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
6pm on 6 November. The tour is limited to 30 participants,
Panel
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 7 NOVEMBER | SATURDAY
PASS
Cook and food writer Philip Chia and non-fiction
writer Josephine Chia share with us how Peranakan
culture plays a fundamental role in the food it creates.
Philip will be doing a cooking demo during the
discussion. The next time you slurp that bowl of mee
siam, you may have a different perspective of what it
represents.
51
Panel MUSEUM AS A CREATIVE
PLAYGROUND
Featuring Melissa Viswani, Darel Seow,
Soumya Ayer, Levene Wong, Lee Ju-Lyn
Moderated by Andy Chua
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
FREE
This session is co-presented with the Asian Civilisations
Museum, as part of Saturdays@ACM.
IMAGINE SINGAPORE…
$35
Ho Kwon Ping, Bertha Henson, Pooja Nansi
Moderated by Paul Tan
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue Suntec Singapore Convention and
Exhibition Centre, Summit 2
Featuring
7 NOV | SAT
This session is co-presented with the Asian Civilisations
Panel
ALTER NATIONS
PASS
Featuring Ranjit Hoskote, Nikola Madzirov,
Josephine Chia
Moderated by Alvin Pang
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
文学先驱 南洋商报文艺副刊《文林》
的编辑策略与现代意识
80年代《文林》的编辑和作者们，对于「文艺副刊」有更高
的理想与追求，他们期待副刊给文坛带来新气象。这场座
谈会邀请《文林》主编杜南发与作家吴韦材、董农政对谈，
让观众了解「文艺副刊」在当年怎样开创新领域，实践多
元的编辑与写作手法。
Workshop DRAWING WITH EMILA AND DINA
$5
由艺术之家筹划、联合早报和刘碧娟博士联合呈献。
Nikola Madzirov
For ages 7 to 9.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details
Instructed by Gophi Nathan
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TMA, Hall
In today’s pluralistic world in which traditional
definitive identities, such as nationality and ethnicity,
are increasingly being challenged, writers carve out
alternate realities that hold up a mirror to social
developments. Indian poet/art critic Ranjit Hoskote,
Macedonian poet Nikola Madzirov and Singapore
writer Josephine Chia share excerpts from their own
works and delve into the concept of home and their
own experiences as citizens of the world.
For ages 10 to 12.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Panel
SILENT DREAMS
$5
2 . 3 0 pm
Panel CRITICAL STAGE:
LITERARY REVIEWS
PASS
PASS
嘉宾 杜南发、吴韦材、董农政
主持人 刘碧娟
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
2 pm
Instructed by Emila Yusof
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Living Room
best loved violinists. Malaysian writer Sri Rahayu’s
latest offering, Transgenik Sifar, is a science-fiction
novel targeted at teenagers. They will share their
creative experiences.
WRITING FOR A YOUNG AUDIENCE
Featuring Sri Rahayu, Siow Lee Chin
Moderated by Adan Jiminez
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
EDITORIAL STRATEGIES
AND MODERNISM IN WENLIN
Literary Pioneer
PASS
Featuring Toh Lam Huat, Ng Wai Choy,
Tong Noong Chin
Moderated by Liw Pei Kien
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
With lofty ideals and pursuits, editors and writers of
Wenlin (literary supplement of Nanyang Siang Pau)
from the 1980s sought to breathe new life into the
literary scene. Join editor Toh Lam Huat and writers,
Ng Wai Choy and Tong Noong Chin, as they share
how they took the leap forward with pioneering
approaches to writing and editing.
This session is in Mandarin.
Featuring Jeremy Tiang, Stephanie Ye, Aaron Lee,
O Thiam Chin
Moderated by Yong Shu Hoong
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
This event is curated by The Arts House and
Everyone, it seems, is coming out with a literary book
these days. With the flourishing of home-grown
literature, the critics and reviewers have a significant
role in sieving the great from the mediocre or even
banal – or do they?
Storytelling JALEBIS AND FLYING TREES FREE
co-presented with Lianhe Zaobao and Dr Liw Pei Kien.
3 pm
7 NOV | SAT
FREE
For ages 4 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
52
FREE
If you are into Kings of Convenience, Damien Rice
and John Mayer, check out JAWN, a success story
of the NOISE Singapore programme. Among three
acts from the same programme to be featured at SWF
2015, he will enchant you with his dulcet tones and
smooth rhythms.
1 . 3 0 pm
Museum, as part of Saturdays@ACM.
JAWN
Workshop
In 1971, John Lennon sang: “You may say I’m a
dreamer/But I’m not the only one/I hope some day
you’ll join us/And the world will be as one.” Imagine
Singapore in 2050, 35 years later. What kind of
society would you want to live in? Are Singaporeans
still pursuing the 5Cs: Career, condominium, country
clubs, cash and credit cards? Or are they going for a
whole new set of 5Cs? Three speakers delve into their
personal experiences which shape them today, and
their aspirations for tomorrow.
THEATRE PERFORMANCE:
THE MISSING MOUSE
Presented by ACT 3 International
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
Featuring JAWN
Duration 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Lawn
Objects at the museum can inspire stories and
remind us of myths forgotten. Join Singaporean
children’s book authors and illustrators for a
discussion about using museums to create fascinating
stories. This panel will be useful for parents and for
those who are thinking about ways to create new
stories or re-create existing ones for children.
SWF Lecture
Music
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 7 NOVEMBER | SATURDAY
Siow Lee Chin
How different is writing for a younger demography?
In her autobiography From Clementi To Carnegie, Siow
Lee Chin wrote about her life experience from the
time she was a student to becoming one of Singapore’s
Presented by Grace Kalai
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
This session is in Tamil and English.
For ages 7 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
53
3. 3 0 pm
Panel
TELL THEM THE TRUTH
FREE
Sharon Ismail, Edmund Lim, Shamini Flint
Moderated by Myra Garces-Bacsal
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
Featuring
Panel THE FLUID IDENTITIES OF
SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Featuring Kennie Ting, Elizabeth
Moderated by Shelly Bryant
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Adoption, ageing, sickness and divorce – how
does one broach such tough issues with
children? Three children’s writers take on these
subjects in their stories and open up the space
for discussion.
Workshop
CREATURE FEATURE
Instructed by Darel Seow, Melissa
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
and inserting it into the genome of a living organism
which replicates itself in outer space. Don’t miss this
special presentation with a Q&A.
FREE
Viswani
PASS
South-east Asia is a challenging and intriguing entity
to document, given its complex history. Travel writer
Kennie Ting examines the historical ties of cities in
the region and research writer Elizabeth Pisani zooms
in on the Indonesian archipelago. Both cast light
on the effect of colonialism on the region, among
other factors.
PASS
4 PM
Panel
WOMEN CAN DREAM TOO!
54
$15
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
British Council.
5. 3 0 pm
JUSTIN CRONIN: MONSTERS AND THE
MEN AND WOMEN WHO LOVE THEM
PASS
Featuring Justin Cronin
Moderated by Terence Chua
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
Featuring Suriya Rethna, Jayanthi Sankar,
Meenatchi Sababathi
Moderated by Subramaniam Kannappan
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Why are there so few women writers in the Singapore
Tamil literary scene? What unique circumstances do
they face? Three fictionists – Suriya Rethna, Jayanthi
Sankar and Meenatchi Sababathi – chronicle the
various sacrifices they have to make.
This session is in Tamil.
$20
For ages 15 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
5pm
ROB COWEN: AHOY FOR ADVENTURE!
Featuring Rob Cowen
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
For ages 7 to 9. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
FREE
What accounts for our enduring love affair with the
monstrous? Why this perverse attraction to stories
of creatures that drink our blood, rip us to pieces,
dine on our brains, and stomp our cities into ruin?
Justin Cronin, author of The Passage and its sequel The
Twelve, will give a talk that will include, among other
things, a discussion of the half-dozen categories into
which all monsters generally fall, what they mean,
what’s interesting about them, and why, despite all
good sense, they appeal to both the angels and the
devils within us.
7 NOV | SAT
7 NOV | SAT
PASS
Acclaimed Canadian poet Christian Bök makes his
Singapore premiere by presenting his most ambitious
project: The Xenotext Experiment. He has written a
poem by encoding it within a sequence of DNA,
Sophie Hannah translates, crafts poetry, and writes for
children. She has over 10 books of crime fiction among
her other fiction work. Come and take notes on how
she juggles it all. She just might share a tip or two on
sustaining an internationally acclaimed crime series!
WORLD BUILDING DRAGONLORE & MORE
Instructed by Rachel Hartman
Duration 3 hours
Venue TAH, Living Room
Museum, as part of Saturdays@ACM.
CAN WE HAVE IT ALL?
WITH MRS MONEYPENNY Featuring Heather McGregor
Moderated by Petrina Kow
Duration 1 hour
Venue Suntec Singapore Convention and
Exhibition Centre, Summit 2
SWF Lecture
Former Financial Times Weekend columnist
Mrs Moneypenny is of the opinion that women will
only be average at everything if they try to excel at
everything. PepsiCo CEO Indra K Nooyi has said
that women can’t have it all. Are people starting to
accept that “Supermom” is a myth? Whether you
are an ambitious careerist looking to smash the
glass ceiling, a stay-at-home mother or a supportive
husband, this session is for you.
Workshop
This session is co-presented with the Asian Civilisations
Featuring Christian Bök
Moderated by Eleanor Wong
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
Pisani
For ages 7 to 9.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for more details.
CHRISTIAN BÖK GOES INTERSTELLAR
THE MANY HATS OF SOPHIE HANNAH
Featuring Sophie Hannah
Moderated by Divya Victor
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 7 NOVEMBER | SATURDAY
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
U.S. Embassy Singapore.
55
Panel
BE HAPPY: THE BIG-O YEARS
Ren and Chua Chim Kang, as they share their literary
journey with ‘A Group of Young People’.
Featuring Patrick Chng, Kevin Mathews,
Eddino Abdul Hadi
Moderated by Danny Loong
Duration 1 hour
Venue Barber Shop
Admission Free with the purchase of one drink
This session is in Mandarin.
This event is curated by The Arts House and co-presented
with Lianhe Zaobao and Dr Liw Pei Kien.
Remember those days when indie bands like Stoned
Revivals, Stomping Ground and Humpback Oak
kept the underground D-I-Y spirit alive? BigO,
the magazine started by Michael and Philip Cheah
in September 1985, was the staunch champion of
home-grown indie music. Three musicians – Patrick
Chng (Oddfellows), Kevin Mathews (Watchmen) and
Eddino Abdul Hadi (Force Vomit) – reminisce about
the lessons learnt along the way, and what they mean
for today’s acts.
Panel CRITICAL STAGE: WRITING
ABOUT THEATRE
PASS
Featuring Alvin Tan, Clarissa Oon, Chong Tze Chien
Moderated by Kenneth Kwok
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
and The Music Society, Singapore.
的编辑策略与“年轻族群”
何致和、周德成：艺术硕士学位与写作的关系
PASS
嘉宾 何致和、周德成
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, Kumon Blue Room
and The Music Society, Singapore.
创意写作需要艺术硕士学位吗？这还算是自然、发自内心
的写作方式吗？两位当代中文写作人畅谈创意写作的发展
与中文文学格局的持续演变。
HO CHIH-HO AND CHOW TECK SENG
ON THE RELEVANCE OF MFAS
Featuring Ho Chih-ho, Chow Teck
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
PASS
PASS
Seng
这场座谈会邀请《文艺城》编辑谢裕民和刘培芳，与他们
策划的 “年轻族群”系列作者中的柯思仁、蔡深江对谈，让
观众了解《文艺城》编辑当时如何为新生代写作者筹划创
作特辑，激发写作热情，促使文艺园圃上的新手向更宽广
的书写场域探索与发展。
Drama and its critics have always enjoyed a lovehate relationship. As Singapore theatre matures,
has the standard of critical writing kept pace? What
have been some of the turning points in the last
few decades? Alvin Tan, the artistic director of The
Necessary Stage; Clarissa Oon, Straits Times Life
deputy editor and theatre reviewer; and The Finger
Players’ director Chong Tze Chien will discuss.
Panel
7 NOV | SAT
Film
PASS
Featuring Chia Joo Ming, Low Pooi Fong,
Quah Sy Ren, Chua Chim Kang
Moderated by Liw Pei Kien
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Spearheaded by editors Chia Joo Ming and Low
Pooi Fong, the series ‘A Group of Young People’
featured young and emerging writers, as well as
provided a nurturing platform that inspired works and
explorations. Join the editors and writers, Quah Sy
56
PASS
Featuring Fuminori Nakamura, Nicholas Hogg,
Amir Muhammad, Troy Chin
Moderated by Gene Tan
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
The city never sleeps… its ceaseless sensory assault is
a feast for the author who draws inspiration from it.
It’s both beacon and danger sign, hope and despair.
Tokyo noir author Fuminori Nakamura, Nicholas
Hogg, Amir Muhammad and Troy Chin examine the
city’s underbelly.
SINGAPURA CAMPUR:
ODE TO MY FAVOURITE PLACE
Reading
FREE
Featuring Jerrold Yam, Audrey Chin, Joshua Ip,
Divya Victor, Yeo Wei Wei, Kelvin Tan,
Wong Su Ann, Marc Nair, Shelly Bryant
Hosted by Khoo Sim Eng
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
Joel Tan
ADAPTATION
Featuring Susan Orlean
Moderated by Tay Yek Keak
Duration 3 hours
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening
PASS
7 NOV | SAT
EDITORIAL STRATEGIES
IN WENYICHENG AND ‘A GROUP OF
YOUNG PEOPLE’
BRIGHT LIGHTS, DARK CITIES
6 pm
由艺术之家筹划、联合早报和刘碧娟博士联合呈献。
Literary Pioneer
SONGS OF SG51-100
Featuring Sezairi, Gentle Bones (Joel Tan),
Jaime Wong
Moderated by Syaheed Msbi
Duration 1 hour
Venue Barber Shop
Admission Free with the purchase of one drink
Sezairi
Panel
7PM
This session is in Mandarin.
Chong Tze Chien
嘉宾 谢裕民、刘培芳、柯思仁、蔡深江
主持人 刘碧娟
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, Kumon Blue Room
be an established musician in Singapore, and what
direction the scene will head towards in years to
come. The musicians will also perform choice tracks
from their repertoire.
This event is co-presented with Timbre Music Academy
Do you need an MFA in creative writing to be a
successful writer? Are we still writing organically?
Two contemporary Chinese writers discuss the
evolution of creative writing and the changing
landscape of Chinese literature.
This event is co-presented with Timbre Music Academy
文学先驱 联合早报文艺副刊：
《文艺城》
7pm
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 7 NOVEMBER | SATURDAY
Room
Director: Spike Jonze | Cast: Nicholas Cage, Meryl
Streep, Chris Cooper | 2002 | 114min | United States
| English | Rating: NC16
In this metafilm, lovelorn screenwriter Charlie
Kaufman struggles to adapt The Orchid Thief.
There will be a post-show dialogue with the writer of
The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean.
“One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel
no pain,” so sings Bob Marley. Are those words true
when you’re a musician in Singapore? In this panel,
artists and songwriters Sezairi, Joel Tan aka Gentle
Bones and Jaime Wong will discuss what it takes to
Jerrold Yam
57
It’s a celebration of writing as the Festival corrals a
diverse group of Singapore-based authors, namely
Jerrold Yam, Audrey Chin, Joshua Ip, Divya Victor,
Yeo Wei Wei, Kelvin Tan, Wong Su Ann, Shelly
Bryant and Marc Nair. They will share a poem or an
excerpt of their prose passages based on the theme:
‘My Favourite Place’.
PROGRAMMES 8 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
Panel
THE HIDDEN
PASS
Featuring Elizabeth Pisani, Samanth
Moderated by Carolyn Camoens
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
Subramanian
8 . 3 0 pm
诗歌接龙
10am
Panel
THE INDIAN CONDITION
PASS
Featuring Pia Padukone, Prabhu Silvam,
Samanth Subramanian
Moderated by Ashwini Devare
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Elizabeth Pisani
新文潮文学社要以诗歌接龙活动邀请各位文学爱好者赴
一场文字与才智交汇之战！两组各三位成员，以台湾诗人
陈黎诗作中的诗句作引头轮流接龙，即兴创造自己的诗
句。这场别开生面的诗歌接龙活动会迸出什么样的火花，
耍出什么样意想不到的笑料？欢迎一起来玩一场，且拭目
以待！
Samanth Subramanian
Elizabeth Pisani and Samanth Subramanian travel
through Asia seeking truth in the sex industry, the
backwater islands of Indonesia, and the post-war lives
of Sri Lankans.
Suitable for: Published poets
Materials needed: Laptops
Internet connection will be provided.
Pia Padukone
座谈会 撰写新新马华文学的故事
想接受挑战加入诗歌接龙战队吗？现在就提交五首自创诗
作，以“我要PK!”主题入诗，寄交trendlit.submission@
gmail.com，就有机会成为挑战者！
活动与新潮文学联合呈现。
7 NOV | SAT
TAG POETRY COMPETITION
Featuring Chen Li
Moderated by Gu Xing Zi, Ang Jinyong
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
FREE
TrendLit takes on Tag Poetry in this exciting war of
wits. Watch two teams of three members each take on
a line from one of Taiwanese poet Chen Li’s poems
and spin their own endings in a tag team style. Expect
words to spin out of control, lots of boos and racuous
applause. So trust us, you wouldn’t want to miss this!
This session is in Mandarin and co-presented with TrendLit.
58
SWF POP SHOP
Saturday, 31 Oct & 7 Nov
12 – 7 pm
TAH, Entrance
Come join us at our first ever SWF POP
Shop. Get cool SWF souvenirs including
terrariums and cupcakes!
Look out for the following stores at
SWF POP Shop.
They hail from different parts of the world. New York
novelist Pia Padukone writes about the impact of the
9/11 attacks in 2001, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing; New
Delhi-based writer-journalist Samanth Subramanian
covers politics, culture and history; and Singaporean
poet-writer Prabhu Silvam retells the stories of foreign
workers and Singaporeans caught up in Singapore’s
Little India Riot of 2013. This panel will examine the
tensions of ethnicity and nationality, and how they
play out in different countries where they are based in.
Panel
TWEET FOR CHANGE
Featuring
Prakash
PASS
Jason Y Ng, Chan Li Shan, Bhavani
Moderated by Michelle
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
Martin
With a combined 1.7 billion monthly active users,
Facebook and Twitter wield a rising influence that is a
force to be reckoned with. Which is why civil society
is naturally drawn to social media as, fundamentally,
their raison d’etre is to bring people together over a
shared issue or concern. But the questions remain:
Can social media bring about social change? Is a
retweet or a Facebook “like” an arm’s length show of
solidarity that only adds to the online chatter?
PASS
嘉宾 张国强、牛油小生、陈维彪
主持人 郑景祥
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
现代梦魇幻境、天马行空的想象世界，在张国强、牛油小
生、陈维彪笔下，跃然于纸上。三位年轻写作人带来各自的
最新著作，也向大家介绍新马华文文学世界里的其他充满
想象与令人心醉的新作品。
Panel NEW SINGAPOREAN AND
MALAYSIAN STORIES
PASS
Featuring Teo Kok Keong, Niu You Xiao Sheng,
Tang Jui Piow
Moderated by Ting Kheng Siong
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Modern dreamscapes and whimsical inspirations take
form in the words of young writers, Teo Kok Keong,
Niu You Xiao Sheng and Tang Jui Piow. They will
share their newest publications and introduce other
imaginative and riveting works of contemporary
Chinese literature in Singapore and Malaysia.
This session is in Mandarin.
8 NOV | SUN
Stand a chance to participate in this panel by
submitting a selection of five original poems to
trendlit.submission@gmail.com with the subject head,
‘I want to PK!’
$60
This masterclass introduces poets to some of the
techniques of Conceptualism, a school of writing
that often uses technical resources on the Web to
produce writing “beyond the lyric”: the readymade
writing of the unoriginal text; the mannerist writing
of the constrained text; the illegible writing of the
unreadable text; and the aleatoric writing of the
authorless text. The class explores these four ways
of writing so that participants might torque them to
their own literary purposes.
FREE
嘉宾 陈黎
主持人 孤星子、洪均荣
时长 1 hour
地点 TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Masterclass WRITING BEYOND
THE LYRIC
Instructed by Christian Bök
Duration 3 hours
Venue TMA, Hall
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 7 NOVEMBER | SATURDAY
59
10am
Workshop HOW TO WRITE A WEEKLY
COLUMN BY MRS MONEYPENNY Instructed by Heather McGregor
Duration 3 hours
Venue TAH, Living Room
11 am
$50
Storytelling JUST ONE MORE
FREE
Featuring Karen Lee
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
For ages 4 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
CREATE A STACEY @ ACM
ADVENTURE
Instructed by Lianne Ong, James Tan
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
Workshop
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Featuring Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
Moderated by Khoo Sim Eng
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL MINDS
Featuring Sophie Hannah, Nils Nordberg,
Fuminori Nakamura, Alice Clark-Platts
Moderated by Shamini Flint
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
Perbincangan Panel PERANAN WANITA
PASS
Den
British Council.
Sri Rahayu, Kamaria Buang,
Dipengerusikan oleh Kartini Anwar
Jangka Masa 1 hour
Lokasi TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening
Room
PASS
Nils Nordberg
Featuring Troy Chin, Christian Cailleaux
Moderated by Jerry Hinds
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
How does one maintain artistic integrity in the face
of mainstream commercialism? Two graphic novelists
– Frenchman Christian Cailleaux and Singaporean
Troy Chin – chronicle their own journeys, the pitfalls
and the opportunities, as they chart their own paths.
Fuminori Nakamura
An award-winning biographer, critic and Oxford
lecturer, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst is known for
his books, Becoming Dickens (2011) and The Story of
Alice (2015), a biographical account of Lewis Carroll
and the girl who inspired his most famous fictional
character. In this session, Robert discusses the public’s
long-lasting fascination with Alice in Wonderland,
and why Victorian classics and fairy tales remain so
popular in the 21st century.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
British Council.
Adakah bentuk sastera yang disebut sebagai
puisi wanita atau fiksi wanita wujud dan boleh
dipertahankan? Adakah karya penulis wanita
berlainan daripada karya penulis lelaki? Jika
begitu, apakah sifat-sifatnya? Tiga penulis akan
membincangkan topik ini.
Panel THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN
MALAY LITERATURE
PASS
Featuring Sri Rahayu, Kamaria Buang,
Faizal Tehrani
Moderated by Kartini Anwar
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
8 NOV | SUN
8 NOV | SUN
Mengemukakan
Faizal Tehrani
PASS
Kamaria Buang
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
60
DALAM KESUSASTERAAN MELAYU
PASS
Suitable for: Aspiring journalists and bloggers
Materials needed: Pen and paper
Panel SELL-OUT VERSUS ARTISTIC
INDEPENDENCE
PASS
Indie publishing shines the way where others fear to
tread. From Malaysia’s Buku Fixi and Dubook Press
to Singapore’s very own BooksActually, these indies
are putting blood and sweat in delivering great works
of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more. Let these
publishers share the lessons – the do’s and don’ts – of
book publishing.
Royal Norwegian Embassy Singapore and NORLA.
ROBERT DOUGLAS-FAIRHURST and
THE ETERNAL FASCINATION WITH ALICE IN WONDERLAND
INDIE PUBLISHING HEROES
Featuring Amir Muhammad, Kenny Leck,
Mutalib Uthman
Moderated by Azhar Ibrahim
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
11 . 3 0am
Heather McGregor aka Mrs Moneypenny is a triple
threat: entrepreneur, columnist and TV presenter.
She helmed a highly successful weekly column in
the Financial Times for 16 years while juggling three
children, a husband and her own business. How did
she do it? She will share invaluable tips on how to
craft and sustain a regular column that speaks to
audiences.
Panel
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
$5
For ages 10 to 12.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Panel
From Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, to
contemporary hard-boiled noir, crime fiction
has intrigued readers for decades. What is so
universally appealing about the genre, and what
are the differences among the subgenres?
Acclaimed crime experts, Fuminori Nakamura,
Nils Nordberg, Sophie Hannah and debut
crime writer, Alice Clark-Platts, discuss the
allure of crime, and how their various cultural
backgrounds have influenced their works.
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 8 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
Is there such a thing as women poetry or women
fiction? Do women genuinely write different works
61
from men? If so, what are the characteristics? Three
writers take apart this topic.
This session is in Malay.
Music
JAIME WONG & HUBBABUBBAS
Featuring Jaime Wong,
Duration 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Lawn
FREE
PICTURE BOOK PICNIC WITH
EMILA YUSOF
Featuring Emila Yusof
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
HubbaBubbas
11 . 3 0AM
REAL TO PRINT: THE BURDEN
OF EXPERIENCE Panel
PASS
Jaime Wong
TALES FROM A
VERY BIG ISLAND
Presented by Kiran Shah
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
FREE
Panel IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
HubbaBubbas
HubbaBubbas are among three bands from the
NOISE Singapore programme which will serenade
you at the SWF POP stage during the Festival. Look
out for special guest Jaime Wong in this combined set
where they will create an unorthodox sound that is
sure to surprise you.
Workshop
AFTER MAGRITTE
Featuring Roger Jenkins
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Learning Gallery
Based on French graphic novel Le Transperceneige
(Snowpiercer), this science-fiction film is set in a future
where a failed climate-change experiment kills all life
on the planet except for a lucky few who boarded the
Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe,
where a class system emerges.
There will be a post-show dialogue with the writer
and illustrator of Le Transperceneige, Jean-Marc
Rochette and Olivier Bocquet.
Instructed by Katherine
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, Foyer
FREE
Eliza Teoh, Gabby Tye, Xiaohan, Ashley Koh
Moderated by Kenneth Quek
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
This session is in Mandarin and co-organised with the
NTU Division of Chinese.
2 . 3 0 pm
Workshop
WORLD BUILDING BASICS
$50
PASS
Writers of speculative fiction face a special onus in
constructing the worlds that their characters inhabit.
In this workshop, we will examine the implications,
both material and psychological, that ramify from
the story’s central imaginative construct. In a world
in which the dead rise, computers can learn, or
spacecrafts travel the universe, how do people live?
What do they wear, eat, dream, fear? Through a series
of exercises, students will explore shaping the reality
of the story world.
Suitable for: Beginners, aspiring writers
Materials needed: Pen and paper
嘉宾 韩丽珠、谢裕明、林高、何致和
主持人 张松健
时长 4 hours
地点 NLB, Imagination & Possibility Rooms
For ages 10 to 12.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Plato considered poetry and theatre as the imitation of
reality, while Tang Dynasty’s poet Du Fu wrote that,
all authors should know, deep down, if their works
have the qualities to be passed down through the ages.
Likewise, modern literature upholds two different
thoughts. Is literature born out of social forces? Or is
writing nothing but the projection of the writer? This
forum gathers writers from diverse backgrounds to
share the personal meanings and motivations of their
own writings.
FREE
Mah
文学论坛 梦·岛屿·其他：写作的理由
Featuring Hon Lai-chu, Chia Joo Ming,
Lin Gao, Ho Chih-ho
Moderated by Zhang Song Jian
Duration 4 hours
Venue NLB, Imagination & Possibility Rooms
Instructed by Justin
Duration 3 hours
Venue TMA, Hall
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
PASS
文学写作的意义，相同而又相异。柏拉图认为诗与戏剧是
现实的模拟；杜甫则说“文章千古事，得失存心知”。同样
Cronin
8 NOV | SUN
8 NOV | SUN
$5
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Cast: Chris Evans,
Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton | 2013 | 126min
South Korea | English and Korean | Rating: NC16
Featuring
62
Conference DREAMS, ISLANDS AND
SUCH: THE REASONS FOR WRITING
PASS
Craft DREAMCATCHER ART
In a society driven to distraction by social media, how
do some parents inculcate a love for books in their
children? How do parents encourage their children
to read and write? Singapore authors – and their
children who are also writers – share their experiences
across two generations and give an insight into how
their lives have been enriched by being surrounded by
books.
节目与南洋理工大学中文系联合举办。
Jean-Marc Rochette, Olivier Bocquet
Moderated by Boon Chan
Duration 3 hours
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
1 . 3 0 pm
SNOWPIERCER
的，现代文学观也展现两派思潮，一派主张文学是一种社
会力量，一派则认为写作不过是自我的投射。互联网的时
代里，更加让写作的平台和发声变得复杂。
这场论坛汇集了多元背景的作家，针对自身的生活空间，
探讨写作的意义与理由。
Featuring
For ages 4 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Film
Experiences can be a writer’s best inspiration, but how
do you use them for a novel or a memoir? What do
you leave out, and what do you disguise? Three writers
of the bildungsroman – Alison Jean Lester (Lillian on
Life), Siow Lee Chin (From Clementi To Carnegie),
and Thaddeus Rutkowski (Haywire) – walk the line.
Storytelling
FREE
This session is in English and Malay.
For ages 4 to 6. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Featuring Thaddeus Rutkowski, Alison Jean Lester,
Siow Lee Chin
Moderated by Lian Pek
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
12 . 3 0 pm
2 pm
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 8 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
U.S. Embassy Singapore.
63
2 . 3 0 pm
JOSEPH WONG: OLD MASTER Q AND ME
Featuring Joseph Wong
Moderated by James Suresh
Duration 1 hour
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
PASS
Masterclass SUSAN ORLEAN’S ART
IN FACT: FINDING NARRATIVES, TELLING STORIES
$60
What makes a great story? How do you develop voice
in non-fiction narrative? Aside from these questions,
participants will explore the tradition of The New
Yorker magazine, and examine how it has shaped Susan
Orlean’s work and influenced generations of writers.
This session is suitable for: Writers with experience
in narrative journalism as well as familiarity with the
outstanding practitioners of the genre
Materials needed: Pen and paper
PASS
Featuring Shivaji Das and AKM Mohsin
Moderated by Alvin Pang
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
The bumbling Old Master Q has entertained
generations of readers in the region, from Hong Kong
to Malaysia and Singapore. Joseph Wong, son of
original series writer Alfonso Wong, speaks on the
longevity of the iconic comic figure who has moved
on to animations and webcomics, and why he chooses
to continue his father’s work.
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Panel WHERE HAVE ALL THE
READERS GONE?
64
Leck
Singapore and Hong Kong share several traits in
common: small land area with a packed and highstrung populace who is not into reading, as borne
out by survey results. Writer Jason Y Ng (Hong
Kong) and publisher Kenny Leck (Singapore) joins
moderator Kenny Chan to pick apart old arguments
and propose remedies for hope.
3. 3 0 pm
Workshop
STORIES IN SOUND
$5
Instructed by Allen Losey
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue: ACM, Learning Gallery
Panel
PASS
Featuring Ranjit Hoskote, Paul Tan
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
How are the aesthetics of visual and literary arts
similar and different? Two poets and critics who have
traversed both fields give their takes.
ALIENS AT HOME
PASS
Mark Gevisser, Nicholas Hogg,
Pia Padukone, Leonora Liow
Moderated by Jason Erik Lundberg
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Featuring
BUILDING CASTLES
IN THE AIR
Presented by Sheila Wee
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
For ages 7 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
Tehrani
Panel THE GOOD, THE BAD AND
THE UGLY
PASS
What price fame and obsession? Come cosy up in this
session with writers Dylan Jones and Avi Sirlin who
deconstruct the cult of personality surrounding such
icons as Elvis Presley and naturalist Alfred Russel
Wallace.
This event is made possible with the assistance of the
British Council.
The Gallery can only be accessed via the entrance at
Coleman Street, facing St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Their works subsist in the penumbra of identity,
navigating between gender, ethnicity, wealth and class
boundaries. South African Mark Gevisser, Briton
Nicholas Hogg, Indian-American Pia Padukone and
Singaporean Leonora Liow delve into the delicate
negotiations of the self.
Storytelling
Featuring Amir Muhammad, Faizal
Moderated by Kwok Kian Woon
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
Featuring Dylan Jones, Avi Sirlin
Moderated by Huzir Sulaiman
Duration 1 hour
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
For ages 9 to 11.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
WORKING AROUND CENSORSHIP
In this digital society, where one has access to most
information, banned books hold a special place in
people’s hearts. These writers share their experiences
after having their works banned, and how they
navigate the challenges of the artistic eco-system.
This session is in English and Malay.
For ages 4 to 6. Parent and child participation.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
4 pm
Seen and not much heard, migrant workers have been
toiling in the sun to build Singapore’s foundation.
Things changed last year when a group of migrant
poets made headlines for their creative expressions
in verse in the inaugural Migrant Worker Poetry
Competition. This session will feature migrant worker
poets, namely, Monir Ahmod, Kazi Shihab Uddin
Liton, Syedur Rahman Liton, Azizul Haque Khan
Mohar and Moh Jahangir Alam Babu. They will be
joined by organisers Shivaji Das and AKM Mohsin
and judge Alvin Pang
Panel Ranjit Hoskote and
Paul Tan : DISSECTING LITERATURE AND VISUAL AESTHETICS
FREE
FREE
Panel ST CONVERSATIONS: WHY
SINGAPORE WILL STRUGGLE TO WIN OLYMPIC MEDALS
PASS
Featuring Lim Heem Wei, Mark Chay,
Dipna Lim Prasad
Moderated by Rohit Brijnath
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play Den
Rohit Brijnath speaks to Lim Heem Wei, Mark
Chay and Dipna Lim Prasad about how Singapore
will struggle to win Olympic medals. Lim is the first
Singaporean gymnast to qualify for the Olympics
and a silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games.
Mark Chay has swum at two Olympic Games, was
the CEO of the Singapore Hockey Federation and is
now Chairman of the International Sports Academy.
Dipna Lim Prasad is the 400m hurdles national
record holder, a SEA Games silver medallist and took
part in the 2012 Olympics.
8 NOV | SUN
8 NOV | SUN
Featuring Jason Y Ng, Kenny
Moderated by Kenny Chan
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Chamber
PASS
Panel
ADVENTURES WITH ATI
Featuring Rilla Melati Bahri, Sharon Ismail
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
Instructed by Susan Orlean
Duration 3 hours
Venue TAH, Living Room
Panel AMONG US: MIGRANT
WORKER POETS
3 pm
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 8 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
65
A HISTORY OF SINGAPORE
MALAY POETRY
4 . 3 0 pm
Reading
Panel “INSTALOVE” – ROMANCE AND
THE YA NOVEL
Featuring Rachel Hartman, Joyce Chng,
Joyce Chua
Moderated by Denise Tan
Duration 1 hour
Venue ACM, River Room
Joyce Chng
FREE
Joyce Chua
Young Adult (YA) literature has taken the world by
storm, with influential series like The Hunger Games
and The Mortal Instruments. One of the key tropes in
YA revolves around romance – “instalove”, the love
triangle, forbidden love and so forth. YA writers and
readers share their insights on why the romance plot is
essential to the YA novel.
For ages 13 and above.
5. 3 0 pm
Panel
REBRANDING CLASSIC COMICS
66
Cheng Tju
Old comics and cartoons are given a new lease of
life on the big screen. In the West, audiences have
seen celluloid adaptations of Garfield, SpongeBob
SquarePants and Tintin which enjoyed varying
degrees of success. Here in the East, an animation
film was just released to commemorate the 35th
anniversary of the much-loved Doraemon anime
series. Kelley Cheng, pop-culture junkie and awardwinning creative director, will talk to Joseph Wong,
the second-generation author behind the Old Master
Q (Lao Fuzi – 老夫子) series, comics researcher
Lim Cheng Tju and comics artist Troy Chin on the
challenges of retelling old comics in different media
to appeal to new audiences.
Featuring Abdul Rahman Basrun, Abdul Muhaimin,
Isa Kamari
Moderated by Nazry Bahrawi
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, British Council Gallery
In conjunction with the completion of the English
translation of the work, Potret Puisi Melayu Singapura
[A History of Singapore Malay Poetry] by Cultural
Medallion winner Isa Kamari, translators Abdul
Rahman Basrun and Abdul Muhaimin and young
poets from different language communities will
recite their favourite poems from the work in both
English and Malay. The audience can appreciate the
lyricism of the works in the original language while
better understanding their significance and historical
background. A short discussion on the challenges of
translation will be conducted.
This session is in English and Malay.
This session is co-presented with The Select Centre in
conjunction with TranslateSingapore 2015.
SEJARAH PUISI MELAYU SINGAPURA PEMBACAAN & PERBINCANGAN
FREE
Mengemukakan Abdul Rahman Basrun,
Abdul Muhaimin, Isa Kamari
Dipengerusikan oleh Nazry Bahrawi
Jangka masa 1 hour
Lokasi TAH, British Council Gallery
Sempena penyiapan penterjemahan Inggeris bagi
buku Potret Puisi Melayu Singapura oleh Isa Kamari,
Pemenang Pingat Budaya, penterjemah Abdul
Rahman Basrun dan Abdul Muhaimin berserta
beberapa penyajak daripada masyarakat berbilang
bahasa akan mendeklamasikan sajak-sajaknya
dalam bahasa Inggeris dan Melayu. Penonton boleh
menikmati sifat dan gaya lirik bagi sajak asal dalam
bahasa Melayu sementara memahami dengan lebih
lanjut kepentingan serta latar belakang sejarah yang
dikaitkannya menerusi penyampaian dalam bahasa
Inggeris. Akhir sekali, sebuah perbincangan ringkas
akan diadakan untuk memebincangkan cabarancabaran penterjemahan.
Sesi ini akan dijalankan dalam bahasa Inggeris dan Melayu. Sesi ini juga diadakan dengan kerjasama The Select Centre,
sempena acara TranslateSingapore 2015.
Rob Cowen, Bhavani Prakash:
IT’S NATURE’S WAY OF TELLING YOU
Featuring Rob Cowen, Bhavani Prakash
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation Play
PASS
Den
Part natural history and part memoir, Rob Cowen’s
exquisite and evocative Common Ground inhabits
the interspace between the urban and nature, the
animalistic and the human. The British nature writer
is joined by Bhavani Prakash, the founder of Green
Collar Asia and Eco WALK the Talk. Her dedication
for the green cause has won her the SONY IWA
Woman of the Year 2014.
“WHY YOU WRITE ALL WEIRD?” PASS
CHRISTIAN BöK AND DESMOND KON ON THE ROLE OF AVANT-GARDE POETRY
IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Panel
Featuring Christian Bök, Desmond
Moderated by Yeow Kai Chai
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Kon
“Language is like a weed that cannot only endure but
also thrive under all kinds of difficult conditions,”
Canadian Christian Bök once said. Both Christian
and Singapore poet Desmond Kon are unafraid
to take the difficult route, ceaselessly pushing the
envelope. They are among the 21st century flagbearers
of avant-garde poetry using language to question
perceptions of reality.
Panel ADAPTING A SINGAPORE
LITERARY TEXT FOR SCREEN
Featuring Alfian Sa’at, Dave Chua,
Ang Qing Sheng, Samantha Seah
Moderated by Ong Szu Yoong
Duration 1 hour
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy Screening Room
Sing-Along BALLADS OLD AND NEW
Featuring Dawn Wong, Kailin Yong
Duration 30 minutes
Venue ACM, Shaw Foyer
FREE
For ages 7 and above.
Please refer to SWF 3 pull-out for full details.
7pm
Closing Debate THIS HOUSE
BELIEVES THAT SINGAPOREANS
ARE NOT DREAMERS
FREE
Featuring Adrian Tan, Gwee Li Sui,
Oniatta Effendi, Shamini Flint, Vernetta Lopez,
Joshua Ip, Hirzi Zulkiflie, Deborah Emmanuel
Moderated by Petrina Kow
Duration 1 hour 30 minutes
Venue TAH, Chamber
Oniatta
Effendi
Vernetta
Lopez
Adrian
Tan
Hirzi
Zulkiflie
Gwee Li Sui
Joshua Ip
Shamini
Flint
Deborah
Emmanuel
PASS
From Daren Shiau’s Heartland to Dave Chua’s Gone
Case to the numerous interpretations in SWF’s
Utter programme, Singapore texts are increasingly
the subjects of film-makers. This panel looks at the
challenges and artistic decisions made when adapting
for the screen.
The festival tradition continues with the unmissable
Closing Debate, promising more wicked insights
and even more uproarious laughs! It returns to
the Chamber, where it was born in 2007. In the
year of SG50, two teams of four speakers will
passionately argue the topic: ‘This House Believes that
Singaporeans are Not Dreamers’. So, are we practical,
unimaginative machines, or are we bold minds who
dream the impossible? Let the Battle Royale begin!
8 NOV | SUN
8 NOV | SUN
Featuring Joseph Wong, Troy Chin, Lim
Moderated by Kelley Cheng
Duration 1 hour
Venue National Gallery, Auditorium
PASS
FREE
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES
PROGRAMMES 8 NOVEMBER | SUNDAY
67
The Indonesian archipelago spans the Equator and Southeast Asian
region, an eighth of the world’s circumference. A nation of 17,000 odd
islands that began its journey as a modern state 70 years ago, Indonesia
carries millennia of historical weight, contradictions and resolutions.
What are Indonesia’s aspirations for the world? How do 252 million
Indonesians think and dream? Can we see continuities from ancient
Srivijaya and Majapahit at work in the up-to-the-minute literature
of contemporary Indonesia? If Singapore knew Indonesian literature
better, would it change the way we see ourselves and our region? We
turn our focus to Indonesia this year. We explore Indonesia through
her long traditions of the word in the same ways Indonesians celebrate
them — recited to the background of theatre and movements, sung
against rich tonal texture and spoken in different tongues. Dreams are
after all facets of reality.
Don Quixote
$28
Date 30 Oct, Friday
Time 8pm
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation
Play Den
This multi-layered performance combines
music, visuals and theatre to bring to the
stage leading Indonesian thinker and
letterman, Goenawan Mohamad’s poetic
homage to Cervantes’ story of Don Quixote
de la Mancha.
Performed in Bahasa Indonesia with
English surtitles.
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Poetry in Music Ubiet and
Kroncong Tenggara
$28
Date 4 Nov, Wednesday
Time 8pm
Venue TAH, The Japan Foundation
Play Den
The popular sound of our grandparents’
entertainment heard in movies, amusement
parks and parties, kroncong was the Indie
music scene that sprouted in the first half of
the 20 th century. Kroncong Tenggara revives
old-time favourites with a newness that can
only come from musical virtuosity and years
of island-hopping research. The group will
also demonstrate the musical dynamics of
Indonesian literature by singing the words of
contemporary Indonesian poets.
Servants of
the Word
$15
Date 5 Nov, Thursday
Time 8pm
Venue TAH, Chamber
Servants of the Word is an experience of
translation, performed by three translators
(English, French and Indonesian languages)
with a Javanese musician-performer. The
performance-reading takes extracts from
three texts; the 19th century Javanese poetic
work Serat Centhini; Centhini: Forty Nights
and One of Rain and Pariyem’s Confession.
Performed in Bahasa Indonesia, English,
Javanese and French.
Goenawan
Mohamad
$15
PASS
The Burdens of a Bastion
When Meaning is Managed:
The Fate of Literature
Moderator Peter Schoppert
Date 31 Oct, Saturday
Time 4pm
Venue TAH, Chamber
An Indonesian essayist, poet and man
of letters, Goenawan Mohamad delivers
his keynote lecture on literature, under
pressure in Indonesia as elsewhere from
the non-negotiable demands of both the
Market and Absolute Faith. What happens
when meaning, in literature, is shaped by
non-meaning? How can writers and readers
resolve an unresolvable situation?
Ayu Utami
Zen Hae
PASS
Feminism in
Indonesian literature today
Moderator Jane Wong
Date 2 Nov, Monday
Time 7pm
Venue TAH, Living Room
Writer and activist Ayu Utami took the literary
world by storm with her now seminal novel
Saman in which female sexuality was explicitly
written about for the first time in Indonesia.
Though some labelled it ‘pornographic’, her
detractors failed to recognize that her work in
its essence is about the freedom to express the
individual’s will, including women’s sexuality.
17 years since its publication, Utami reflects
on the state of feminist writing in Indonesian
literature today.
Laksmi Pamuntjak
PASS
Blending fact with tradition
Moderator Farish Noor
Date 1 Nov, Sunday
Time 11.30am
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Moderator Andrew Conroe
Date 1 Nov, Sunday
Time 4pm
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue Room
Zen Hae is considered by his peers to be a
bastion of Betawi literature, a “native” subcultural community of Jakarta, it now finds
itself being pushed out by the cosmopolitan
thrust of the city. He discusses the problems
of writing from marginalized tradition and
its future.
Laksmi Pamuntjak’s bestselling debut
novel AMBA Sebuah Novel (The Question
of Red) is about the historical violence in
1965, in which up to one million accused
Communists in Indonesia were massacred.
It is set against a modern take on the story of
Amba and Bhisma from the Indian national
epic poem The Mahabharata. Pamuntjak
will discuss how this terrible chapter of
Indonesian history has long been silenced
and why the juxtaposing and referencing of
ancient texts is so prevalent in Indonesian
literature today.
Agustinus Wibowo
Batik Painting
PASS
Being Knowmadic
Moderator Pamela Ho
Date 2 Nov, Monday
Time 8.30pm
Venue TAH, Living Room
As one of Indonesia’s leading travel writers,
Agustinus Wibowo has pioneered a new
genre in Indonesian travel literature
called ‘knowmadic’. This allows readers to
experience the writer’s physical, spiritual
and emotional journey as they contemplate
their own conflicts and anxieties. It is all
about transformation as a knowmad not only
longs to change the world but to be changed
by it. Join Wibowo to learn more about how
to be a knowmad.
FREE
Date 31 Oct – 1 Nov
Time 10am – 6pm
Venue TAH, Porch
Join artist Sujak Rahman, one of
Singapore’s finest batik artists for a weekend
of batik fun! Purchase a demo kit and make
your own batik with Sujak as he embarks on
a new work inspired by the 17,000 islands
of Indonesia.
This programme is curated by The Arts House with
the programming support of Goenawan Mohamad.
69
BOOK LAUNCHES
《秦淮选集》BY QIN HUAI
Time 8.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue TAH, Kumon Blue
Ticketing Free
FREE
Room
Qin Huai’s writing career has spanned over half a
century. This year, along with Singapore, he celebrates
the Golden Jubilee year of his writing with the release
of The Selected Works of Qin Huai, a boxed set of four
books: The Cradle in August: Qin Huai’s Patriotic
Poems; Roses Have Thorns: The Collected Essays of Qin
Huai; The Edge of Fairy Tales: Collected Proses of Qin
Huai and Portraits of Ladies in Nude: The Short Works
of Qin Huai.
31 Oct
SIR FONG’S ADVENTURES IN SCIENCE
BOOK 5 – THE QUANTUM BUNNY
by Otto Fong
Time 10am – 11am
Venue TAH, British
FREE
A comic allegory of the history of Quantum
Mechanics, the story loosely adapts the classic
Monkey King story ‘Uproar In Heaven’. It follows
a quantum bunny from its initial discovery by Max
Planck, to heated debates about the behaviour of
subatomic particles between Albert Einstein and
Niels Bohr as the Quantum Bunny turns the classical
Physics world upside down.
《靛蓝岛屿》 BY YAP SEOW CHOONG
FREE
Gallery
When Singapore-born Lonely Planet (China)
publisher Yap Seow Choong set out on his journey,
it was not in search of the mainlands but for more
islands. He journeyed to the remote and unfamiliar
Faroe Islands. In Sulawesi, he witnessed the island’s
mysterious burial ceremony. In East Timor, where
peace was recently restored and tourists have yet
to return by the busloads, he discovered one of the
world’s most serene beaches. In Sicily, delightful
scenes from Italian films replayed in his mind. The
transformative sights and emotions which he has
experienced in islands from all over the world have
now been compiled in《靛蓝岛屿》
70
Gallery
Join us as we launch the latest works of two
cosmopolitan women writers. Award-winning writer
Shirley Geok-lin Lim shares from two muchanticipated new poetry collections. Do You Live In?
is inspired by the places she has sojourned and Ars
Poetica for the Day gives penetrating accounts of a poet
devoted to her art.
Lin Yang’s debut novel is the pensive, soul-searching
journey of protagonist Fan as she unshackles the past
of two generations of women to find reconciliation
and strength. Unfolding against the contrasting
landscapes of socialist China and urban Singapore,
the story draws profound parallels between family and
water for their nurturing and destructive powers.
TRIPLE 9 SLEUTHS: DANGEROUS
RELEVATIONS by Maranna Chan
Council Gallery
Time 11.30am – 12.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
Time 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
FREE
Time 3.30pm – 4.30pm
Venue ACM, River Room
Get ready for high adventure. The Triple Nine
Sleuths are Singapore’s latest amazing teen detective
trio, using their creativity and intelligence to solve
mysteries, even when the Police are stumped! But
there is one mystery that remains unsolved, a puzzle
that Stacy, Corey and Colton are desperate to solve—
where are Stacy’s parents? As the Triple Nine Sleuths
race against time for answers, each mystery brings
them closer to answering this ultimate question.
TITLES by Tse Hao Guang
and David Wong Time 4pm – 5pm
Venue TAH, British
Ticketing Free
FREE
Council Gallery
i. David Wong presents For the End Comes Reaching,
a poignant meditation on death in three parts. Each
poem in this collection is an elegy to something
ended and lost, their landscapes and settings abstract.
Collectively, they sing of the poet’s father and the life
they shared together.
white, splits into its constituent colours in Deeds of
Light. The poems navigate and attempt to reconcile
the myriad ways in which language, imagination, and
culture interact and assert themselves.
TITLES by Yong Yi Huey
and Gilbert Tan 《不为什么》第四期 (WHYNOT VOL.4)
by Trendlit
Candid Creation presents two new books:
Time 5.30pm – 6.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Gallery
不为什么 [WhyNot] is a Singapore-based Chinese
literature magazine that promotes the vision of
redefining Singapore’s Chinese literature, with the
hope to propel new voices. This volume’s contributors
include three renowned columnists, Ace Khong, Teo
Kok Keong and Liu Xiaoyi. The featured interview,
with Quah Sy Ren (柯思仁), Dr Tan Chee Lay (陈
志锐) and Ng Wai Choy (吴韦材), is centred on the
relationship between essay writing and personal
memory.
TITLES BY MYAY HMONE LWIN
Time 6pm – 7pm
Venue TAH, Living Room
FREE
Myay Hmone Lwin , a poet, fiction writer and
translator from Myanmar, will be launching two
titles in Singapore. Firstly, he will release a landmark
project entitled A Knot Is Where You Tie a Piece of Rope,
the first anthology of literary works by contemporary
writers in Myanmar in English. It offers a rare
snapshot of literature in Myanmar, with every work
featuring a distinct style. Secondly, he will showcase
his own poetry collection, The Scuttlebutt, which has
been translated by fellow Burmese poet Ko Ko Thett.
ANNAL by Subhashini Kalaikanna
Time 7pm – 8pm
Venue TAH, British
FREE
Council Gallery
Annal is a Tamil poetry collection written
by upcoming Singaporean writer Subhashini
Kalaikannan. The collection expresses the writer’s
thoughts and her care for humans, nature and
community.
Time 7.30pm – 9pm
Venue TAH, U.S. Embassy
FREE
BOOK LAUNCHES
TITLES by Lin Yang and
Shirley Geok-Lin Lim
3 0 Oct
Screening Room
1. Lolly’s Secret is inspired by a parent’s belief that all
children should be educated on healthy money habits
from home. Through the book, Angela (name doesn’t
match with authors listed on the left) hopes to help
children embark on a meaningful journey to discover
the value of money and cultivate a healthy financial
attitude from the start.
2. Hospitales: Theatres of Another Kind: Not many
people can claim to live through an 11-month-long
hospital stay. Gilbert Tan did just that, surviving
deadly infections, multiple surgeries and near-death
moments. Ride this journey, complete with cutting
wit and hearty humour, twists and turns, and an
ending yet to be written.
1 Nov
TITLES by Patrick Yee, Jason Erik
Lundberg, Quek Hong Shin and Ng Swee San Time 11am – 12pm
Venue ACM, River
FREE
Room
Let these Singaporean authors and illustrators inspire
your children with their passion for reading and
drawing: Jason Erik Lundberg, the author of the
highly successful Bo Bo and Cha Cha series; Patrick
Yee, the illustrator extraordinaire famed for his Harry
series of books on our founding father Lee Kuan
Yew; Quek Hong Shin, a young and talented authorillustrator of The Amazing Sarong; and experienced
screenwriter Ng Swee San, whose book The Great
Dragon Warrior tells a beautiful tale of courage.
They will share their experiences in storytelling and
illustrating picture books, with fun-filled activities for
young readers.
ii. Tse Hao Guang explores the city as a prism through
which ordinary life, at first a seeming undifferentiated
71
BOOK LAUNCHES
Time 11.30am – 12.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Time 4pm – 5pm
Venue TAH, British
Gallery
Life’s miserable sometimes, that’s why we read
books – to escape. Editors Maisarah Abu Samah and
Joelyn Alexandra introduce Escape from Reality, an
anthology of short stories by authors from Singapore
and Malaysia.
BILINGUAL ANTHOLOGY OF
SHORT STORIES by Nac-Itbm-
Yayasan Obor
Time 1pm – 2pm
Venue TAH, British
Ticketing Free
FREE
Council Gallery
Join us in this launch of a groundbreaking new
anthology featuring prominent and award-winning
Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean authors.
This Malay-English bilingual anthology features four
short stories from each country and is co-published
by the Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia, Institut
Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia and National Arts
Council (Singapore) The launch will feature readings
and a panel discussion moderated by Singapore editor,
Dr Aidil Subhan. Featured writers include, amongst
others, Suchen Christine Lim, Cultural Medallion
recipients Suratman Markasan and Rama Kannabiran
(Singapore), SM Zakir and Sri Diah (Malaysia).
UNION by Ravi Shankar
and Alvin Pang Time 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Gallery
Union is a ground breaking anthology commemorating
both 15 years of Drunken Boat’s inception and 50
years of Singaporean independence and literary
endeavour. A collaborative effort between America’s
online international poetry journal Drunken Boat and
Singapore publishing stalwart Ethos Books, Union is
a creative conversation between two communities
hailing from opposite ends of the geopolitical scale.
Edited by Drunken Boat’s Ravi Shankur and eminent
Singapore poet Alvin Pang, Union celebrates the rich
constellation of shared nuances between both places,
exploring the boundaries, the liminal and even the
antithesis of the ways that connect us.
72
IT NEVER RAINS ON NATIONAL DAY
by Jeremy Tiang FREE
Council Gallery
What does it mean to be Singaporean? What
constitutes the idea of home, and why do we feel
like we belong in a certain place at a certain time?
In this collection of short stories, Singaporeans who
are displaced around the globe encounter chance
meetings that cause them to question their sense of
identity and belonging. Author Jeremy Tiang takes
us behind creating Singaporean stories set against an
international backdrop, as well as the intertwining of
character arcs across the collection to form a greater
understanding of the Singaporean psyche.
TITLES by Rosie Milne and
William L Gibson Time 5.30pm – 6.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Gallery
Set in Singapore, London and Indonesia, against
the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, Olivia and
Sophia is the captivating historical novel based on
Sir Stamford Raffles’ two wives. Singapore Yellow is
the second volume of William L. Gibson’s Detective
Hawksworth Trilogy. Follow the eponymous
detective as he finds himself cornered by powerful
perpetrators and framed by sinister syndicates and
ruthless kidnappers.
ANTHOLOGIES By Epigram Books
Time 7pm – 8pm
Venue TAH, British
FREE
Council Gallery
Lim) share their thoughts on speculative writing from
and about Singapore, the Philippines, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.
4 Nov
2 Nov
TITLES by Noelle Q De Jesus,
Yeo Wei Wei and Desmond Kon Time 7pm – 8pm
Venue TAH, British
BIG MOLE by Ming Cher
FREE
Council Gallery
Join authors Desmond, Noelle and Wei Wei as they
discuss the inspiration and influence behind their
stunning collections: refreshingly piquant stories that
will thrill you or leave a strange, warm feeling in
your heart.
Blood Collected Stories by Noelle Q. de Jesus and
These Foolish Things by Yeo Wei Wei are short story
collections. Babel Via Negativa by Desmond Kon
Zhicheng-Mingdé is a work of hybrid scripting.
3 Nov
《白雲飛渡》by Chang Yu-Lien
Time 7pm – 8pm
Venue TAH, Living
FREE
Room
This book launch will feature a conversation between
the author’s son, acclaimed visual artist Sun Yu-li, and
Writer/Editor of Guangdong People’s Publisher, Li
Huai Yu.
TITLES by Jinat Rehana Begum,
Josephine Chia and David Leo
FREE
Epigram Books present three spectacular anthologies
of writing from Singapore and beyond:
Time 8.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue TAH, Living Room
i. The Epigram Books Collection of Best New
Singaporean Short Stories: Volume Two curates
the finest short fiction from Singaporean writers
published in 2013 and 2014. Expect to hear from
Victor Fernando R Ocampo, Joshua Ip, Gemma
Pereira, Jeremy Tiang and Tania De Rozario as
they offer insights into the Singaporean psyche and
examine various facets of the human condition.
Life is not what one lived, but what one remembers
and how one remembers it in order to recount it. –
Gabriel García Márquez
ii. What is speculative fiction? Several authors of the
fourth and fifth issues of LONTAR (Christina Sng,
Joses Ho, Desmond Kon, Jerrold Yam and Daryl WJ
memory. Read novels, meet writers, experience lives
beyond yourself with Ethos Books.
Three novelists, David Leo, Jinat Rehana Begum,
Josephine Chia three lives differently lived, kampongborn Singaporean; Indian Muslim who teaches
English literature; Peranakan with more than 20
years’ experience of living in England three stories
differently remembered and recounted, Cherry Days,
First Fires, When a Flower Dies giving life to days past,
recalling the fire of first loves, wreathing words into
FREE
Time 7pm – 8pm
Venue TAH, Gallery
BOOK LAUNCHES
ESCAPE FROM REALITY by Maisarah
Abu Samah and Joelyn Alexandra
After making waves in the global literary scene for
introducing Singaporean literature to an international
audience, the highly anticipated sequel to Ming
Cher’s Spider Boys, Big Mole, has finally hit the
bookshelves. Initially published in 1995 by Penguin
New Zealand, Spider Boys was lauded for its use of
vernacular language - and once again, this effective
use of local colloquialisms has continued with Big
Mole. From Singlish to local slang words, we speak
a language that is unmistakably and uniquely
Singaporean. And if this everyday language is what
sets the tone and scene for a homegrown story, how
does it then affect our understanding of a Singaporean
novel? In this discussion, literary critic and writer
Gwee Li Sui, NIE Assistant Professor Angus
Whitehead and SOTA’s Subject Head of English
Literature Laremy Lee will be sharing their opinions
on Ming Cher’s use of language in his work, and in
particular, how this feeds into his contribution to
local literature.
5 Nov
SINGATHOLOGY: 50 NEW WORKS BY
SINGAPORE’S AWARD WINNING WRITERS
Time 5pm – 9pm
Venue National Gallery,
Admission Invite Only
Auditorium
“Where have we been as a nation, and where do we go
from here? Singathology addresses these issues via 50
new works by Cultural Medallion and Young Artist
Award recipients. A multilingual two-volume boxset,
it is the first of its kind, featuring contributions
by Singapore’s award-winning writers, including
Edwin Thumboo, Wong Yoon Wah, KTM Iqbal and
Mohamed Latiff Mohamed. Specially commissioned
to celebrate the nation’s 50th birthday, this anthology
is published by Marshall Cavendish International
(Asia) and edited by Gwee Li Sui, Tan Chee Lay,
Sa’eda Buang and Azhagiya Pandiyan.
73
BOOK LAUNCHES
7 Nov
Time 11.30am – 12.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Time 4pm – 5pm
Venue TAH, British
Gallery
i. Loss and Laws presents a series of translated short
stories which portray unique shades of the Orient. The
humanness in these short stories propels the reader to
relate immediately to the characters and their lives.
ii. In Kafka in Ayodhya and Other Stories, Zafar Anjum
consolidates his literary writings previously only
available on his blog. He is also the editor of Kitaab.
org, a literary website.
TITLES by Anita Sebastian
and Teo Aik Cher Time 2pm – 3pm
Venue ACM, River
FREE
Room
Armour Publishing introduces their newest books:
the Ranger Anne series by ex-zoo ranger Anita
Sebastian, and School Daze by author-cartoonist Teo
Aik Cher. Be introduced to Ranger Anne, who works
at the zoo and has all kinds of adventures with the
zoo animals. Then sit back, reminisce and chuckle
along, as Aik Cher vividly captures the ups and downs
of the life of a Singapore student.
OF WHALES AND DINOSAURS:
THE STORY OF SINGAPORE’S NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM by
Kevin Y. L. Tan
Time 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Gallery
The Zoological Collection forms the core of the new
Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the
National University of Singapore. Of Whales and
Dinosaurs: The Story of Singapore’s Natural History
Museum narrates an intriguing tale of the biological
collection’s struggle and change spanning more
than a century. Join Dr Kevin Tan on Singapore’s
extraordinary natural history which few know about.
Council Gallery
Glimpse into the lives of Filipinos in Singapore,
and see Singapore from their eyes. This PhilippineSingapore anthology presents a spread of concerns
written in three genres by 30 contributors. The essays,
stories and poems trace well-travelled routes of
family, friendship, faith, and love; they enter intimate
spaces opened up by the sleight of the writer’s hand,
experiences that would have been closed to the
naked eye and an unimaginative heart. A natural
complement to Love Gathers All, the first-ever
anthology of Philippines-Singapore love poems, Get
Lucky nourishes the bonds between members of
these two countries by furthering the understanding
of assumptions, beliefs as well as behaviours that are
common or that divide.
KAMPONG CHAI CHEE by
YEO HONG ENG Time 5.30pm – 6.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Gallery
Kampong Chai Chee is a memoir of events in Kampong
Chai Chee and Singapore. It is a continuation of
Yeo Hong Eng’s account of his family’s kampong
experiences after they moved from Tanah Merah
Kechil to Peng Ghee Road. It tells of the joys and
sorrows of kampong life, and describes how the
villagers lived in the 1960s up to the 1970s, when they
were relocated by the Housing Development Board.
iii.Di Bumi Mana by Suratman Markasan is the
second book of a trilogy about students growing up in
Singapore.
iv.Di Mana Rumah Saya? by Nur-El-Hudaa Jaffar is
a children picture book about a cat who is looking for
the way home.
v. Kota Singa is a collection of prose written by the
author from 1959 till 2015.
TITLES by Wong Ling Ming
and Ng Beng Yong Time 11.30am – 12.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
TITLES BY MOHAMED LATIFF
FREE
MOHAMED, LEO SURYADINATA, SITI HANIFA MUSTAPHA, SURATMAN
MARKASAN AND NUR-EL-HUDAA JAFFAR
Council Gallery
Pustaka Nasional presents five new titles:
FREE
Gallery
i. The Landscapes of Life is a compilation of 15 essays
and 13 poems that vividly paint the many facets of
life, depicting family ties, friendships, romantic loves,
homesickness, as well as intricately rendered portraits
of personalities. A heartfelt and poetic work offering
appreciation and gratitude to life, Wong Ling Ming’s
book is the result of a decade of lifework.
ii. Ng Beng Yong’s Running Up That Hill of Dreams
is an anthology that compiles 66 notable poems,
three introductions and 11 analyses divided into
eight sections. The poems trace the journey of a man
growing up in an island state right into his middle
age, chronicling his evolving state of mind from age
15 up to 51 through poems about daily life, family,
and personal thoughts.
DOING GOOD GREAT by Willie
Cheng, Sharifah Mohamad and
Cheryl Tay
Time 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue TAH, British Council
FREE
Gallery
Hand-clearing 50,000 landmines in Cambodia is
nothing short of daunting - but it is just one of the
many causes that these thirteen individuals have
undertaken. Singapore may be a bustling urban
city, but the same cannot be said about other parts
of Asia where the comforts of sanitation, education
and housing appear a distant dream. Authors Willie
Cheng, Cheryl Tang and Sharifah Mohamed share
their motivation and experiences behind writing this
book, and the stories behind these thirteen ordinary
heroes doing extraordinary things to enact change
and progress. ANTHOLOGIES by
Noor Hasnah Adam Time 4pm – 5pm
Venue TAH, British
FREE
Council Gallery
The books are collections of contemporary short
scripts for plays.
DRAGON DANCER by Joyce Chng
Time 11.30am – 12.30pm
Venue ACM, River Room
8 Nov
Time 10am – 11am
Venue TAH, British
Hanifa Mustapha about the people living in Singapore.
BOOK LAUNCHES
TITLES by Jayanthi Sankar
and Zafar Anjum
GET LUCKY: ANTHOLOGY by ERIC
FREE
TINSAY VALLES, Migs Bravo-Dutt
and MANUELITA CONTRERAS-CABRERA
FREE
On Chinese New Year’s eve, Yao is preparing to wake
the ancient sky dragon, Shen Long, from his yearlong sleep. From the moment Shen Long opens his
great amber eyes and unfurls his silver-blue tail, Yao
will be propelled on a magical journey to battle the
bad luck of the previous year and usher in the good.
This is a beautiful story with symbolisms for Chinese
communities everywhere, told from the perspective of
Yao, the dragon dancer.
i. Nostalgia yang Hilang is a collection of published
short stories by Mohamed Latiff Mohamed.
ii. CPF & SMS is a collection of short story by by Siti
74
75
Author and presenter bios for What I Love About You Is Your Attitude Problem
and SWF3 events can be found in the respective programme booklets.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
write the Sherlock Sam children’s series, and lots
of short stories featuring robots, ninjas, cowboys,
superheroes, and sofas. Separately, they write
reviews, microfiction, short stories, and various
other things, plus occasionally edit as well.
A
| Malaysia | p 50
Pandiyan Anbalagan, a teaching
veteran of 20 years, started blogging
and writing short stories in Malaysian
Tamil-language newspapers in his 30s.
A member of the Vallinam online magazine team, he
is now its fiction editor. He also contributes regular
essays to the Parai Journal. His first Tamil book, a
literary critique on selected Malay-language short
stories, will be published in 2015.
A Pandiyan
20
30
.
.
.
.
2015
A Samad Said | Malaysia | pp 29, 30, 31
Poet and novelist A Samad Said has 65
books to his credit, from short stories
to poetry. His popular novels include
Salina, Hujan Pagi, Cinta Fansuri and
Langit Petang. His awards include the SEA Write
Award (1979).
Penulis novel dan penyajak A. Samad Said
telahmenghasilkan 65 naskhah buku yang
memaparkan penulisannya. Novel-novel popularnya
termasuk Salina, Hujan Pagi, Cinta Fansuri dan
Langit Petang. Karya-karya beliau juga telah banyak
diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Inggeris. Beliau telah
menerima beberapa pengiktirafan, antaranya ialah
Anugerah Penulis AsiaTenggara (1979). Beliau
menerima gelaran Sasterawan Negara dari kerajaan
Malaysia pada tahun 1986.
AJ Low | Singapore | p 37
AJ Low is the husband-and-wife team
of Adan Jimenez and Felicia LowJimenez. Born in California to Mexican
immigrant parents, Adan became an
immigrant himself when he moved to Singapore.
Felicia was born and raised in Singapore where she
spent most of her childhood with her head in the
clouds and her nose buried in a book. Together, they
76
Aaron Lee | Singapore | pp 30, 48, 52
Aaron Lee is a pilgrim poet who is
acknowledged to have played a key role
in the Singapore poetry renaissance in
the 1990s. He is also a writing mentor,
community organiser and banking lawyer. He is
the author of three poetry collections, including
Coastlands, which was launched at SWF 2014. He
has co-edited several poetry anthologies including
the bestselling No Other City: The Ethos Anthology
of Urban Poetry. Aaron’s work has been published
internationally and performed at many festivals and
conferences.
Adam Lewis Schroeder | Canada | pp 35, 38
Adam Lewis Schroeder is the author of
Kingdom of Monkeys (2001), Empress
of Asia (2006) and In the Fabled East
(2011), all of which are set in Southeast Asia. His 2015 book, All-Day Breakfast, is a
literary zombie novel set in the American Midwest.
He has been a finalist for numerous Canadian
literary prizes and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize
for Best Book. He teaches creative writing at the
University of British Columbia.
Adam Shah | Singapore | p 25
Adam Shah started blogging as a
hobby since 2005. In 2012, he started
The Halal Food Blog (which is still just
a hobby) because he loves to eat and
write. And he loves to take pictures too.
Adele Tan | Singapore | p 45
Adele Tan is a curator at the National
Gallery Singapore. Her research
focuses on contemporary art in
South-east Asia and China with a
special interest in performative practices and new
media. She received her Ph.D. in art history from
the Courtauld Institute of Art and was formerly
an assistant editor at Third Text. Her articles have
appeared in publications such as PAJ, Broadsheet,
Yishu, Eyeline and Third Text.
Adeline Foo | Singapore | pp 22, 31, 37
Adeline Foo is an MFA graduate of
New York University’s Tisch School of
the Arts (Asia). She has published 25
children’s books, including The Diary
of Amos Lee series, which sold more than 240,000
copies. Her screenwriting credits include the 2012
10-episode adaptation of The Diary of Amos Lee
on MediaCorp’s okto channel, and a Young Adult
TV movie, ‘Two Boys and a Mermaid’, on MediaCorp
Channel 5 in 2015.
Adi Darmawan | Indonesia | pp 44, 68
Adi Darmawan developed his music
skills and knowledge at the Indonesian
Institute of the Arts of Yogyakarta,
Indonesia. Majoring in guitar, he
finished his formal musical study in 1987. In 1989,
he received high acclaim at a national-level guitar
festival. From 1995 to 1997, he was involved in
writing music for several film projects. He is also
an electric bassist with a number of groups like
Krakatau, Dian HP and Dwiki Darmawan. He is
currently teaching at Farabi Music School. He has
been part of Kroncong Tenggara since 2007.
Azfansadra Karim | Indonesia | p 18
Azfansadra (Adra) Karim studied
Jazz Organ at the Prins Claus
Conservatorium Enschede (PCC)
in Groningen and has performed in
various countries as part of several ensembles
and projects. Currently based in Jakarta, Karim is
active in the local music scene and has performed
at various festivals such as Java Soulnation Festival
and Java Jazz Festival. He also works as a composer
and a music director for singers and events.
Adrian Tan | Singapore | pp 20, 67
Adrian Tan is the author of the
award-winning bestselling novels, The
Teenage Textbook and The Teenage
Workbook. He is a litigator at Morgan
Lewis Stamford LLC.
Sri Hanuraga | Indonesia | p 18
Sri (Aga) Hanuraga grew up performing
in progressive rock and fusion bands
but decided to begin studying Jazz
piano with Indra Lesmana, the leading
Jazz pianist in Indonesia at the age of 17. He has
since performed at major Jazz festivals in Indonesia
including the International Java Jazz Festival in
2005. His composition, Spyros The Dragon, was
nominated for ICEMA best jazz composition.
Agustinus Wibowo | Indonesia | pp 42, 69
Raised as a Chinese minority in
Indonesia, Agustinus Wibowo has
always been inspired by the question
of identity in his quests. His first book,
Selimut Debu [A Blanket of Dust; 2010], chronicles
his journey in Afghanistan. This was followed by
Garis Batas [Borderlines; 2011], which examines
issues of borderlines across ex-Soviet Central
Asian republics, and Titik Nol [Ground Zero; 2013],
where readers can experience the writer’s physical,
spiritual and emotional journey as they contemplate
their own conflicts and anxieties.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Authors and Presenters
Ah Guo 阿果 | Singapore | pp 24, 39
Lee Kow Fong, or Ah Guo, graduated
with a BA (Hons) from the National
University of Singapore. He holds a
Postgraduate Diploma in Translation
and Interpretation from Nanyang Technological
University. He also received his MA in Children’s
Book Illustration from Cambridge School of
Art, Anglia Ruskin University, in the UK in 2011.
Besides teaching as a full-time lecturer at Ngee
Ann Polytechnic, he is also actively involved in the
promotion and creation of children’s picture books
in Singapore.
阿果，原名李高丰，新加坡插画家、绘本作家，现任义安理
工学院讲师，
《联合早报》专栏作家。毕业自新加坡国立大
学中文系，后负笈英国安格利亚卢斯金大学考获童书插画
硕士学位。除了教学与图文创作，也积极投入新加坡儿童
绘本创作与推广工作。
Alexandra Spencer-Jones | UK | p 41
As Artistic Director of Action To The
Word, Alexandra Spencer-Jones
directs the body of the theatre
company’s work, which has included
‘A Clockwork Orange’, ‘Dracula’, ‘Titus Andronicus’,
‘Busstopkisser’ and ‘Shakespeare Shorts or What’s
In A Name?’. She won the MTM:UK WhatsOnStage
Award for Best Emerging Artist for her co-writing
and creation of Action To The Word’s musical,
‘Constance & Sinestra and the Cabinet of Screams’,
which played Latitude Festival in 2013. Alexandra
has also directed ‘The Priory’ and ‘Cloud 9’ for
Birmingham Crescent Theatre, and ‘Rent’ for
Birmingham Hippodrome, among others.
Alfian Sa’at | Singapore | pp 19, 32, 35, 50, 67
Alfian Sa’at is a resident playwright
with Wild Rice. His published works
include two collections of poetry, One
Fierce Hour and A History of Amnesia,
two collections of short stories, Corridor and Malay
Sketches, as well as two collections of plays. In 2001,
he won the Golden Point Award for Poetry and
received the Young Artist Award. Alfian has been
nominated six times for Best Script at The Straits
Times Life! Theatre Awards, eventually winning in
77
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Alice Clark-Platts | Singapore | p 60
Alice Clark-Platts is a former human
rights lawyer living in Singapore. She
has worked at the UN International
Criminal Tribunal in connection with
the Rwandan genocide and also on cases involving
Winnie Mandela and the rapper Snoop Dogg. Her
novel Warchild was shortlisted for the Impress
Prize 2013. Bitter Fruits is her debut novel and was
published by Penguin Random House in July 2015.
Alison Jean Lester | Singapore - US | pp 19, 29, 62
Alison Jean Lester’s first novel, Lillian
on Life, will be published in the US
by Putnam Books in January 2015. A
second novel is due out in 2016. Her
short story collection, Locked Out: Stories Far from
Home, was published in Singapore in 2006. She has
also written two self-help business books, and selfpublished a collection of essays.
Alvin Pang | Singapore | pp 25, 42, 53, 64
Active in literary practice and events
around the world, Alvin Pang has over a
dozen books to his name. His work has
been translated into over 15 languages.
His recent publications include When the Barbarians
Arrive (2012) and UNION: 15 Years of Drunken Boat
/50 Years of Writing from Singapore (2015). He is
Editor-in-Chief of a public policy journal, ETHOS,
and teaches creative writing at Yale-NUS College. A
Fellow of the Iowa International Writing Program, he
also directs The Literary Centre (Singapore), a nonprofit inter-cultural initiative.
Alvin Tan | Singapore | p 56
Founder and Artistic Director of
The Necessary Stage, Alvin Tan
has directed more than 70 plays,
which have been staged locally and
at international festivals. He has been awarded a
Fulbright Scholarship and, in 2010, was conferred
the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French
Ministry of Culture. He was also awarded Best
Director at the 2011 Life! Theatre Awards for ‘Model
Citizens’. In 2014, Alvin was conferred the Cultural
Medallion for his artistic excellence and contribution
to Singapore’s arts and cultural landscape.
Amir Muhammad | Malaysia | pp 57, 61, 65
Amir Muhammad is a writer and
independent film-maker based in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. Since the age of 14,
he has been writing for Malaysian print
78
media, notably the New Straits Times. Some of his
films have been featured in a number of international
film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival
and the Berlin International Film Festival. A full
retrospective of his work was screened at the 2008
Pesaro Film Festival in Italy. He started publishing
non-fiction books in 2007 under his company,
Matahari Books.
Ang Qing Sheng | Singapore | pp 19, 67
Ang Qing Sheng teaches in the
animation programme at Lasalle
College of the Arts. Among his works is
‘Affinity: Our Song’, a music video with
original music production that made its way into
several festivals worldwide. He has received funding
from both Lasalle Research Project Funding and
the National Arts Council (Singapore) to produce
animated short films in 2015, one of which is ‘5
Shades of Solitude’ for Utter 2015.
Angelina Choy | Singapore | p 37
Angelina Choy is a journalist at the
Straits Times. She is co-author of the
official SG50 book Living the Singapore
Story: Celebrating Our 50 Years.
Annaliza Bakri | Singapore | p 41
Annaliza Bakri is an educator and
translator. Her passion for the arts is
depicted through her contributions
in the Malay literary scene. As one
of the programme executives of the culturalliterary seminar series (CITA@The Arts House) for
2 consecutive years, her strong aura, passion and
presence in advocating Malay literature and culture
is unmistakable. Having been exposed to Malay
literature, both classical and modern, she is more
inclined towards local works that are lyrical and
beautifully penned in the national language.
Anne Lim | Singapore | p 48
Anne Lim writes from a desire to
express the beauty of the human spirit.
She is grateful for her formative years
at the National University of Singapore
that introduced her to studies in literature. She
has worked as teacher, journalist and community
worker, as well as authored and illustrated a book,
Face to Face: The Street Children of Bukit Ho Swee.
Now semi-retired, Anne enjoys taking long walks in
Singapore’s nature reserves and drawing inspiration
from reading and the arts.
Ari Larissa Heinrich | US | pp 23, 30
Ari Larissa Heinrich is an Associate
Professor in the Literature Department
of the University of California,
San Diego. He is the author of The
Afterlife of Images: Translating the Pathological
Body Between China and the West (2008) and
the translator of Qiu Miaojin’s Last Words from
Montmartre (2014).
Arief Suseno | Indonesia | pp 44, 68
Arief Suseno was born in Kediri, East
Java. One of his teachers in kroncong
was the late Daryono, a kroncong
songwriter and violin player. He
mastered a number of instruments like the ukulele,
guitar and cello, which provided opportunities for
him to play in many kroncong orchestras. Tong Tong
Fair in Holland was one of his international stages.
Arief has also done recordings with several kroncong
singers such as Mus Mulyadi, Mamiek Marsudi and
Tuti Tri Sedya. He has been with Kroncong Tenggara
since 2010.
Arun Mahizhnan | Singapore | p 37
Arun Mahizhnan is Special Research
Adviser at the Institute of Policy
Studies. Currently, he is leading the
effort to publish Singapore Chronicles,
a 50-volume book series to commemorate the
50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence. His
edited books include: Singapore: Reengineering
Success (1998), Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong
Years in Singapore (2009) and E-Governance and
Social Inclusion (2014). Arun is concurrently an
Adjunct Professor at the Wee Kim Wee School
of Communication and Information at Nanyang
Technological University.
Ashley Koh | Singapore | p 62
Ashley Koh is one of 20 students
selected out of a cohort of 300 to join
the Bilingual Excellence Programme
in Nan Hua Primary School. Under
the influence of her mother, renowned Singapore
Mandopop lyricist Xiaohan, Ashley took a strong
interest in writing essays in both languages at
the tender age of 10. Ashley’s first book, Xiang
Xiang and the Wood Hut Fairies, is modified from a
combination of some of these essays. The English
version – Rosemary and the Wood Hut Fairies – is
published at the same time.
Audrey Chin | Singapore | p 57
Audrey Chin grew up in a bookstore
and has been addicted to stories since
she mastered her alphabets. She
writes to share her world, imaginary
or otherwise. Her work includes Nine Cuts (2015),
a collection of short stories; Singapore Women
Re-presented (2004), a social history of Singapore;
and two novels – Learning to Fly (1999) and As the
Heart Bones Break (2013) – which were respectively
shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2000
and 2014. Audrey’s work has also been published by
Cobalt Review and World Scientific, among others.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
2005 for his play, ‘Landmarks’, and in 2010 for his
play, ‘Nadirah’.
Avi Sirlin | Canada | p 65
Avi Sirlin holds degrees in biology
and law. For more than 15 years, he
maintained a law practice in downtown
Toronto, with an emphasis on
immigration and refugee law. He closed his practice
in order to focus more on writing. Avi has written
two movie screenplays, and his travel articles have
appeared in Canadian newspapers. The Evolutionist
is his first published novel, which tells the story of
Victorian-era scientist Alfred Russel Wallace.
Ayesha Khanna | Singapore | p 22
Ayesha Khanna is CEO of The Keys
Academy. An expert on applied
education and the future of skills, she
has been published and quoted in the
New York Times, Newsweek and Forbes, among
others. She served on the Singapore Ministry of
Education’s ASPIRE Steering Committee on higher
education reform and applied learning. She is
author of Straight Through Processing and Hybrid
Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology
Civilization. Ayesha has a BA (honours) in Economics
from Harvard University and an MS in Operations
Research from Columbia University.
Ayu Utami | Indonesia | pp 41, 69
Ayu Utami is an award-winning
Indonesian writer who was the 2000
Prince Claus Award Laureate. During
Indonesia’s military regime, she was
a journalist and press freedom activist. She was
one of the founders of the Alliance of Independent
Journalists which was later banned by Suharto’s
government. Her works include the True Stories
trilogy (The Single Parasite, Enrico’s Love Story and
The Confession), which deals with sex and gender
relations, and the Fu Numeral series, which consists
of mystery novels about Indonesian culture and
heritage.
79
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Bhavani Prakash | Singapore | pp 59, 67
Bhavani Prakash left a career in finance
to devote her professional life to the
field of sustainability, in which she is
now a leading expert. She is Founder of
Green Collar Asia, an industry-oriented sustainability
portal, and the non-profit website, Eco Walk the Talk,
which was a finalist in the Singapore Environment
Council’s Asia Journalism Awards in 2012. A wellknown speaker, facilitator and executive coach, she
advocates “conscious leadership” for creating a
sustainable future for oneself, the organisation, the
community and the planet.
Pemain gitar dan penggubah lagu Az Samad pernah
membuat rakaman dengan pemenang-pemenang
Anugerah Grammy seperti Flaco Jiménez & Max
Baca. Lulusan Maktab Muzik Berklee yang berprestij
itu pernah menjadi pendidik di maktab yang sama.
Beliau yang membuat persembahan di Amerika
Syarikat, Eropah dan Asia, ditampilkan dalam 22
rakaman cakera padat dalam pelbagai bentuk
persembahan termasuk jazz kontemporari dan gitar
akustik solo. Hasil-hasil kerjanya dianggap sangat
indah sehingga berhasil memukau suasana. Az yang
pernah menetap di Berkeley, California kini tinggal
di Kuala Lumpur di mana beliau sibuk dengan album
gitar akustik solonya yang berkonsep Poskad Dari
Malaysia dan Poskad Dari Shanghai. Dalam Pesta
Penulis Singapura kali ini, beliau akan membuat
persembahan bersama bapanya, A Samad Said,
seorang sasterawan tersohor di Malaysia.
Brooke Davis | Australia | pp 29, 32
Brooke Davis grew up in Bellbrae,
Victoria, in Australia, and now lives
in Perth, where she works as a
bookseller. She holds an Honours
degree from the University of Canberra and a Ph.D.
from Curtin University, both in the field of creative
writing. Lost & Found is her first novel.
Azhar Ibrahim | Singapore | pp 36, 61
Azhar Ibrahim is currently a Visiting
Fellow with the Department of Malay
Studies at the National University
of Singapore . His field of study
includes the sociology of religion, the sociology of
literature and critical literacy, and Malay - Indonesian
intellectual development .
B
Bertha Henson | Singapore | pp 13, 52
Bertha Henson is a former journalist
with the Singapore Press Holdings
stable of newspapers. She is now
Journalist-in-Residence at Tembusu
College, the National University of Singapore. She
blogs at Bertha Harian and has her own media
consultancy, Newsmakers. She recently published
Troublemaker, a compilation of her columns.
C
Chan Li Shan | Singapore | pp 30, 34, 59
Chan Li Shan works for the National
Council of Social Service and closely
with the Institute of Mental Health.
She is the winner of Most Promising
Advocate at the inaugural Singapore Advocacy
Awards in 2014, and the youngest Singaporean to
successfully publish a first-person mental health
narrative, entitled A Philosopher’s Madness, in 2012.
Li Shan uses her lived experience of schizophrenia
for the benefit of other persons with mental health
issues, caregivers, the mental health sector and the
wider community.
Chen Li 陈黎 | Taiwan | pp 51, 58
Chen Li is the author of 14 books of
poetry and a prolific prose writer and
translator. With his wife Chang Fenling, he has translated into Chinese
over 20 volumes of poetry, including the works of
Wislawa Szymborska, Pablo Neruda, Sylvia Plath and
Seamus Heaney. The recipient of many awards in
Taiwan, including the National Award for Literature
and Arts, and the Taiwan Literature Award, he is the
organiser of Pacific Poetry Festival. In 2014, he was
invited to participate in the International Writing
Program at the University of Iowa.
陈黎，台湾当代诗人、散文作家、翻译家；著有诗集14部，
与妻张芬龄合作出版逾20部中译外语诗，将欧美古今大诗
80
人如波兰诗人维斯瓦娃·辛波丝卡、智利诗人巴勃罗·聂鲁
达、美国诗人希维亚·普拉斯以及爱尔兰诗人谢默斯·希
尼介绍给中文世界的读者。他在台湾岛内广受认可，曾获
颁国家文艺奖、台湾吴三连文艺奖；2014年受邀参加美国
爱荷华大学国际写作计划。
Cheong Suk-Wai | Singapore | p 37
As a senior correspondent at The
Straits Times, Cheong Suk-Wai writes
on books, ideas and urbanisation. She
has won 32 national writing awards to
date and is the author of Rodyk: 150 Years. She is
now writing the official book for Singapore’s 50th
anniversary of independence.
Chia Joo Ming 谢裕民 | Singapore | pp 16, 56, 63
Chia Joo Ming is currently the Senior
Executive Sub-Editor of Lianhe
Zaobao. In 1993, he won the National
Arts Council’s Young Artist Award. In
1995, he was invited to the International Writing
Program in Iowa, USA. In 2014, he is a writer-inresidence at Nanyang Technological University.
谢裕民，本地作家，现任《联合早报》高级执行编辑，
《文
艺城》主编。1993年新加坡国家艺术理事会“青年艺术家
奖”得主，1995年受邀参加美国爱荷华“国际写作计划”
，2014年为南洋理工大学第二任驻校作家。著有散文与小
说七部，最新作品为长篇小说《放逐与追逐》。受哈佛大学
东亚语言与文明系客座教授王德威誉为“新加坡华语语系
的十个关键词之一”。
Chip Tsao 陶杰 | Hong Kong | pp 12, 25, 35
Chip Tsao is a prominent Hong Kong
writer and journalist who is well versed
in Western and Chinese languages and
cultures. A famous media personality
in Hong Kong, Tsao is well-known for his witty
remarks and sarcasm when commenting on current
and social affairs on radio and television, as well as in
print. Some of his published works include Alongside
Thames (泰晤士河畔), The Girl Who Killed The Quail
(殺鹌鹑的少女), Stars Of That Night (那一夜星斗)and
Risque Expressions (风流花相).
陶杰，香港作家及传媒工作者。学贯中西，享誉为“香江第
一才子”。涉足电台、电视、报纸、杂志，文章题材广泛，常
以喜笑怒骂的形式分析时事，并公开推崇“崇优、尚智、卑
愚”理论。已出版作品包括《泰晤士河畔》、
《洗手间里的
主权》、
《殺鹌鹑的少女》、
《高等中文大典》、
《那一夜星
斗》和《风流花相》等。
Chong Tze Chien | Singapore
Playwright and director Chong Tze
Chien has won many awards, including
The Straits Times Life! Theatre
Awards. He has three published play
collections, which contain critically acclaimed plays
such as ‘Charged’ and ‘PIE’. Other notable plays that
he has directed and written include ‘Turn By Turn
We Turn’ and ‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue
Sea’. In 2015, he was the co-curator of Esplanade’s
‘The Studios: fifty’, a series that restaged 50 of the
most iconic Singapore English-language plays in the
last five decades.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Az Samad | Malaysia | pp 29, 30
Guitarist-composer-educator Az
Samad has recorded with Grammy
winners, Flaco Jimenez and Max
Baca. He graduated from and taught
at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. He has
performed in the US, Europe and Asia, and appeared
on 22 CDs ranging in styles from Tex-Mex and
contemporary jazz to solo acoustic guitar. Previously
based in Berkeley, California, Az now lives in Kuala
Lumpur. His latest projects in 2015 include his
concept solo acoustic guitar albums, Poskad Dari
Malaysia and Poskad Dari Shanghai.
Choo Lian Liang 朱亮亮 | Singapore
Born in 1947, Choo Lian Liang left
for China when she was only three
years old and returned to Singapore
at the age of 13. She graduated from
Nanyang University in 1971 with honours in Physics.
She joined the now-defunct Singapore Broadcasting
Station the following year and helped produce news
and documentaries. From 1997 to 1999, she was the
head of the station’s representative office in Beijing.
In 2000, she ventured out on her own and started
a production company. She is now a writer and a
columnist. 《追虹》 is her third publication.
朱亮亮，1947 年生于新加坡，3岁随父母前往中国，13岁
回返出生地。资深媒体人。1971年南洋大学物理系荣誉
学士，隔年加入新加坡广播电视台（新传媒前身）制作新
闻时事节目，1997年至1999年调任新加坡电视机构驻中
国首席代表。目前专事写作，出版过散文集《电视人随想》
、
《北京三年》、家族历史纪实 《追虹》
Chow Teck Seng 周德成 | Singapore
pp 19, 32, 41, 50, 57
Chow Teck Seng has won many
awards including the 2014 Singapore
Literature Prize and the 2009 Golden
Point Award in Chinese poetry. Aside
from his first published poetry collection, The Story
of You and Me in 2012, his work has also been
featured in English and Chinese anthologies and in
printed and online literary journals internationally.
A series of his five poems ‘The 5 shades of Solitude’
was adapted as an animation short released in
August 2015.
周德成，新加坡年轻诗人，2009年金笔奖诗歌组首
奖、2014年新加坡文学奖得主。2012月出版第一本诗集
《你和我的故事》。创作以诗见长却不限于诗，也写微型
小说和杂文，作品散见于文选、期刊、海内外报章专栏。现
为英国剑桥大学攻读博士研究生，研究文学评论与比较华
语语系文学。
81
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Christian Bök | Canada | pp 54, 59, 67
Christian Bök is the author not only of
Crystallography (1994), a pataphysical
encyclopaedia nominated for the
Gerald Lampert Memorial Award,
but also of Eunoia (2001), a bestselling work of
experimental literature, which has gone on to win
the Griffin Prize for Poetic Excellence. He is currently
working on a project, entitled The Xenotext, which
involves the artistic creation of “living poetry”
through the encipherment of a short verse into the
genome of a resilient bacterium. He teaches English
at the University of Calgary in Canada.
Christian Cailleaux | France | pp 50, 60
Christian Cailleaux is a French graphic
novelist and illustrator. In the company
of his fictional doppelganger Felix
Mogo, he revels in unpredictable
encounters and happy moments in far-flung climes.
Between designing a front cover for a novel or a
jazz record sleeve, he likes to tell seafaring tales
– for example, that of him boarding a French navy
frigate with actor-writer Bernard Giraudeau, with
whom he wrote R97. His other works include a comic
book devoted to Boris Vian, entitled Les Longues
Traversees (2011), and a biography of the poet,
Jacques Prevert.
Christopher Tan Yu Wei | Singapore | p 25
Christopher Tan’s articles, columns,
recipes and photographs have
appeared in many international
publications, including Singapore’s
Sunday Times and Straits Times, The Peak magazine
and America’s Saveur magazine. He also conducts
talks and cooking classes at venues which have
included the National Museum of Singapore, the
Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley and the
Sydney International Food Festival. He has authored
and co-authored many cookbooks, most recently
Chinese Heritage Cooking, Ask The Foodie and
NerdBaker.
82
Chua Chim Kang 蔡深江 | Singapore | pp 16, 56
Chua Chim Kang, managing director of
the Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese
media group, was chosen as a young
global leader at the World Economic
Forum in 2006. He has published collections of
essays and poems, and has won numerous accolades,
including a National Book Prize and a Golden Lion
Award, as well as a China Times literature award and
a Lucian Wu essay prize from Taiwan.
蔡深江，新加坡报业控股华文媒体集团业务总编
辑，2006年获选为世界经济论坛全球青年领袖。曾获国
家书籍奖、金狮奖、时报文学奖、吴鲁芹散文奖等；出版诗
集和散文集。
Clarissa Oon | Singapore | p 56
Clarissa Oon has been writing about
the arts since the late 1990s, and is
the author of Theatre Life!: A History
of English-language Theatre in
Singapore through The Straits Times (2001). She is a
contributor to a forthcoming volume on the history
of Singapore’s cultural policies, to be published by
the Institute of Policy Studies. Currently deputy
editor of The Straits Times’ arts and lifestyle section,
she has had stints for the newspaper covering
Singapore politics and being a Beijing-based China
correspondent.
D
Danielle Lim | Singapore | p 30
Danielle Lim is the author of the
creative non-fiction book, The Sound
of SCH: A Mental Breakdown, A Life
Journey (2014). The book has drawn
international interest and is being translated for
publication in Taiwan in 2016. She is an Adjunct
Lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic and Associate
Lecturer at Republic Polytechnic. Her professional
experience includes 11 years at management level
in the tertiary global education sector, and six years
in the financial sector. She holds Master of Arts and
Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of
Oxford.
Daren Kamali | New Zealand | pp 24, 28
Daren Kamali is a published Pacific
performance poet of Fijian, Wallis,
Futuna and Scottish heritage. His first
collection of poems, Tales, Poems and
Songs from the Underwater World, was published
in 2011. His second collection, Squid Out of Water
(2014), and What Becomes of the Flying Squid?,
slated for release in early 2016, will complete the
Squidluminaries trilogy. His debut music album,
Immigrant Story, was released in 2000, while
his writings have been featured in journals and
anthologies like Landfall and Niu Voices.
Daren Shiau | Singapore | pp 14, 33, 46, 67
Daren Shiau’s works include a novel,
Heartland (1999); a poetry collection,
Peninsular: Archipelagos and Other
Islands (2000); and a micro-fiction
collection, Velouria (2007). Heartland received a
Singapore Literature Prize commendation award in
1998. In 2015, it was commissioned by MediaCorp
to be made into a telemovie directed by K Rajagopal.
Daren has also co-edited an experimental monotitular anthology titled Coast (2010). He has been
invited to read at the Melbourne Writers Festival,
the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, and at
universities in New York, Boston and London.
Dave Chua | Singapore | pp 14, 19, 46, 67
Dave Chua graduated in 2013 with an
MA in Creative Writing (Prose) from
the University of East Anglia. He won
the Golden Point Short Story Contest
in 1995. His first novel, Gone Case, received a
Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award in
1996. He worked with artist Koh Hong Teng on Gone
Case: A Graphic Novel, Book 1 and Book 2. The novel
was also adapted into a two-part TV miniseries for
MediaCorp in 2013. His latest book, The Beating
and Other Stories, was longlisted for the 2012 Frank
O’Connor International Short Story Award.
Deborah Emmanuel | Singapore | pp 24, 34, 67
Deborah Emmanuel is a Singaporean
writer, musician and actor whose
poetry has been heard at TEDx
Singapore, the Singapore Writers
Festival, the Bali Emerging Writers Festival and the
Queensland Poetry Festival. Her first collection of
poems, When I Giggle In My Sleep, was published
in early 2015. Her theatre and television work has
been with companies such as Singapore Repertory
Theatre, Buds Theatre Company, Disney and Okto.
Deborah Levy | UK | pp 13, 24, 28, 37
Deborah Levy is a novelist and
playwright. She has written for the
Royal Shakespeare Company, and her
plays have been broadcast on the BBC.
Her novels include Swimming Home, shortlisted
for the Man Booker Prize in 2012, The Unloved,
Beautiful Mutants, and Billy and Girl. Her collection
of stories, Black Vodka, was shortlisted for the Frank
O’Connor International Short Story Award. Her new
novel, Hot Milk, will be published in 2016.
Dennis Wee | Singapore | p 23
Dennis Wee is chairman of real estate
agency Dennis Wee Group and a judge
for The Straits Times and Lianhe
Zaobao’s annual Hawker Masters
award programme. All he has to do is walk into a
hawker centre and chances are, many of the hawkers
will know him. He fries a mean plate of Hokkien mee,
having mastered the art by observing hawkers when
he was young.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Chris Haughton | UK | pp 22, 24, 33, 35
Chris Haughton is an Irish illustrator
and author living in London. He was
listed in Time magazine’s ‘The Design
100’ for his work for fair trade clothing
company, People Tree. He has written and illustrated
three books, A Bit Lost (2010), Oh No George!
(2012) and Shh! We Have A Plan (2014). He released
an app for children called Hat Monkey in 2014. Chris
has also created a social business, madebynode.com,
to connect design and fair trade.
Desmond Kon | Singapore | pp 21, 32, 50, 67
Desmond Kon Zhicheng-Mingde is
the author of an epistolary novel,
Singular Acts of Endearment; a hybrid
work, Babel Via Negativa; and four
poetry collections: The Arbitrary Sign, Sanctus
Sanctus Dirgha Sanctus, I Didn’t Know Mani Was A
Conceptualist and The Wrong/Wrung Side of Love.
A former journalist, he has edited over 15 books
and co-produced three audio books. Among other
awards, he is the first-ever winner in both poetry
and visionary fiction categories at the Beverly Hills
International Book Awards. An interdisciplinary artist,
he helms Squircle Line Press as its founding editor.
Devadas Krishnadas | Singapore | p 22
Devadas Krishnadas is the Founder
and Chief Executive Officer of
Future-Moves Group, South-east
Asia’s first strategy consultancy that
uses foresight tools to complement conventional
analysis. His expertise and experience have been
recognised by various international publications,
which frequently cite him on matters involving
strategy and foresight. Devadas has authored two
books: Sensing Singapore: Reflections in a Time
of Change (2014), and his latest, FUSE: Foresightdriven Understanding, Strategy and Execution, which
was released in August 2015.
Devagi Sanmugam | Singapore | p 25
Chef Devagi Sanmugam, known
widely as “Spice Queen”, is one of
Singapore’s most dynamic and talented
food personalities. She provides
culinary educational experiences through lectures,
demonstrations and culinary team-building activities
in Singapore and abroad. An accomplished authority
on the Asian food scene, she is constantly involved in
developing and testing original recipes and formulas
for food companies, hotels and restaurants all over
the world. She has 22 cookbooks under her belt and
has her own range of artisan products under the
brand Devagi.
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AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Dimawan Krisnowo Adji | Indonesia | pp 44, 68
Dimawan Krisnowo Adji was born
in Yogyakarta. From 1986 to 1990,
he studied cello at the High School
for Music in Yogyakarta before
advancing to the Indonesian Arts Institute of
Yogyakarta. Dimawan is one of the founders of
Sa’Unine String Orchestra of Yogyakarta. In 2007, he
joined Kroncong Tenggara to perform in Australia,
Germany and Indonesia.
Divya Victor | Singapore | pp 32, 50, 55, 57
Divya Victor is the author of several
books including UNSUB (Insert/Blanc,
2015) and Things To Do With Your
Mouth (Les Figues, 2014). Her book
Natural Subjects (Trembling Pillow Press, 2015)
won the Bob Kaufman Award, selected by Anselm
Berrigan. She earned a PhD from the University at
Buffalo.​She is also recipient of the Mark Diamond
Research Award, the Riverrun Research Award, and
was research fellow at the US Holocaust Memorial
Museum.
Dony Koeswinaro | Indonesia | pp 44, 68
Surakarta-born jazz musician Dony
Koeswinarno graduated from the
Indonesian Institute of the Arts of
Yogyakarta, where he majored in
music. As a saxophonist and flutist, he regularly
plays in jazz festivals in Indonesia. He is also actively
involved in a number of orchestras such as Jakarta
Symphony Orchestra and Erwin Gutawa Orchestra.
He joined Ubiet and Kroncong Tenggara, and
performed in Indonesia, Australia and Germany. In
2011, he released his album with his group, Pitoelas
Big Band.
Douglas Tay | Singapore | p 23
Douglas Tay runs ‘A Fishball Story’ at
Golden Mile food centre, which serves
noodles with handmade fishballs and
fish cake made using his grandmother’s
recipe. He has no experience in the food industry his grandmother made the fishballs for the family
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at home. He is a rare first-generation hawker in
Singapore.
Durreen Shahnaz | Singapore | p 26
Durreen Shahnaz is the founder of
Impact Investment Exchange Asia
and Shujog, two companies in the
impact investing world effectively
bringing finance and development together. She
founded, ran and sold oneNest, a social enterprise
and global marketplace for handmade goods. The
2014 recipient of the Joseph Wharton Social Impact
award, she has written for Daily Star and South
China Morning Post, among other publications.
Dylan Jones | UK | pp 40, 65
The editor of GQ magazine, Dylan
Jones has won the British Society of
Magazine Editors’ Editor of the Year
award a record nine times. He was also
the recipient of the prestigious Mark Boxer Award.
He is the author of the international bestselling
biography, Jim Morrison: Dark Star, iPod, Therefore
I Am and Mr Jones’ Rules for the Modern Man. His
other books include When Ziggy Played Guitar: David
Bowie and a new biography of Jim Morrison, Mr
Mojo. In 2013, he was awarded an OBE for services
to publishing and the fashion industry.
E
Eddino Abdul Hadi | Singapore | p 56
Eddino Abdul Hadi has been a music
journalist for The Straits Times since
2007 and sits on the board of directors
at the Composers and Authors Society
of Singapore. He was formerly one of the main
writers for BigO, Singapore’s only independent
music magazine. Eddino is also a musician,
songwriter and founder of homegrown band Force
Vomit, who have recorded albums and played gigs
in Singapore and the region since 1994. He is also a
member of several other bands like The Guilt, 1234X
and The Return.
Edmund Lim | Singapore | p 54
Edmund is the author of the award
winning storybook, “Where’s
Grandma”. He also wrote the biography
of Jacob Ballas. In addition, he has
written about the Jewish community. His works have
been published in books. He has written academic
papers on education and history too
Eleanor Wong | Singapore | pp 28, 54
Writer, lawyer and academic Eleanor
Wong combines her legal and literary
skills to write plays that often deal
with controversial subjects. She is best
known for her trilogy ‘Invitation to Treat’ as well as
‘The Campaign to Confer the Public Service Star on
JBJ’. She was writer-in-residence at the Centre for
Quantum Technologies in 2014.
Eliza Teoh | Singapore | p 62
Eliza Teoh used to be a political
journalist. She knew, from a very young
age, that she would be a writer when
she grew up. Her national bestselling
Ellie Belly series, which has sold more than 85,000
copies in Singapore alone, is based on her real-life
children, Gabby and Ellie. She now runs a children’s
book publishing company called Bubbly Books.
Elizabeth Inandiak | France - Indonesia | p 46
Born in Lyons, France, Elizabeth
Inandiak is a writer, translator
and community activist. She has
travelled the world as a reporter for
various French magazines and radio stations, and
written several film scripts. In 1989, she settled in
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She translated and recreated
in French, Indonesian and English the encyclopaedic
19th century Javanese epic, The Book of Centhini.
Her forthcoming book, Babad Ngalor Ngidul, is a tale
about the 2006 earthquake in Yogyakarta.
Elizabeth Pisani | UK | pp 54, 58
Elizabeth Pisani has travelled
23,000km by boat, bus and motorbike
through Indonesia. The country has
fascinated and maddened her since
she first lived there over two decades ago. Her book,
Indonesia Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation,
was on the Top 10 lists (2014) of many publications,
like The Economist and the Wall Street Journal. She
has a Ph.D. in Infectious Disease Epidemiology, and
master’s degrees in Classical Chinese and Medical
Demography.
Emily Lim | Singapore | p 22
Emily Lim has authored over 25
children’s picture book titles. She is the
first writer outside North America to
win three medals at the Independent
Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards), and the
first in South-east Asia to receive the Moonbeam
Children’s Book Award. She was named MediaCorp’s
Singapore Woman Award 2013 Honoree for
inspiring her readers through her children’s books
and her memoir, Finding My Voice, which chronicles
her journey of losing her voice to a rare illness to
finding a new voice in writing and publishing.
Endah Laras | Indonesia | p 46
Endah Laras was born to a renowned
family of performers in Solo, Central
Java. She began learning Javanese
dance and gamelan music as a child
from her mother, a dancer, and her father, a puppetmaster. During high school, she became interested in
Western music and Indonesian keroncong. She gives
regular workshops at the University of Hong Kong
and at the United World College of South East Asia
in Singapore.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Dian Hadipranowo | Indonesia | pp 44, 68
Dian Hadipranowo, or Dian HP as she
is known, is a pianist, composer and
arranger for recordings, films and
advertisements. She is also a producer
and leader of the Dian HP Band and Dian Indonesia
Orchestra. Her important works include Gita Cinta
the Musical (2010), Ali Topan the Musical (2011),
Semut Merah Semut Hitam (2012), Ubiet and
Kroncong Tenggara (2007) and Komposisi Delapan
Cinta (2011).
Eric Tinsay Valles | Singapore - Philippines
pp 32, 36, 50
Eric Tinsay Valles has two collections
of poetry, A World in Transit and After
the Fall (dirges among ruins) the later
of which won him the Goh Sin Tub
Creative Writing Prize . His poetry and critical essays
have also been featured in several collections and
journals such as & Words, Reflecting on the Merlion,
the Southeast Asian Review of English and The
Asiatic and Writing Diaspora.
Eun Heekyung | South Korea | pp 21, 32
Eun Heekyung made her literary debut
in 1995 with her novella, Duet. In the
same year, she won the Munhakdongne
Novel Award with her novel, Gift from
a Bird. Today she is one of Korea’s
most notable writers, having won numerous awards,
including the 1997 Dongseo Literature Award, the
2000 Korea Literature Award and the 2014 Hwang
Sun-won Literary Award. Her other books include
short-story collections, Inheritance (2002) and
Like No Other (2014); and the novels, Save the Last
Dance for Me (1998) and A Gesture Life (2012).
F
Fajrian | Indonesia | p 68
Fajrian’s interest in films started in
high school where he established
Komunitas Layar (Screen Community)
that organised programmes such as
filmmaking workshops, film screenings, Bezoek Film
Indonesia, Jakarta International Film Festival as well
as a regular talk show program on cinematography
on radio in Lampung. He is currently actively
involved in television and movie production as
an independent producer and a communications
consultant.
85
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Ferry (Jean Low) | Singapore | pp 14, 46
Ferry is one who exists as a mystery,
elusive; aloof, teasing the curiosity,
changing the mind. The solo project
of Jean Low, lead singer and guitarist
of Giants Must Fall, is the creative output of a very
diverse, sometimes confused individual who just
likes to make things look pretty and sound pretty.
Fuminori Nakamura | Japan | pp 57, 60
Fuminori Nakamura won the Shincho
Prize for New Writers in 2002 with his
novella, Ju [The Gun]. Since then, he
has gone on to win numerous other
awards – for example, the Akutagawa Prize for
Tsuchi no naka no kodomo [Child in the Ground] and
the Kenzaburo Oe Prize for Suri [The Thief]. In 2014,
Fuminori received the David L. Goodis award for his
contribution to noir fiction. The English edition of Ju
will be released in the coming months.
G
.gif | Singapore | pp 46, 47
.gif is an electronic duo comprising
weish and din. Since the debut of
their EP ‘saudade’ in 2013, they
have performed at festivals such as
Baybeats, Java Soundsfair and Laneway Festival,
and earned enthusiastic reviews on local and
international publications such as Earmilk, Indie
Shuffle and FasterLouder. The duo treat .gif as a
space of freedom and honesty, and much of their
music draws from modernist literature. Combining
lush soundscapes with personal lyrics, they strive to
create meaning larger than themselves.
Gabby Tye | Singapore | p 62
Gabby Tye is 16, which means that
by the time you read this, she will
probably be taking her dreaded
O-level exams. She started writing
86
her RunHideSeek trilogy when she was 11. Her first
book (Run) took her almost three years to write.
She wrote her second book (Hide) in a year. The last
book (Seek) took six months to write, but was the
most painful because of O-level stress.
Gentle Bones (Joel Tan) | Singapore | p 57
Singer-songwriter Joel Tan has
released an EP under the name Gentle
Bones, which has been hailed by iTunes
and Spotify. Aside from playing at
music festivals in Singapore, like Mosaic and Ignite,
he has also opened for international acts such as Us
The Duo and Christina Perri. His ability to connect
with people through his music is evident in his social
following – over 1 million views on YouTube, 17,000
YouTube subscriptions, and 14,500 Instagram
followers and counting. In 2015, he wrote and
recorded a new song titled ‘You’re Almost There’ for
the 2015 SEA Games soundtrack.
Goenawan Mohamad | Indonesia
pp 13, 18, 26, 68, 69
Goenawan Mohamad is a poet, a highly
respected journalist and a prolific
essayist. His weekly columns, Catatan
Pinggir’ [‘Sidelines’], have appeared
in the news magazine, Tempo, of which he was
editor-in-chief for 23 years. His other collections
of essays include Portrait of a Young Poet as Malin
Kundang (1972), Sex, Literature, Us (1980) and On
God and Other Unfinished Things (2007). Goenawan
is a recipient of the International Press Freedom
Award (1998), International Editor of the Year Award
(1991) and Dan David Prize (2006) for his work as a
journalist.
Gwee Li Sui | Singapore
pp 10, 32, 37, 41, 43, 48, 50, 67
Gwee Li Sui is a poet, graphic artist
and literary critic. His works of verse
include Who Wants to Buy a Book of
Poems? (1998) and One Thousand and
One Nights (2014). He wrote Singapore’s first fulllength graphic novel in English, Myth of the Stone
(1993), which has since been reprinted in a special
20th anniversary edition, and Fear No Poetry!: An
Essential Guide to Close Reading (2014). He has also
edited Sharing Borders: Studies in Contemporary
Singaporean-Malaysian Literature II (2009), Telltale:
11 Stories (2010) and Man/Born/Free: Writings on
the Human Spirit from Singapore (2011).
H
Hairianto Diman | pp 19, 31
Harianto Diman graduated with an Arts
degree, majoring in English Language,
from the National University of
Singapore. He has an interest in looking
at how language and semiotics are instrumental in
shaping and disseminating ideas through media to
either inform or influence the (intended) recipients.
As a young journalist, he seeks to accurately report
issues to the public and hopes to inspire others with
his writing.
Heng Siok Tian | Singapore | pp 30, 32, 42
Heng Siok Tian has published five
collections of poetry: Crossing the
Chopsticks and Other Poems (1993),
My City, My Canvas (1999), Contouring
(2004), Is My Body a Myth (2011) and Mixing
Tongues (2011). Her poems have been anthologised
in publications such as No Other City: The Ethos
Anthology of Urban Poetry. She also wrote short
stories and short plays. A participant of the Iowa
International Writing Program in 2000, she has
participated in literary events in China, Denmark,
France, the Philippines, Sweden and the US.
Hirzi Zulkiflie | Singapore | pp 30, 67
Hirzi’s claim to fame is his YouTube
channel that has garnered more
than 7 million views, making it one
of the most subscribed channels in
Singapore. Aside from acting on MediaCorp TV
shows like Princess and Jurukamera and Balik
Sekolah, he writes fiction, non-fiction, as well as
scripts and stand-up pieces for stage. His debut
performance for theatre was for Happy Ever
Laughter at the Esplanade. He is currently working
on another TV drama called Munah & Hirzi.
Ho Chih-Ho 何致和 | Taiwan | pp 57, 63
Ho Chih-Ho received his MFA in
Creative Writing from National Dong
Hwa University and Ph.D. degree in
Comparative Literature from Fu Jen
Catholic University. He is the winner of several
literature awards, including the United Daily
News Literature Awards for Short Stories. He has
published a collection of short stories, The Night
When the Night Was Lost (2001), and three novels:
The Melancholy of the White City (2005), The
Offshore Island Bible (2008) and The Tree Fort on
Carnation Lane (2013).
何致和，台湾作家、译者；国立东华大学创意写作艺术硕
士，辅仁大学比较文学博士。文学作品在台湾获奖无数，
包括联合报文学奖、宝岛小说奖、教育部文艺创作奖。曾
出版小说集《失去夜的那一夜》，长篇小说《白色城市的忧
郁》、
《外岛书》，以及2013年最新力作《花街树屋》。
Ho Kwon Ping | Singapore | pp 13, 52
Ho Kwon Ping is Executive Chairman
of Banyan Tree Holdings. Born in
1952, he worked as a broadcast and
financial journalist before joining his
family business in 1981. Ho Kwon Ping has received
numerous academic, corporate, and travel industry
leadership awards, and was awarded from the
Singapore Government, the Meritorious Service
Medal for his role in the founding of SMU. He
studied at Tunghai University, Stanford University,
and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the
University of Singapore. Mr. Ho is married to Claire
Chiang, Senior Vice President, Banyan Tree Holdings
Limited. They have three children – two sons and a
daughter and welcomed their first grandson in 2015.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Felix Cheong | Singapore | pp 20, 48
Felix Cheong is the author of 10 books,
traversing poetry and fiction. His
collection of short stories, Vanishing
Point, was longlisted for the Frank
O’Connor Award. His latest is a collection of satirical
flash fiction, Singapore Siu Dai 2. Conferred the
Young Artist of the Year for Literature in 2000,
Felix holds a master’s degree in creative writing
and is currently an adjunct lecturer with Murdoch
University and University of Newcastle.
Hollie Fullbrook (Tiny Ruins) | New Zealand
pp 15, 21, 33, 39
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Hollie
Fullbrook has won over international
audiences touring her band, Tiny Ruins,
with the likes of Sharon Van Etten and
The Handsome Family. Playing over 130 shows in
2014, the band has graced various arts and music
festivals. Their most recent album, Brightly Painted
One, was awarded Best Alternative Album at the
2014 NZ Music Awards. Working from a folk music
tradition, while pushing the boundaries of that
genre, Hollie ensures that her songwriting is multilayered and arresting in its storytelling and themes.
Hon Lai-Chu 韩丽珠 | Hong Kong | pp 38, 63
Hon Lai-chu is a Hong Kong writer. She
has authored eight books in Chinese
and won numerous awards, including
the Hong Kong Biennial Award for
Chinese Literature for fiction, Taiwan’s Unitas New
Writer’s Novella first prize, and the Hong Kong Book
Prize. Her books have twice been named to the list
of Top Ten Chinese Novels Worldwide, in 2008 and
2009.
韩丽珠，生于1978年，香港年轻作家。出版过八本著作如
《宁静的兽》、
《风筝家族》，曾获颁香港中文文学双年奖
小说组推荐奖、台湾联合文学小说新人奖首奖、香港书籍
奖，著作曾分别于2008年与2009年入选《亚洲周刊》中
文十大小说奖。
87
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
虹影，海内外知名的英籍华人女作家。1980年代初独自游
走中国大江南北，创作了大量诗歌作品。1990年旅居英国
伦敦，开始写小说，作品译成多种语言出版，甚至改变成电
视、电影、舞台剧。代表作包括《背叛之夏》、
《孔雀的呐
喊》、
《饥饿的女儿》、
《女子有行》、
《K：英国情人》，并
凭此书于2005年获颁意大利罗马文学奖。曾旅居英国近
多年、现居北京。
Hristina Nikolic Murti | Indonesia - Serbia | pp 18, 68
Hristina Nikolić Murti hails from
Kragujevac, Serbia. She is currently
working on the study of language and
translation, lexicography, Arts and
Cultural management. Her love of literature was
poured into the selection and production of audio
books in Bahasa Indonesia under the label Digital
Archipelago. Murti is also the author of the first
Indonesian-Serbian dictionary.
HubbaBubbas | Singapore | p 62
HubbaBubbas is a three-piece
post-acoustic band, consisting of
frontwoman Stephanie, guitarist Ryan
and beatboxer Mervyn. Mixing their
quirky writing style with an unconventional setup,
they combine their diverse musical influences to
create an unorthodox sound that twists genres
and defies conventions. They have been invited to
perform for countless local and international events,
including the SEA Games 2015 Opening Ceremony.
They are set to release their debut album in 2016.
I
I Am David Sparkle | Singapore | pp 15, 18
Having started life as an
improvisational instrumental collective,
I Am David Sparkle serves as a platform
for ongoing musical exploration. The
current evolution of the band’s sound delves deeper
into heavy, doom-laden riffage intersecting with
mood and melody. The year 2015 sees I Am David
88
Sparkle celebrating 14 years of existence with a
third full-length release titled Art is Blood, its first
album in five years since 2010’s Swords.
In Each Hand A Cutlass | Singapore | pp 15, 18
In Each Hand A Cutlass is an
instrumental rock act that blends
progressive rock, ambient, post-rock
and metal elements to create epic and
powerfully moving songs. They came to prominence
with their debut album, A Universe Made Of Strings
(2011), followed by a two-track EP, Forgetting
(2014). They have played a number of high profile
shows, including the Esplanade’s Baybeats
festival and gigs in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Their
sophomore album, The Kraken (2015), was recorded,
engineered, mixed and produced by acclaimed
American record producer, Brad Wood (Smashing
Pumpkins, Pete Yorn).
Iola Lenzi | Singapore | p 45
Iola Lenzi is a Singapore-based
researcher, curator and critic of
South-east Asian contemporary art.
She has conceptualised numerous
exhibitions of South-east Asian art, including such
major institutional projects as ‘Negotiating Home,
History and Nation’ (Singapore Art Museum, 2011)
and ‘Concept, Context, Contestation’ (Bangkok Art
and Culture Centre, 2013). She is a lecturer for the
MA Asian Art Histories programme at the Lasalle
College of the Arts and is the author of Museums of
Southeast Asia.
Isa Kamari | Singapore | pp 43, 66
Isa Kamari is a prominent figure in
Singapore’s Malay literary scene. He
has gained critical acclaim for many
of his works, which range from novels
and short stories to poetry and essays. He is also a
musician and has crafted scripts for television and
theatre. In 2007, his contributions to the nation
were officially recognised when he was conferred
the most prestigious arts award in Singapore, the
Cultural Medallion; he is the first non-full-time artist
to receive the award.
J
Jaime Wong | Singapore | pp 57, 62
Singer-songwriter Jaime Wong writes
about life, death and love (or the lack
of it). Influenced by the likes of Damien
Rice and Ingrid Michaelson, she has performed at
major music events such as the 100 Bands Festival
and Baybeats 2014. A recipient of the Noise
Singapore Award for Music in 2012, she is set for a
regional tour that will include Australia, Taiwan and
Malaysia. Her first EP, launched in May, debuted at
No. 2 on the local iTunes charts.
Jalu Pratidina | Indonesia | pp 44, 68
Puppeteer and musician Jalu Pratidina
has worked extensively with many
artists to write music for dance,
theatre, films and TV programmes.
For three decades, he has performed as a
Sundanese kendang (double-headed drums) player
with other artists in various occasions. He also
collaborated with international artists like Toninho
Horta (Brazil), Rudi Berger (Austria) and Jamey
Hadad (USA). He performed with Twilite Orchestra
and shared stages with great Indonesia musicians
like Gilang Ramadhan and Indra Lesmana.
James Suresh | Singapore | pp 20, 64
James Suresh is the co-creator of
Singapore’s comic icon “Mr. Kiasu” and
“On a Street of Singapore”. In addition
to writing comics, he has also authored books on
his military experience. He develops comic strips for
magazines and write scripts for various media.
Jason Y Ng | Hong Kong | pp 48, 59, 64
Born in Hong Kong, Jason Y Ng is a
globetrotter who spent his entire
adult life in Italy, the US and Canada,
before returning to his birthplace
to rediscover his roots. He is a full-time lawyer,
university lecturer, activist, author and op-ed
columnist. He is the bestselling author of Hong
Kong State of Mind (2010) and No City for Slow Men
(2013). His short stories have appeared in various
anthologies, while his social commentary blog, As
I See It, has attracted a cult following in Asia and
beyond.
JAWN | Singapore | p 52
A visual communications
undergraduate at Nanyang
Technological University, Jon Chan aka
JAWN wrote his first song when he
was 18, and has been no stranger to the local music
scene ever since. With well-received performances
at Timbre, Esplanade, Hood Bar and many other
venues, Jon has managed to make a name for himself
as a talented and versatile songwriter known for his
haunting melodies, his rich, mellow voice, as well as
his careful instrumentation and profound lyrics.
| Singapore | p 54
Jayanthi Sankar
Jayanthi Sankar has more than
23 books under her belt. She has
been contributing regularly to Tamil
magazines in India and many other
countries such as the US, Sri Lanka, Switzerland
and Malaysia. She has been invited to speak on
Tamil literature in many literary events, including
the Short Story Seminar organised by Malaysian
Tamil Writers’ Association in 2010. She has won
many prizes and awards, including the Thisai Ettum
Literary Award and Thiruppoor Arima Sakthi Award.
Her two short-story collections, Pin Seat [Back Seat]
and Thiraikadalodi [Migration], were also shortlisted
for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2008 and 2010
respectively.
23
,
,
,
,
ʼ
2008
, 2010
.
.
2009, 2010
,ʻ
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Hong Ying 虹影 | China | pp 31, 38
Hong Ying began her writing career
as a poet during the early 1980s in
China. After relocating to London in
1990, she has also ventured into short
stories and novels. She has written more than a
dozen novels in Chinese, some of which have been
translated to many languages, and made into TV
series or films. She is best known in the Englishspeaking world for her novels, Summer of Betrayal,
Daughter of the River and K: The Art of Love, which
won the Premio Letterario Rome award in 2005.
.ʻ
ʼ
.
,
.
Jean-Marc Rochette | France | pp 51, 63
Jean-Marc Rochette is the creator
and artist of French graphic novel,
Le Transperceneige. He gained
international fame when his sciencefiction story about the last of humanity aboard
a train in a frozen post-apocalyptic world was
translated into English as Snowpiercer three decades
after its original publication. The critically-acclaimed
film adaptation of the same name followed soon
after, with a stellar cast of Hollywood actors. A
prolific comic creator and painter, Jean-Marc
has worked on over 10 comics and illustrated for
children’s books and literature classics in French.
Jennifer Lindsay | Australia - Indonesia | pp 46, 68
Jennifer Lindsay first went to
Indonesia in 1971. She lived there
for 25 years as student, researcher,
diplomat and programme officer.
She has translated many literary
and academic works from Indonesian into English,
including Linus Suryadi’s Pariyem’s Confession, and
has been translating Goenawan Mohamad’s essays
since 1992. Jennifer’s edited volume, Between
89
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Jeremy Tiang | Singapore | pp 23, 35, 52
Jeremy Tiang’s short-story collection,
It Never Rains on National Day, was
published in 2015. His writing has also
appeared in The Guardian, Esquire,
Asia Literary Review, Brooklyn Rail, Drunken Boat,
Meanjin, Ambit, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore
and Best New Singaporean Short Stories. He won
the Golden Point Award in 2009. He has translated
more than 10 books from Chinese, including works
by Yeng Pway Ngon, You Jin and Yan Geling. He is
a 2016 National Endowment for the Arts Literary
Translation Fellow.
Jerrold Yam | Singapore | pp 32, 50, 57
Jerrold Yam is a law graduate from
University College London and the
author of three poetry collections:
Chasing Curtained Suns (2012),
Scattered Vertebrae (2013) and Intruder (2014). His
work has been featured in more than 80 journals and
anthologies, including Time Out magazine, Prairie
Schooner, Third Coast and Washington Square
Review. He has received poetry awards from the
British Council, the National University of Singapore
and Poetry Book Society, and nominated for the
Forward and Pushcart Prizes.
| India | pp 22, 28
Jeyamohan is one of the most
influential contemporary Tamil and
Malayalam writers. His best-known
and critically acclaimed work is
Vishnupuram, a deeply layered fantasy set as a quest
through various schools of Indian philosophy and
mythology. In 2014 he started his most ambitious
work Venmurasu, a modern adaptation of the epic
Mahabharatha. Drawing on the strength of his
life experiences and extensive travel around India,
Jeyamohan is able to re-examine and interpret the
essence of India’s rich literary and classical traditions.
Jeyamohan
90
Joseph Wong | Hong Kong | pp 64, 66
Joseph Wong 王澤 is a comic artist
and professor of architecture. He
taught architecture since the early
1980s in the US, Europe and Asia. He is
currently Professor of Architecture at Taipei’s Shih
Chien University. In 1995, he continued his father’s
comic works centred on the legendary Old Master Q
(老夫子).
Josephine Chia | Singapore | pp 46, 51, 53
Josephine Chia writes both fiction
and non-fiction, and is internationally
published with eight books. She was
shortlisted for the UK’s prestigious
Ian St. James Awards for short fiction in 1992.
Granted the National Arts Council’s Arts Creation
Fund, she wrote Kampong Spirit: Gotong Royong
– Life in Potong Pasir, 1955 to 1965, which won
the Singapore Literature Prize (for English nonfiction) in 2014. Also in 2014, she was selected for
the inaugural Writer-in-the-Gardens Residency
Programme at Gardens by the Bay.
Joshua Ip | Singapore | pp 31, 57, 67
Joshua Ip is the author of two
volumes of poetry: making love with
scrabble tiles (2013) and sonnets from
the singlish (2012), which won the
Singapore Literature Prize in 2014. His poetry and
short stories have been published in numerous print
anthologies and online journals. He won the Golden
Point Award for Prose in 2013 for the short story
‘The Man Who Turned Into a Photocopier’, and was
runner-up for Poetry in 2011. He has co-edited two
poetry anthologies: A Luxury We Cannot Afford
(2014) and SingPoWriMo 2014 (2014).
Joyce Chng | Singapore | p 66
Joyce Chng writes mainly science
fiction and Young Adult fiction.
She likes steampunk and tales of
transformation/transfiguration. Her
fiction has appeared in The Apex Book of World SF II,
We See A Different Frontier, Cranky Ladies of History,
Accessing the Future and YA’s Best Speculative
Fiction. Her urban fantasy novels are contracted
under Fox Spirit Books, while her YA science fiction
trilogy are published by Math Paper Press.
Joyce Chua | Singapore | p 66
After her first taste of creative
writing at the age of 12, Joyce Chua
has been hooked on telling stories. A
graduate of the National University of
Singapore, where she majored in English Language,
she is a fan of Young Adult fiction and has written
many manuscripts that should not see the light of
day. Her debut novel, Lambs For Dinner (2013), is a
YA romance. She is currently working on a magical
realism novel.
disisipkan dalam pengajaran Kesusasteraan Melayu
di peringkat A-level.
Justin Cronin | US | pp 51, 55, 63
Justin Cronin has been called “an
unlikely heir to America’s genrefiction throne” (The New York Times).
A graduate of the Iowa Writers’
Workshop, he won a PEN/Hemingway Award for his
book, Mary and O’Neil. His other novels include The
Summer Guest (2004). With 2010’s blockbuster The
Passage, he turned to darker, more gripping fare: a
post-apocalyptic world plagued by vampires whose
supernatural skills result from a Bolivian virus gone
badly awry. The Twelve, the sequel to The Passage,
was released in 2012.
Kelvin Tan | Singapore | pp 19, 57
Kelvin Tan has released more than
130 albums and is the author of two
novels, All Broken Up and Dancing and
Nether R, a few plays and a film script.
He was a prize winner at the 1985 National Short
Play Competition with ‘Tramps Like Us’. After a long
hiatus, Kelvin is thinking of returning to writing.
Currently a part-time lecturer at the Puttnam School
of Film at the Lasalle College of the Arts, he also
plays lead guitar for the seminal local indie band, The
Oddfellows.
Justin Ker | Singapore | p 30
Justin Ker is a neurosurgery trainee
at the National Neuroscience Institute
in Singapore. He has a special interest
in the injured brain and its damaged
memories. His story ‘Joo Chiat and Other Lost
Things’ won Second Prize for Fiction at the 2011
Golden Point Awards, and was anthologised in The
Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean
Short Stories (2013). He received the National Arts
Council’s Emerging Artists Grant in 2005. The Space
Between the Raindrops is his first book.
K
Kamaria Buang | Singapore | p 61
Kamaria Buang has been writing Malay
poetry since 1972. A member of Asas
’50 since 2008, she is an avid poetry
contributor to Berita Harian. To date,
she has produced over 500 poetry pieces. Her poem,
‘Begitulah kata-kata’, has been included in A-level
poetry studies.
Kamaria Buang mula menulis puisi Melayu sejak
tahun 1972. Beliau yang telah mengganggotai
Asas’50 sejak tahun 2008, gemar menghantar puisipuisinya kepada Berita Harian. Sehingga kini, beliau
telah menghasilkan lebih daripada 500 kuntum
puisi. Sajaknya, ‘Begitulah Kata-kata’ telah pun
Kenneth Quek | Singapore | pp 22, 62
Kenneth Quek is the Deputy Director
of the National Book Development
Council of Singapore. He is an avid
reader of children’s picture books,
Young Adult novels and graphic novels,
as well as tennis biographies and books about
aviation and air crashes.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Tongues: Translation and/of/in Performance in Asia,
was published in 2006. A columnist for Indonesia’s
weekly magazine, Tempo, she focuses her academic
writing on Indonesian culture, language and history.
Ken Liu | US | pp 25, 33
Ken Liu is an author and translator
of speculative fiction, as well as a
lawyer and programmer. A winner of
the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy
Awards, he has been published in The Magazine of
Fantasy and Science Fiction, Analog, Clarkesworld,
Lightspeed and Strange Horizons, among others.
Ken’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings (2015), is the
first in a silkpunk epic fantasy series. His short-story
collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories,
is slated for release in November 2015.
Kennie Ting | Singapore | p 54
Kennie Ting is a sociologist and cultural
heritage professional who is fascinated
by the urban histories and architectural
heritage of colonial cities in Asia, and
by the phenomenon of travel. When not wandering
through Asia searching for traces of the colonial
past, he works at the National Heritage Board of
Singapore, devising strategies for the promotion and
preservation of cultural heritage.
Kenny Leck | Singapore | pp 47, 61, 64
Kenny Leck is the co-founder of
BooksActually, an independent literary
bookstore that specialises in fiction
and literature titles. He also helms
the publishing imprint, Math Paper Press, and the
handmade stationery line, Birds & Co. An artist and a
hoarder, he creates boxed assemblages from found
91
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Kevin Mathews | Singapore | p 56
Singer-songwriter Kevin Mathews
is perhaps best known for his No.
1 hit song, ‘My One and Only’, with
Watchmen in 1993. He has released
four albums and three EPs with Watchmen,
The Crowd and Popland, before launching his
debut solo album, Emo FASCISM, in 2013 and
an EP, #alpacablues, in 2014. Aside from being
a live performer for over 30 years, Kevin is an
accomplished film score composer who has worked
on acclaimed Singapore director Eric Khoo’s
feature films and also contributed music to other
Singaporean films.
Koh Jee Leong | US - Singapore | pp 21, 25
Koh Jee Leong has published four
books of poems, including Steep
Tea (2015) from Carcanet Press,
and a book of poetic essays, The
Pillow Book, published by Math Paper Press.
Shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize, he
has had his work translated into Japanese, Chinese
and Russian. Committed to the introduction of
Singapore literature to a wider American audience,
he runs the arts website Singapore Poetry, the
Second Saturdays Reading Series and the biannual
Singapore Literature Festival in New York City
where he resides.
| Singapore | p 28
KTM Iqbal has authored seven
collections of poetry and written over
200 children’s songs for the Singapore
radio programme, ‘
’
[‘Let Us Sing’], in the 1970s and 1980s. He has
contributed poems, essays and short stories to
the region’s leading newspapers and magazines.
His poem ‘
’ [‘Water’] was selected by the
National Arts Council for display in MRT trains in
1995 and for exhibition at Expo 2000 in Hanover,
Germany. English translations of his poems by R
Balachandran can be found in The Evening Number
and Other Poems (2008). He was an associate editor
of the anthologies, Rhythms (2000) and Fifty on
50 (2009).
KTM Iqbal
, 1970
1980
.
,
92
.ʻ
,
ʼ
200
ʻ
. . .
ʼ
.
.
2000
(
.
) The Evening Number and Other Poems
(2008)
. Rhythms
(2000), Fifty on 50 (2009)
.
Kuik Shiao-Yin | Singapore | pp 22, 26
Together with two founding partners,
Kuik Shiao-Yin runs a group of social
businesses known as The Thought
Collective. She is currently serving the
public sector as a Nominated Member of Parliament.
A Fellow of the 2014 Praxis Business Accelerator
Programme, Shiao-Yin has benefited from the
mentorship under seasoned leaders such as Nancy
Duarte of Duarte Design and Steven Garber of
The Washington Institute. She speaks regularly on
innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, resilience
and the power of personal story.
L
Laksmi Pamuntjak | Indonesia | pp 21, 37, 69
Laksmi Pamuntjak is the author of
two collections of poetry, a treatise
on the relationship between man and
violence based on the Iliad, a collection
of short stories, and four editions of the bestselling
and award-winning Jakarta Good Food Guide. Both
her novels, Amba [The Question of Red] and Aruna
dan Lidahnya, are national bestsellers. She now
writes op-eds for The Guardian and divides her time
between London and Jakarta.
Landung Simatupang | Indonesia | pp 18, 46, 68
Landung Simatupang was born in
Yogyakarta where he is now based. A
self-taught actor for the stage and film,
he also directs productions by different
theatre groups, including the renowned Teater
Garasi. In 2013, Tempo magazine acknowledged him
as a prominent figure in the arts for his theatrical
activities, and highlighted his accomplishment
in bringing words to life through public-reading
performances. Landung is a freelance EnglishIndonesian translator of some 30 fiction and nonfiction books. He also writes poetry.
Latha | Singapore | pp 32, 41, 50
Kanagalatha (Latha) has published two
collections of poetry in Tamil: Theeveli
[Firespace; 2003] and Paampuk
Kaattil Oru Thaazhai [A Screwpin
in Snakeforest; 2004]. She has also published a
short-story collection, Nan kolai Seyium penkkal
[Women I Murder; 2007], which won the Singapore
Literature Prize in 2008. The English translation of
her short-story collection, The Goddess in the Living
Room, was published in 2014. Her poems and short
stories have been translated into English, French
and German, and published in many anthologies
and literary journals. She is currently the Associate
Editor of Tamil Murasu, Singapore’s Tamil daily
newspaper.
Lefty | Malaysia | pp 27, 38
Comic book writer and artist, Julian
‘Lefty’ Kam, is a co-founder of Gilamon
Studio. He is the creator of Major
Zombie and Jimi Germ graphic novel
series. He contributed to Eisner Award-nominated
anthology, Liquid City Volume 1 and 2, and served as
Managing Editor (Malaysia) for Liquid City Volume
3. A part-time lecturer who teaches character
development, comic art and storyboarding, he is
currently working on children graphic novels and
various art projects related to the UNESCO heritage
city of George Town, Malaysia.
Lee Tzu Pheng | Singapore | pp 32, 50
Lee Tzu Pheng has received numerous
awards for her poetry, including the
Cultural Medallion (1985) and the SEA
Write Award (1987). Other awards
include the Gabriela Mistral Award from the Republic
of Chile and the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts
Literary Award. Three of her poetry collections
won the NBDCS Book Award for English poetry and
her poems have been read over the BBC and set to
music for choral performance.
Lee Weng Choy | Singapore | p 45
Lee Weng Choy is president of the
Singapore Section of the International
Association of Art Critics. He was
formerly the Artistic Co-Director of
The Substation arts centre and more recently has
been involved in a number of projects with Nanyang
Technological University’s Centre of Contemporary
Art Singapore. His essays have appeared in such
publications as Afterall, Broadsheet, Contemporary
Art in Asia, Over Here: International Perspectives on
Art and Culture, Theory in Contemporary Art Since
1985 and Third Text.
Leela Jesudason | Singapore | p 34
Leela Jesudason set up a support
group for people grappling with mental
illness. Her elder sister was killed
by her own son, who suffered from
schizophrenia.
Leong Liew Geok | Singapore | pp 32, 42, 50
Leong Liew Geok is the author of
two volumes of poetry, Love is Not
Enough (1991) and Women without
Men (2000). She edited More than Half
the Sky: Creative Writings by Thirty Singaporean
Women (1998), and Literary Singapore: A Directory
of Contemporary Writing in Singapore (2011) for the
National Arts Council. She is writing her third poetry
collection.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
1995
objects discarded by everyday people.
Leonora Liow | Singapore | pp 32, 65
Leonora Liow is a Singapore-based
writer. She won first prize in the
Golden Point Award in 2003. Moth is
her first collection of stories.
Lim Cheng Tju | Singapore | pp 27, 51, 66
Lim Cheng Tju, or CT Lim, is the
country editor (Singapore) of the
International Journal of Comic Art.
He co-edited Liquid City Vol 2 (Image
Comics, 2010) and co-founded the 24-Hour Comics
Day in Singapore.
Lin Gao 林高 | Singapore | p 63
Lin Gao specialises in essays and short
novels, and has recently expanded his
repertoire to include ommentaries and
modern poetry. Lin won a Singapore
Literature Prize in 2014 in the Chinese fiction
category.
林高，国立台湾大学文学士。华中师范大学硕士。林高之
创作以散文、小小说为主，近年亦努力于评论和现代诗之
耕耘。林高曾任新加坡作家协会理事、副会长，现为受邀
理事。著作有《往山中走去》《被追逐的滋味》《林高卷《
林高微型小说》《倚窗阅读》《遇见诗》等。2014年林高
获新加坡文学奖（小说）。
Linh Dinh | US - Vietnam | pp 21, 30
Linh Dinh is the author of five books of
poems, two collections of short stories
and a novel about Vietnam entitled
Love Like Hate. Postcards from the End
of America, his book of political writing, will come
out in January 2016.
93
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Lorong Boys | Singapore | p 18
The Lorong Boys are five awardwinning Singaporean musicians who
are equally comfortable playing on the
hallowed stage of the concert hall as
they are on the streets of the heartland. Consisting
of Rit Xu (flute), Jonathan Shin (piano), Gabriel Lee
and David Loke (violins), as well as Joachim Lim
(percussion), this quintet was born out of deep
friendship and a shared love for music. Lorong Boys
has a wide range of musical styles, ranging from
classical music and Broadway musical numbers to
today’s Top 40 pop hits.
Low Pooi Fong 刘培芳 | Singapore | pp 16, 56
Low Pooi Fong, is an accomplished
journalist in Singapore who has worked
as a reporter, editor and columnist for
major Chinese newspapers Nanyang
Siang Pau and Lianhe Zaobao. Low is
best known for literary works, such as Deep In My
Heart and Low Pooi Fong’s Collection of Essays.
刘培芳，南洋大学政府与行政学系荣誉学士，资深报人,曾
任《南洋商报》、
《联合早报》为记者、编辑及评论员，期
间获日本新闻协会及亚细安新闻协会奖学金。曾凭《泰柬
边境去来》系列作品获《金狮奖》报告文学优胜奖。著有
《我心深处》、
《刘培芳散文选》等，作品收录各类文学
选集。
M
Ma Daishu 马岱姝 | Spain - China | pp 31, 39
Daishu Ma is an illustrator and graphic
novelist from Chengdu, China. Having
graduated from Central Saint Martins
College of Art and Design in London,
she went on to create illustrations for various
literary and independent publications in the UK and
China. Daishu is the co-founder of interdisciplinary
studio, Alien & Monkey. Her first graphic novel,
Leaf, was published in China in 2014, and in the
94
US in 2015 by Fantagraphics. She currently lives in
Barcelona, Spain.
马岱姝，中国新锐插画与绘本作家。生于中国成都，毕
业自英国伦敦中央圣马汀艺术学院。曾为中英两国多
部中英文杂志和文学图书创作封面和插画，首部绘本
作品《树叶》2014年由九久读书人在中国出版，隔年由
Fantagraphics在美国出版。现居西班牙巴塞罗那，与友
人联办 Alien & Monkey设计公司。
Madeleine Thien | Canada | pp 19, 27, 35
Madeleine Thien is the author of the
short-story collection, Simple Recipes
(2001), and two novels, Certainty
(2006) and Dogs at the Perimeter
(2011), which won the Frankfurt Book Fair’s 2015
Literaturpreis for world literature. Her books are
published in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia,
and have been translated into 22 languages. Her
work has appeared in The Guardian, Granta, Asia
Literary Review and elsewhere. A new novel, about
musicians studying Western classical music in
Shanghai in the 1960s, is forthcoming in 2016.
Marc Nair | Singapore | pp 28, 50 57
Marc Nair is a poet and photographer
who has published five volumes of
poetry. His work has been featured
in a number of anthologies. He has
also represented Singapore competitively at
international poetry slam competitions. This year,
he toured with his latest collection of spoken-word
poems, The Poet of Unlove, in Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines. He teaches creative writing,
writes satirical podcasts, and performs regularly
with his band, Neon and Wonder.
Mark Gevisser | South Africa | pp 48, 65
Mark Gevisser is one of South Africa’s
foremost journalists and non-fiction
authors. His latest book, Lost and
Found in Johannesburg, won the 2015
Recht Malan Prize for non-fiction in South Africa,
and was shortlisted for the 2015 Jan Michalski Prize
for World Literature. His previous books include the
award-winning biography, A Legacy of Liberation:
Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African
Dream, and Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in
South Africa.
Maryono | Indonesia | pp 44, 68
Maryono was born in Magelang,
Central Java. He started his music
career as a teenager and later found his
niche in kroncong. Heavily influenced
by the strong tradition of kroncong, he then decided
to play ukulele and guitar in a kroncong orchestra.
He has played with Mamiek Marsudi, Tuti Tri Sedya,
Toto Salmon and Sundari Sukotjo. Kroncong music
brought him to foreign grounds, such as the Tong
Tong Fair in Holland. He has been with Kroncong
Tenggara since it was first founded in 2007
in major literary journals, and among her numerous
awards are the prestigious Akutagawa Award, the
Nakahara Chuya Award and the Tanizaki Jun’ichiro
Award. Tapping on her versatile style, she is actively
exploring new possibilities of the Japanese language.
| Singapore
Meenatchi Sababathi
p 54
Meenatchi Sabapathy, now a teacher,
was formerly a broadcaster in
Mediacorp’s Tamil radio station. She
has authored more than 5 books
including Simple Tamil, a bilingual book published
by Europhone and Aivoma Naam published by
Mediacorp. She has written many articles and
conducted many workshops and given hundreds of
talks, in Singapore, Malaysia and the USA.
Miel | Singapore | p 20
Miel is a cartoonist, illustrator and
visual artist. He works for The Straits
Times by day, and paints at night. He
lives near Bukit Merah with his family
and their two pet cats.
.
,
,
Michael Farrell | Australia | pp 28, 30
Born in Bombala, a country town in
New South Wales, Michael Farrell holds
a Ph.D. in Australian Literature. He
has published four books of poetry,
the most recent being open sesame and Cocky’s
Joy, which includes the poem, ‘Beautiful Mother’,
the winner of the Peter Porter Poetry Prize. He
is also the author of the comics poetry book,
Break Me Ouch, and a co-editor of Out of the Box:
Contemporary Australian Gay and Lesbian Poets.
Michael Sandel | US | pp 12, 46
An American political philosopher
and a professor at Harvard University,
Michael Sandel has written on
(borrowing the title of one of his
books) Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. He
has also written other books like Democracy’s
Discontent, Public Philosophy, and What Money Can’t
Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, which argues
that organs and the right to kill endangered species
should not be traded for cash. His ‘Justice’ lectures
held at Harvard University are one of the best
received, with more than 15,000 students having
attended the course.
Mieko Kawakami | Japan | pp 24, 39
One of the most highly regarded
young Japanese novelists, Mieko
Kawakami is also a poet and a singersongwriter. She has published widely
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Loh Chin Ee | Singapore | p 44
Loh Chin Ee is an Assistant Professor
in the English Language and Literature
Academic Group at the National
Institute of Education, Nanyang
Technological University. She is the co-editor of
Teaching Literature in Singapore Secondary Schools
(2013) and Little Things: An Anthology of Poetry
(2013), and the co-author of Teaching Poetry to
Adolescents: A Teachers’ Guide to Little Things
(2013). Previously a secondary school teacher, she
is constantly amazed by how surprising and creative
students can be when given the chance.
Mina Ishikawa | Japan | pp 30, 39
Mina Ishikawa is one of the most
highly-regarded young tanka poets
in Japan. Story-oriented and full of
whimsical humour, her tanka does
not alienate readers unfamiliar with this particular
poetic form. Her tanka and essays have been widely
published in major literary journals in Japan.
Monica Cantieni | Switzerland | p 38
Born in Thalwil, Switzerland, Monica
Cantieni lives in the German-speaking
part of Switzerland. She is Head of
Multimedia in the Culture Department
of Swiss Radio and Television. She made her debut
as a writer with Hieronymus’ Kinder [Hieronymus’
Children] in 1996. The German edition of her novel,
The Encyclopaedia of Good Reasons, was shortlisted
for the prestigious Swiss Book Prize in 2011.
Monica Lim | Singapore | p 37
Monica Lim runs her own writing
agency for corporate clients. She also
writes a popular blog on parenting and
education issues, which inspired her
first book, The Good, the Bad and the PSLE: Trials of
an Almost Kiasu Mother (2013). Her latest fictional
work is the action-packed Danger Dan children’s
series, which she co-wrote with her daughter,
Lesley-Anne. Monica has conducted numerous
talks and writing workshops at schools and literary
festivals.
Motoyuki Shibata | Japan | pp 24, 26, 30, 35, 39
Motoyuki Shibata taught American
literature and literary translation
at the University of Tokyo for three
decades. He has translated works
by contemporary American authors, including
Paul Auster, Steven Millhauser and Stuart Dybek.
He currently edits two literary journals: Monkey, a
journal in Japanese appearing three times a year,
and Monkey Business, an annual English journal.
95
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Mutalib Uthman | Malaysia | p 61
Mutalib Uthman established DuBook
Press in 2010. Since then, DuBook
Press has published 60 books and built
a following of readers in the alternative
indie books market. One book that he has published
this year in May is titled Orang Ngomong Anjing
Gonggong.
Myay Hmone Lwin | Myanmar | pp 30, 36
Myay Hmone Lwin is the author of
the poetry collection, Wanna Ride?
(2010), the short-story collection, An
Otter Sneaked Out From the Yangon
Zoo (2014), and the novels, One By Two 1/2 (2011),
Khu (2011), Watch Out Your Shadow (2012) and
What Has Been Written on the Stone Can’t Be
Erased by an Eraser (2013). He is the founder of
NDSP publishing house and has been nominated for
International Publishers Association’s Freedom to
Publish Prize 2014. He won the Salai Tin Maung Oo
Literary Award in 2014.
N
| India
Na Muthukumar
pp 25, 28, 40
Na Muthukumar is a two-time National
award winning Tamil poet, columnist
and lyricist. He mainly works as a
lyricist for the Tamil film industry. He
won the National award for lyricist for the movies
Thanga Meenkal and Saivam.
.
.
,
.
| Malaysia | p 50
M Navin is a primary school Tamil
teacher who is better known among
the younger generation as the leader
of the magazine Vallinam, a monthly
on-line magazine; Parai, a research journal; and
Yaal, a magazine targeted at students. He is active
in the field of Tamil literature and spreads new ideas
on Tamil literary works and criticism among young
people in the country. Some of his works include
Sarvam Bramasmi, Kadakka Mudiyatha Kaalam,
Virunthaligal Vittucellum Valvu and Verinaygaludan
Vilaiyaduthal.
Navin
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
| Singapore | p 50
Nepolian writes poems, short
stories, essays, literary criticism,
screenplays and songs. He is the
first lyricist from Singapore to
write songs for Tamil movies – including ‘Un
thalai mudi uthirvathaikkooda...’ from the film,
Kaathalil Vizhunthaen. He has published two poetry
collections: Naanum en karuppuk kuthiraiyum
(2002) and Kaanaamal pona kavithaikal (2013). His
works have bagged many awards in Singapore and
overseas such as the India Tamilnadu Tirupur Tamil
Sangam’s Literature Award (2013), as well as the
National Arts Council’s Golden Point Awards for
poetry (2001) and short story (2005).
Nepolian
,
,
,
“
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.“
“
...“
( 2013 )
.
2002 )),
( 2013
(
- 2001 &
.
96
.
,
( 2002 ),
.
- 2005)
Ng Wai Choy 吴韦材 | Singapore | pp 16, 53
Ng Wai Choy is is well known for his
Chinese-language travelogue series
Backpacking Around The World, now
in its sixth edition. He is also the
founder of Red Kite Theatre Group in Singapore,
which focuses on stage performances.
40 languages. A poet, essayist and translator, he is
the author of several books, including the Hubert
Burda European Award winner, Relocated Stone
(2007). He also won the Miladinov Brothers Award
at Struga Poetry Evenings and was granted several
fellowships, including the International Writer
Program at the University of Iowa.
吴韦材，新加坡作家，早年赴英国进修美术设计，1980
年代初开始背包旅行及专业写作，著作23册，其《背包走
天涯》游记系列曾启动80年代本地年轻人自助旅游风
潮。1997年赴中国北京电影学院进修导演，归国后创办
红风筝剧坊并投入舞台创作。自1979年起撰写专栏至今
35年从未停栏，近作为《背包走天涯》第六集。目前旅居
国外并专注于绘画。
Nilanjana Sengupta | Singapore - India | p 36
Nilanjana Sengupta recently published
The Female Voice of Myanmar: Khin
Myo Chit to Aung San Suu Kyi, which
was written while she was a Visiting
Scholar with the Asia Research Institute of the
National University of Singapore. Born in Kolkata,
India, she studied humanities at the Presidency
College and holds a master’s degree in business
management. She worked as a freelance journalist in
Mumbai, writing for the Times of India and Hindustan
Times. Since 2010, she has lived in Singapore.
Niar Lazza | Indonesia | p 68
Niar Lazza began her career as a
sand artist in early 2009. In 2011
she created a sand art animated
performance entitled Everybody Hurts,
a tribute dedicated to the Bali Bomb victims. Using
only her fingers and hands, Lazza uses the sand
particles to create a painting on a light or a black
box, set to music.
Nicholas Hogg | UK | pp 50, 57, 65
After graduating from university with
a psychology degree, Nicholas Hogg
travelled widely and has lived in the
US, New Zealand and Japan. After
working as an English teacher and an actor in Tokyo,
he became press officer for a Japanese NGO ship
and sailed around the world three times, reporting
on global development issues. His debut novel, Show
Me the Sky, was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin
Literary Award, while his acclaimed short stories
have won numerous prizes and been broadcast by
the BBC. Tokyo is his third novel.
Nicholas Yong | Singapore | p 38
Nicholas Yong is author of Land of the
Meat Munchers, a Young Adult zombie
tale centred on three young survivors
in Singapore. He is also co-founder
of the pop culture news website, Geek Crusade.
In his day job, Nicholas is a journalist with Yahoo
Singapore.
Nikola Madzirov | Macedonia | p 51, 53
Nikola Madzirov was 18 when the
collapse of Yugoslavia prompted
a shift in his sense of identity. The
German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel,
compared the quality of his poetry to Tomas
Transtromer’s. His work has been translated into
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Mrs Moneypenny | UK | pp 14, 55, 60
For 16 years, Heather McGregor has
been entertaining and informing
readers with her weekly column in the
Financial Times. She presented the
TV show ‘Superscrimpers’, while the
‘At Home with Mrs Moneypenny’ show has run at
the Edinburgh Fringe and off Broadway. She is the
bestselling author of Careers Advice for Ambitious
Women and has recently published the follow-up
book, Financial Advice for Independent Women.
Nils Nordberg | Norway | pp 48, 60
Nils Nordberg has published numerous
reviews, articles and essays, mainly
on crime fiction, as well as shortstory anthologies and the complete
Sherlock Holmes stories. He was President of
Rivertonklubben, the Norwegian Crime Writers’
Association, from 1977 to 1983, and 1985 to
2001. Aside from a new illustrated and annotated
edition of the Sherlock Holmes books, his current
project includes The Crime Library, a series of 100
cornerstone books.
Niniek L Karim | Indonesia | pp 18, 68
Sri Rochani Soesetio Karim or Niniek L.
Karim is an actress and a lecturer in the
Faculty of Psychology, University of
Indonesia. In an acting career spanning
more than three decades, she has appeared in no
less than 30 films and received numerous awards.
She is one of the main narrators of the audio book of
Don Quixote written by Goenawan Mohamad.
Niu You Xiao Sheng 牛油小生 | Malaysia | pp 39, 59
Johor-born Tan Yu Xin, also known by
his pen name Niu You Xiao Sheng, is
currently a correspondent for Lianhe
Zaobao’s supplement section. Tan has
clinched several prizes in Singapore and Malaysia,
such as the Hua Zong Awards and the Hai-O
Literature Awards.
陈宇昕，笔名牛油小生，出生于柔佛新山，目前担任新加坡
《联合早报》副刊执行级记者。曾获马来西亚花踪文学奖
97
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
O
O Thiam Chin | Singapore | p 52
O Thiam Chin’s short stories have
appeared in anthologies such as
One: Short Stories from Singapore’s
Best Authors and A Rainbow Feast:
New Asian Short Stories, as well as many literary
journals. Twice longlisted for the Frank O’Connor
International Short Story Award in 2010 and 2012,
he is the author of four story collections, FreeFalling Man, Never Been Better, Under the Sun and
The Rest of Your Life and Everything That Comes
With It. He was an honorary fellow of the University
of Iowa’s International Writing Program in 2010.
Olivier Bocquet | France | pp 51, 63
Olivier Bocquet is the French author of
one novel, numerous TV series for kids,
and six adult comic books, including
Snowpiercer’s fourth issue, Terminus.
Omar Pérez López | Cuba | pp 24, 28
Omar Perez Lopez was a poet,
musician and translator who was born
in Havana, Cuba. He has published
several collections of poetry and
essays in his home country and abroad.
Oniatta Effendi | Singapore | pp 36, 67
Oniatta Effendi is a drama lecturer
in Singapore Polytechnic. She finds
pleasure in making drama meaningful
as she works with specific populations
of people, including vulnerable youths and children.
When she is not working, she loves playing with her
five young children.
P
Paro Anand | India | pp 23, 28, 37
One of India’s top writers for children
and young adults, Paro Anand writes
extensively about young people in
difficult circumstances. No Guns At My
Son’s Funeral, a novel about a young boy growing
up with violence, was launched to rave reviews
and is being made into a film. The Little Bird Who
Held the Sky up with His Feet was listed on the
‘1001: Children’s Books You Must Read Before You
Grow Up’ by Julia Eccleshare. Paro’s acclaimed
98
book, Wingless, has been performed nationally and
internationally.
Patrick Chng | Singapore | p 56
Patrick Chng has been in the local
music scene for over 25 years, starting
off as the frontman of The Oddfellows
in 1988, the first Singapore band to
have a No. 1 hit on radio station 98.7FM’s chart in
1991. Also an original member of Padres, he has
sessioned for various bands over the years. These
days, Patrick is the guitarist for indie rock band
TypeWriter. After their album, Indian Head Massage,
was released in 2010, the band toured the UK in
2013.
Paul Tan | Singapore | pp 13, 52, 64
Paul Tan has published four volumes of
verse – including Curious Roads (1994)
and Driving into Rain (1998), which
won prizes at the Singapore Literature
Prize competitions. His most recent collection is
Seasonal Disorders/Impractical Lessons (2014).
Apart from poetry, he has written journalistic
articles, short plays, short stories and the lyrics to
a National Day song. The former festival director of
the Singapore Writers Festival, he is now the deputy
chief executive of the National Arts Council.
Peter Kellock | Singapore | p 33
Peter Kellock is an electroacoustic
music composer who has worked
in research and entrepreneurship.
He founded Muvee Technologies
and served as its Strategist, Lead Inventor and
Muveeographer. He is also a member of the arts
resource panel at the National Arts Council.
Phan Ming Yen | Singapore | pp 26, 35, 42
Phan Ming Yen is the author of a
collection of short fiction, That Night
by the Beach and Other Stories for
A Film Score (2012), and one of the
four writers in the collaborative writing project, The
Adopted: Stories from Angkor (2015). His writing has
appeared in Quarterly Literary Review Singapore,
Best New Singaporean Short Stories: Volume One
(2013) and Kulit: Asian Literature for the Language
Classroom (2013). He was also a contributor to the
recently published Singapore Soundscape: Musical
Renaissance of a Global City (2014).
Philip Ball | UK | pp 33, 36
Philip Ball worked previously for over
20 years as an editor for Nature. He
writes regularly in the scientific and
popular media, and has authored many
books on the interactions of the sciences, the arts
and the wider culture – including H2O: A Biography
of Water, Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour, The
Music Instinct and Curiosity: How Science Became
Interested in Everything. His book Critical Mass won
the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books. His latest
book is Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen
(2014).
Philip Chia | Singapore | pp 46, 51
Philip is a fourth generation CHIA
descendent, a pure bred Straits-born
(Peranakan) of Peranakan parents and
grandparents. At an early age of six, he
was already helping his nanny in the kitchen.
Philip Jeyaretnam | Singapore | pp 43, 47
Philip Jeyaretnam is a writer and
lawyer. His published works include
First Loves, Raffles Place Ragtime and
Abraham’s Promise. He received the
National Arts Council’s Young Artist of the Year
Award in 1993 and the SEA Write Award in 2003.
Pia Padukone | US | pp 59, 65
Pia Padukone’s debut novel is Where
Earth Meets Water. At the age of
12, she won the Barnard College Young
Women’s Writing Award. She was
also a finalist in Seventeen Magazine’s Fiction
Writing Contest, and most recently a winner of the
Women on Writing Flash Fiction Contest. Pia and
her husband Rohit maintain a reading and eating
blog, Two Admirable Pleasures. Her second novel,
The Faces of Strangers, will be published in April
2016.
Pooja Nansi | Singapore | pp 13, 47, 52
Pooja Nansi has published two
collections of poetry, Stiletto Scars
(2007) and Love is An Empty Barstool
(2013). She is the co-editor of an
anthology of Singaporean Poetry, SingPoWriMo
2014, and has co-authored a teacher’s resource for
Singaporean poetry. She curates a monthly spoken
word and poetry event called Speakeasy, which has
showcased poets from places as diverse as Burma
and Botswana. She also runs the Singapore chapter
of Burn After Reading which is a collective for
young emerging poets. She is an NTU-NAC Writer in
Residence for 2015 – 2016.
PP Wong | Singapore - UK | pp 29, 38
PP Wong is the first British-born
Chinese novelist to get a publishing
deal in the UK. After completing a
degree in Anthropology and Law
at the London School of Economics, she did a
Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism. Her debut
novel The Life of a Banana is about race relations
in London seen through the eyes of a 12-yearold girl. It was longlisted for the Baileys Women’s
Prize for Fiction 2015 (formerly Orange Prize for
Fiction), while the rights have already been sold for
eight countries, including Italy, Israel, Thailand and
Indonesia.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
马华散文首奖与评审奖、海鸥文学奖小说评审奖。著有散
文集《类似过敏症的布尔乔亚之轻》。
Prabhu Silvam | Singapore | pp 23, 27, 59
Prabhu Silvam is a Singaporean
writer and poet whose works have
appeared in publications like Esquire
and Singapore Architect. He sees
writing and documenting the human condition as
a necessary means of expression – the art form of
telling and re-telling a story. Most recently, his works
were published in Best New Singaporean Short
Stories: Volume One and the literary journal, Ceriph.
He is the co-author of Riot Recollections, a photoessay book documenting the 2013 Little India Riot in
Singapore.
Q
Quah Sy Ren 柯思仁 | Singapore | pp 16, 56
Quah Sy Ren has written essays,
scripts and commentaries about social
and cultural issues. He began writing in
the late 1970s for supplement sections
of newspapers such as Nanyang Siang Pau, Sin
Chew Jit Poh and Lianhe Zaobao. Quah is currently
teaching in the Chinese department at the Nanyang
Technological University.
柯思仁，出生成长于新加坡，写散文和剧本，也写社会与
文化评论。1970年代末开始在报章副刊发表文章，如《南
洋商报·学府春秋》、
《星洲日报·世纪风》、
《联合早报·文
艺城》等。曾出版文集：
《以诗和春光佐茶》、
《思维边界》
、
《如果岛国，一个离人》
（与黄浩威合著）、
《梦树观星》
等。目前任教于南洋理工大学中文系。
R
Rachel Hartman | US | pp 51, 55, 66
Born in Kentucky in the US, Rachel
Hartman is an award-winning author
of Young Adult fantasy. Her first novel,
Seraphina, won the Morris Award, the
99
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Rama Kannabiran | Singapore | p 43
Rama Kannabiran has published four
collections of short stories and a
collection of novellas. His stories have
been translated into English, Malay
and Mandarin. Rama Kannabiran was the winner
of the 1990 Southeast Asian Write Award as well
as the recipient of the Culture Medallion for his
contributions to literature in Singapore in 1998. He
represented Singapore in the 1998 International
Writing Programme in Iowa, U.S.A. and was an
Honorary Writing Fellow at Iowa University. During
his stay there, Kannabiran completed his novel
Peedam.
Ranjit Hoskote | India | pp 53, 64
Ranjit Hoskote is the award-winning
author of more than 25 books, ranging
from poetry, art criticism, cultural
history, to translation. His collections
of poetry include Central Time (2014),
Vanishing Acts: New and Selected Poems 1985–
2005 (2006) and Die Ankunft der Vogel (2006). His
translation of the 14th century Kashmiri mystic, Lal
Ded, has been published as I, Lalla: The Poems of Lal
Ded (2011). He is the editor of Dom Moraes: Selected
Poems (2012), the first annotated critical edition of
a major Anglophone Indian poet’s work.
Ravi Shankar | US | pp 28, 30
Pushcart Prize-winning poet Ravi
Shankar founded Drunken Boat, one of
the world’s oldest electronic journals
of the arts. He co-edited W.W. Norton’s
Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry
from the Middle East, Asia, and Beyond, and has
published many books and chapbooks of poetry
and translation, including What Else Could it Be:
Ekphrastics and Collaborations (2015) and the 2011
National Poetry Review Prize winner, Deepening
Groove. He is currently a Professor of English at
Central Connecticut State University and in the
international MFA programme at City University of
Hong Kong.
Riot !n Magenta | Singapore | pp 14, 46
Weaving together the powerhouse
vocals of Eugenia Yip with the mellow
synths of Hayashida Ken, and the tight,
precise rhythms of Khairyl Hashim
(guitar), Sulaiman Supian (bass) and Ritz Ang
100
(drums), the five-man band from Singapore released
their debut EP, R3BOOT, at Esplanade Recital Studio
in 2013.
Rob Cowen | UK | pp 48, 55, 67
Rob Cowen is an award-winning
journalist and writer who has authored
columns on nature and travel for
newspapers like The Independent
and The Telegraph. He received the Roger Deakin
Award from the Society of Authors for his first
book, Skimming Stones and Other Ways of Being
in the Wild. His new book, Common Ground, has
been described by bestselling author Joanne
Harris as “Something extraordinary… a journey
into the Northern dreamtime in starkly beautiful
prose,” while Michael Palin has called it “Sensitive,
thoughtful and poetic.”
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst | UK | pp 48, 61
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst is Professor
of English Literature and a Fellow
of Magdalen College, Oxford. His
books include Becoming Dickens: The
Invention of a Novelist (2011), which was awarded
the Duff Cooper Prize, and The Story of Alice: Lewis
Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland (2015).
He writes regularly for publications including The
Guardian, Times and New Statesman. In 2012, he
was a judge of the Man Booker Prize.
Roger Jenkins | Singapore | pp 27, 36, 62
Roger Jenkins is a Singaporean
storyteller whose warm, spontaneous
and comedic style makes him a popular
choice in schools, libraries and festivals
here and in the region. Apart from co-curating the
SWF F3 programme, he is also the founding director
of the 398.2 Storytelling Festival, happening in late
November 2015.
Roland Kelts | US | pp 26, 35, 39
Roland Kelts is the author of the
critically acclaimed and bestselling
Japanamerica. His articles, essays and
fiction are published in The New Yorker,
Time, the Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice,
Newsweek Japan, Vogue, Cosmopolitan and The
Japan Times, among others. He is also a frequent
contributor to CNN, the BBC, NPR and NHK. He is a
visiting scholar at Keio University and contributing
editor of Monkey Business, Japan’s premier literary
magazine. His forthcoming novel is called Access.
Russ Soh | Singapore | p 27
Russ Soh is a writer and retired
senior corporate executive with two
published collections of Singaporean
short stories to his name: Not the
Same Family (2013) and Tales from the ECP (2015).
S
SP Somtow | Thailand | pp 25, 33
Born in Bangkok, Somtow Sucharitkul
grew up in Europe. His first career was
in music before he emigrated to the US
and reinvented himself as a novelist. In
his 1984 novel Vampire Junction, he injected a new
literary inventiveness into the horror genre. In the
1990s, Somtow became increasingly identified as a
uniquely Asian writer with novels such as the semiautobiographical Jasmine Nights. He won the World
Fantasy Award for his novella, The Bird Catcher. His
more than 50 books have sold about two million
copies worldwide.
Sally Wen Mao | US | p 42
Sally Wen Mao is the author of
Mad Honey Symposium (2014).
The recipient of fellowships from
Kundiman, Bread Loaf Writers
Conference, Hedgebrook and Saltonstall, she has
work published in The Best American Poetry 2013,
The Best of the Net 2014, A Public Space and Poetry
magazine. She is currently a writer in the Singapore
Creative Writing Residency.
Samanth Subramanian | UK - India | pp 58, 59
Samanth Subramanian is a New Delhibased writer and journalist. He has
written for The New Yorker, The New
York Times, The Guardian and Granta,
among other publications. His first book, Following
Fish: Travels Around the Indian Coast, won the Shakti
Bhatt First Book Prize in 2010. His new book, This
Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War, won
the Crossword Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2015.
Samantha Seah | Singapore | pp 19, 67
Samantha Seah is a film-maker and
animator with a passion towards visual
storytelling. Her works often explore
the possibilities of creating expressive
stories, allowing her to experiment with notions
of human nature and perception. Her collaborated
experimental short film, StormEX, received the Silver
Crowbar Award in 2013. She graduated in 2014 with
a Bachelor of Arts in Animation Art from
Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore.
Sekaliwags | Singapore | p 43
The Sekaliwags are a four-woman
spoken word troupe consisting of
Nabilah Husna, Raksha Mahtani,
Victoria Lim and Stephanie Dogfoot.
They have been described as “hilarious, critical,
affective, always feminist, and often queer”. Formed
in 2013, the group has performed at the Lit Up
Festival and The Arts House’s 10th Anniversary
Open House. Informed by their roots in activism,
protest, theatre and slam poetry, the Sekaliwags
promise to bring you a bitingly hysterical show to
remember.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Sunburst Prize and the Monica Hughes Award. The
eagerly-awaited sequel, Shadow Scale, just came
out in March. She lives in Vancouver, Canada, and is
working on a third novel set in the same world.
Selva | Singapore | p 50
Selvananthan Ganesan is an
accomplished theatre director. To date
he has written, directed and acted
in more than 50 plays in English and
Tamil, including overseas productions. Selva started
off as an actor in the 1980s and soon progressed
to writing and directing his own plays. He has acted
and directed numerous Tamil and English theatre
productions.
Seth Lui | Singapore | p 25
Seth Lui is one of Singapore’s most
read food writers, writing under his
online publication sethlui.com, which
sees more than 400,000 unique
readers each month.
Sezairi | Singapore | p 57
Sezairi has built a reputation as one
of Asia’s rising pop stars. Featured
in Rolling Stones Indonesia as one
of the artists to watch in 2014, he
collaborated with Tulus on the single, ‘Jangan Coba
Berlari’. This was a follow-up to the successful Asian
remix of the 2014 FIFA World Cup song, ‘Vida’,
where he was featured alongside international
superstar Ricky Martin, Malaysia’s Alif Satar and
Indonesia’s Judika. After his acting debut in the
historical film, 1965, he will be making his musical
theatre debut at the end of the year.
Shamimah Mujtaba | Singapore | p 48
Born and educated in Singapore,
Shamimah Mujtaba had the privilege
of living through the independence of
Singapore. Her first published work
was in her school magazine, The Magdalenian.
Subsequently, she took a long hiatus from writing
for publication, until she attended a memoir writing
workshop organised by the National Library Board.
101
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Sharon Ismail | Singapore | pp 54, 65
Sharon Ismail’s first book What
Sallamah Didn’t Know, a story about
her mum, was adopted by the Ministry
of Education as one of the English texts
for Primary 6 students under the STELLAR syllabus.
She is also a polytechnic lecturer, actor, host, voice
talent and mum. While most of her work has been
on the Suria channel (Best Actress in a Leading Role
in 2001, 2004 and 2011), she has ventured into
Channel 5 in a series called ‘Code of Law’.
Shirley Geok-Lin Lim | US - Malaysia | pp 42, 44
Commonwealth Poetry Prize winner,
Shirley Geok-lin Lim has published
three short-story and 10 poetry
collections – most recently Do You Live
In?, Ars Poetica for the Day and The Irreversible Sun.
She has two novels, Joss and Gold and Sister Swing;
a memoir, Among the White Moon Faces; as well as a
children’s novel and two critical collections. She has
published creative non-fiction and edited/co-edited
numerous journal issues and anthologies – including
The Forbidden Stitch, a 1990 American Book Award
winner. She is Research Professor at the University
of California, Santa Barbara.
Shivaji Das | Singapore | p 64
Shivaji Das is a management consultant
based in Singapore and is the author of
Journeys with the caterpillar: Travelling
through the islands of Flores and
Sumba, Indonesia.
102
Siow Lee Chin | Singapore | pp 53, 62
Violinist Siow Lee Chin won the Gold
Medal at the 1994 Henryk Szeryng
International Violin Competition. This
victory launched her career as an
acclaimed soloist who has wowed audiences in more
than 20 countries on five continents. Winner of the
Singapore Youth Award for Excellence in the Arts
and the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award,
Lee Chin was the first Singaporean talent-spotted
to study at America’s prestigious Curtis Institute of
Music. From Clementi to Carnegie is her first book.
Sophie Hannah | UK | pp 48, 55, 60
Sophie Hannah is a bestselling crime
writer published in 34 languages and
51 territories worldwide. Two of her
novels have appeared on TV under
the series title, ‘Case Sensitive’. In 2014, Sophie
published The Monogram Murders, the first Hercule
Poirot mystery since Agatha Christie’s death and
approved by the Christie estate. Sophie is also an
award-winning poet, and has been shortlisted for
the T.S. Eliot Prize. In 2013, her novel The Carrier
won the Crime Thriller of the Year award at the
Specsavers National Book Awards.
SP Thinnappan | Singapore | p 36
Dr SP Thinnappan is a leading Tamil
scholar. His areas of specialization are
Tamil grammar, linguistics, language
teaching and literature. Throughout
his academic career, he has contributed immensely
to the promotion of Tamil in Singapore.
Sri Rahayu | Malaysia | pp 53, 61
Sri Rahayu Mohd Yusop published her
debut novel, Bukan Legasi Lalang, in
2001, when the manuscript won a
nationwide writing competition for
Young Adult literature. Since then, she has published
10 more novels which won numerous national-level
awards. Qalam Kalbu, her 10th publication, won the
Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2014. In 2012,
she became a guest writer in the Read! Singapore
programme. A graduate of Otago University, New
Zealand, she teaches English and Literature in
English in a secondary school in Malaysia.
Sri Rahayu Mohd Yusop menerbitkan novel pertamanya yang bertajuk Bukan Legasi Lalang apabila
manuskrip tersebut memenangi peraduan karangan
seluruh negara untuk sastera remaja
pada tahun 2001. Sejak itu, dia telah menghasilkan
10 lagi novel yang telah memenangi beberapa
anugerah di peringkat nasional. Beliau juga meraih
Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2014 bagi novel
kesepuluhnya yang bertajuk Qalam Kalbu. Pada
tahun 2012, beliau menjadi penulis tamu dalam
program Read! Singapore. Berbekalkan ijazah dari
Universiti Otago, New Zealand, beliau mengajar
Stephanie Ye | Singapore | pp 14, 33, 46, 52
Stephanie Ye is the author of the
chapbook, The Billion Shop (2012), and
the editor of From the Belly of the Cat
(2013), an anthology of cat-themed
Singapore short stories. She graduated from the
MA in Creative Writing (Prose) programme at the
University of East Anglia (UEA), where she won the
Weidenfeld & Nicolson Best of UEA Short Story
Award, held a UEA Creative Writing International
Scholarship, and was also the recipient of a
Singapore National Arts Council bursary. She is an
honorary fellow in writing of the University of Iowa
via the International Writing Program.
Story Slam Singapore | Singapore | p 39
Story Slam Singapore is one of
Singapore’s first live monthly
storytelling events that aims to provide
a platform for everyone to share their
true-life stories and experiences in a warm and
empathetic environment. Story Slam Singapore
believes in the shared commonality of the human
experience, and the desire to share their experiences
in an open and inclusive environment.
Sujak Rahman | Singapore | p 69
Sujak Rahman is regarded as one of
the finest artists in the art of batik
painting in Singapore and Asia. His
paintings are largely inspired by the
human spirit – especially the beauty and strength of
women in their symbolic role as the mother. He has
been teaching the art of batik painting for more than
forty years and has held various exhibitions locally
and internationally.
Sun Yu-li | Singapore | p 20
Sun Yu-li is one of the nation’s leading
artists who have placed Singapore
on the world map with overseas
installations and exhibitions. His
sculptures and paintings can be seen all over the
island from The Singapore Art Museum to Dhoby
Ghaut station and in countries like China, USA and
England.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Shamini Flint | Singapore - Malaysia
pp 31, 54, 60, 67
Malaysian-born Shamini Flint was a
corporate lawyer before resigning
to be a stay-at-home mum, writer,
part-time lecturer and environmental
activist. Her Inspector Singh crime novels are
published by Little, Brown (UK) and Minotaur (US).
They include Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most
Peculiar Malaysian Murder (2009), Inspector Singh
Investigates: A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul (2009) and
Inspector Singh Investigates: The Singapore School
of Villainy (2010). She also writes children’s books
with cultural and environmental themes, including
The Seeds of Time (2008), an environmental fantasy,
and Ten (2009), a tale of growing up and football.
The seventh Inspector Singh and the ninth Diary will
be published in 2016. In addition, the US rights to
Ten have been sold to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
孙宇立为新加坡知名艺术家。他的艺术具有独特风格及创
新技法，其作品在新加坡及世界许多国家都可见到。宇立
也在推广视觉艺术上热心投入社会公益及教育活动。除此
之外，宇立也经常与舞蹈、音乐、戏剧、文学方面的艺术家
合作，企图寻求新的艺术表达方式、寻找新的艺术方向，
不断尝试把纯艺术带入人群，普及大众。其作品在中国及
新加坡邮政局均曾作为邮票出版，新加坡钱币局也曾以宇
立的作品出版过钱币。
Suratman Markasan | Singapore | p 20
Suratman Markasan is a prolific poet,
fiction writer, and essayist who has
been writing since 1954. He has won
numerous prestigious writing awards
such as the Southeast Asian Writers Award (1989),
the Mont Blanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Award
(1997), the Tun Seri Lanang Award (1999), and the
Nusantara Literary Award (1999). In 2011, he was
awarded Singapore’s Cultural Medallion. The themes
of Suratman’s works often revolve around the inner
conflicts of a community.
Suratman Markasan merupakan seorang penulis
prolifik yang kini telah mencecah usia 85 tahun.
Beliau mula menulis sejak tahun 1954. Suratman
Markasan telah menuntut di SITC (1948-50) dan
Universiti Nanyang (1968-71). Beliau mula bertugas
sebagai pendidik sejak tahun 1950 hingga 1976,
menjadi Nazir Khas Bahasa dan Kesusasteraan serta
Penolong Pengarah, Pengajian Melayu dan Tamil
dari tahun 1976 hingga 1981. Karya-karya terbaharu
beliau termasuk cerpen ‘Langau Menyerang Masjid’
(2007), ‘Puisi-puisi Perjalanan’ (2010) dan novel
‘Dunia Bukan Kita Punya’ (2011). Karya-karya beliau
telah dikumpulkan di dalam buku 4 jilid, Kembali ke
Akar Melayu, Kembali ke Akar Islam (2013). Beliau
juga pernah dilantik menjadi Penulis Tamu Melayu
NUS-NAC pada tahun 2015. Antara anugerah yang
diperolehinya ialah Anugerah Penulis Asia Tenggara
(1989), Anugerah Montblanc-NUS Centre for Arts
Literary Award (1997), Anugerah Sastera Nusantara
(1999), Anugerah Tun Seri Lanang (1999), Anugerah
Pingat Budaya Singapura(2010) dan Tokoh
MASTERA 2014.
103
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
,
,
,
.
,
1998
Montblanc-NUS Centre
,
.
.
.
Susan Long | Singapore | p 37
Susan Long is currently general
manager of Straits Times Press, the
book publishing arm of Singapore
Press Holdings. She has worked 20
years with The Straits Times, during which she has
flown around the world to interview the likes of
Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, and anchored
long-running interview columns including ‘The
Susan Long Interview’ and ‘Movers and Shakers’.
She has published three bestselling books: Grit
Success: Stories of Millionaires in our Neighbourhood
(1999), Grit Success II: The Guts Behind Singapore’s
Entrepreneurs (2002) and Difference Makers: Stories
of Those Who Dared (2005).
Susan Orlean | US | pp 48, 56, 64
The bestselling author of Rin Tin Tin
and The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean
has been called “a kind of latter-day
Tocqueville” (The New York Times).
From Rin Tin Tin, the orphaned German shepherd
who became a silent film star in the 1920s, to John
Laroche, the convicted felon who slinks through the
swamps of southern Florida looking for rare orchids,
Susan has an eye for the moving, the hilarious and
the surprising. Her writing has inspired two films,
including ‘Adaptation’, the Academy Award-winning
film directed by Spike Jonze.
104
Suzanne Choo | Singapore | p 44
Suzanne Choo is Assistant Professor
at the English Language and Literature
Academic Group, National Institute of
Education. She completed her Ph.D.
in English Education at Columbia University, USA.
Her book, Reading the World, the Globe, and the
Cosmos: Approaches to Teaching Literature for the
Twenty-first Century, was awarded the 2014 Critics’
Choice Book Award by the American Educational
Studies Association. More recently, she edited
Cross-worlds: Short Stories on Global Themes, which
features contemporary award-winning writers on
issues related to terrorism, climate change and
immigration, among others.
T
Take Two | Singapore | p 24
In a little over two years, Take Two
has gone from playing indie covers in
a dark, dingy university dormitory, to
performing to audiences in Malaysia,
Thailand, Spain and most recently, Beijing, as part of
the Singapore: Inside Out travelling showcase. They
were selected to open for Scottish pop legends,
Travis, won the 2014 NOISE Singapore Prize and have
played in regional music festivals Music Matters (2014
and 2015) and Baybeats 2015. Their debut EP, PAIRS,
reached number two on the Singapore iTunes charts.
Tan Chee Lay | Singapore | pp 36, 51
Dr Tan is the Deputy Executive
Director of the Singapore Centre
for Chinese Language, and has
published over 20 creative writing and
academic books.
Tan Lai Yong | Singapore | p 26
Upon graduation, Dr Tan Lai Yong
worked as a doctor in Singapore. In
1996, he and his family moved to
Yunnan, China, and joined a community
development team, working with the poverty
affected in remote villages, and caring for orphans,
disabled children and the sick. His first book, Biting
the Bamboo: Experiences of Work and Life in
Yunnan, is in its sixth printing. He also wrote the
book, Two Ears But Only One Mouth: Reflections on
Wisdom in Rural Yunnan, and (with photographer
Andrew Chew) Pilgrims, a photo journal of life in a
Dai Village in Xishuangbanna.
Tan Mei Ching | Singapore | p 43
Tan Mei Ching writes novels, short
stories, plays, children’s books,
and creative nonfiction. She was a
recipient of the Young Artist Award for
Literature from National Arts Council of Singapore.
Her first novel, Beyond the Village Gate, received a
Commendation Award in the Singapore Literature
Prize. Her short stories have been included in
anthologies such as ONE: The Anthology (Marshall
Cavendish) and Telltale: Eleven Stories (Ethos Books).
Tan Tarn How | Singapore | pp 19, 44
Tan Tarn How is a playwright, arts
activist and policy researcher at the
Institute of Policy Studies, the National
University of Singapore. His awardwinning plays have been published in Six Plays and
Fear of Writing. He is part of Project 50/100 that
commemorates Singapore’s 50th anniversary of
independence in alternative ways.
Tang Jui Piow 陈维彪 | Singapore | pp 30, 59
Tang Jui Piow was a Language Elective
|
Programme
student of Hwa Chong
Junior College who later graduated
with a degree in Chinese Language and
Literature from Fudan University, Shanghai. In 2013,
he won the Golden Point Award for Poetry, and
subsequently published his debut poetry collection,
The Sea Diary, in 2015. His works can also be found
in Lianhe Zaobao, Nanyang Fine Arts Magazine and
several local anthologies.
陈维彪，华中初级学院语言特选课程毕业生，上海复旦
大学汉语言文学系文学士。2013年金笔奖诗歌组首奖得
主，2015年出版首部诗集《航海纪事》.作品也散见于《联
合早报》文艺城，
《南洋艺术》，
《留学博客》及一些本地的
文学合集。
Tania De Rozario | Singapore | p 30
Tania De Rozario is an artist and
writer engaged with issues of gender
and sexuality, ideas concerning art
as activism, and representations of
women in Horror. She was the winner of Singapore’s
2011 Golden Point Award for English Poetry and her
first collection, Tender Delirium (Math Paper Press
| 2013), was shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore
Literature Prize. She is an Associate Artist with The
Substation, Singapore’s oldest independent arts
centre, and runs EtiquetteSG, a multidisciplinary
platform focused on developing and showcasing art,
writing, film and music made by women. Tania’s work
has been showcased in London, Spain, Amsterdam,
Singapore, New York and San Francisco. Her poetry
and fiction have been published in various journals
and anthologies, and she has written extensively
about art for both public institutions as well as
commercial publications.
Ted Goossen | Canada | pp 26, 35, 39
Ted Goossen was born in Copenhagen,
Denmark, raised in New York, and has
since 1970 lived in Toronto, where he
teaches at York University. He is the
editor of The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
and the co-editor of Monkey Business International.
He has translated works by a number of Japanese
authors, including Haruki Murakami, Naoya Shiga,
Hiromi Kawakami and Yoko Ogawa. His translation
of Murakami’s first two novels, Hear the Wind Sing
and Pinball 1973, were released earlier this year.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
| Singapore | p 54
Suriya Rethina
A former school teacher, Suriya
Rethnna has written for Singaporean
and Malaysian Tamil newspapers, as
well as for local radio and television
stations. Her works include fiction, non-fiction,
plays and translated works. She has won several
competitions in Singapore and Malaysia, and was
awarded the Montblanc-NUS-CFA Young Writers’
Fellowship in 1998. Her first novel Merkkey
Uthikkum Sooriyan [The Sun Rises in the West]
was the first Tamil novel published by a female in
Singapore
Teng Qian Xi | Singapore | pp 32, 41
Teng Qian Xi graduated from
Columbia University with a degree
in Comparative Literature. Her
translations have appeared in Some
Kind of Beautiful Signal (Two Lines Press, 2010),
Asymptote (2011) and Lion’s Heart, Painted
Thoughts (National Book Development Council
of Singapore, 2015), among others. Her poetry
collection, They hear salt crystallising (firstfruits
publications, 2010) was shortlisted for the
Singapore Literature Prize in 2012. Her poetry
has appeared in several anthologies and journals,
including Over There: Poems from Singapore and
Australia (Ethos Books, 2007), Language for a
New Century (W. W. Norton, 2008) and Speaking
for Myself: An Anthology of Asian Women’s Writing
(Penguin India, 2009). She has given creative writing
workshops in Raffles Girls’ School, Creative Arts
Programme, School of the Arts and NUS High. She
has taught literature at the School of the Arts and
Raffles Girls’ School, and is now a private tutor and
freelance translator.
Teo Kok Keong 张国强 | Singapore | p 59
Teo Kok Keong graduated with a
Master in Engineering from Nanyang
Technological University. He is
currently a Senior Lecturer at a local
polytechnic specialising in Computer Engineering.
His main literary focus is on fiction, with articles
published in Lianhe Zaobao and other literary
magazines. He published Traveller X Mystic Map
in 2014.
张国强，南洋理工大学工程学硕士，现任理工学院计算
机工程高级讲师。创作以小说为主，作品散见于《联合早
报》和其他文学刊物，2014年出版中篇小说集《旅者X 迷
图》。
105
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Toh Hsien Min | Singapore | p 25
Toh Hsien Min has published three
collections of poetry, most recently the
Singapore Literature Prizeshortlisted
Means to an End (2008). His work
has also been published in periodicals such as
London Magazine, the London Review of Books
and Poetry Salzburg Review, as well as anthologies
such as Carcanet’s Oxford Poets 2013 and W.W.
Norton’s Language for a New Century. He has read at
international literary festivals such as the Edinburgh
International Book Festival and Finland’s Runokuu
Poetry Festival.
Toh Lam Huat 杜南发 | Singapore | pp 16, 20, 53
A veteran journalist, Toh Lam Huat
held various senior editorial positions
in key Chinese papers in Singapore.
He was the Supervising Editor of
Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min Daily News and the Central
Integrated Newsroom at Singapore Press Holdings,
before he retired in 2014. He is also an author,
poet and art critic. He has published several books
spanning poetry, literature and art criticism. He
was the 2012 Nanyang Technological University’s
Nanyang Alumni Achievement Award recipient.
杜南发，资深报人，曾先后担任《南洋商报》记者、文艺副
刊“浮雕”、“文林”主编，历任《联合晚报》、
《联合早报》、
《新明日报》等报章副总编辑、总编辑、统筹总编辑。集
作家、诗人、书画鉴赏家于一身，出版过诗集、访谈集、书
画论集、文化散文集等。八十年代初南大诗乐作者，2012
年南洋校友成就奖得主。
Tong Noong Chin 董农政 | Singapore | pp 16, 53
Tong Noong Chin is the founding editor
of the literary sections of Singapore’s
major Chinese newspapers Nanyang
Siang Pau and Lianhe Wanbao. During
his literary career, Tong published collections of
poems, mini novels and mini essays. He now works
as a fengshui expert and has written nearly 30 books
on astrology.
106
董农政，生于中国福州的新加坡写作人。创作各类文
体，1977 年起多次获颁全国诗歌创作比赛大奖。曾任《南
洋商报》、
《联合晚报》副刊编辑，是《晚报》文艺版《晚
风》、
《文艺》创刊主编。编过新加坡作家协会刊物《微型
小说季刊》，编选《跨世纪微型小说选》。出版过诗集、微
型小说集及微型散文合集。目前从事堪舆行业，著有近三
十部术数丛书。
Troy Chin | Singapore | pp 27, 57, 60, 66
Troy Chin is a Singaporean writer and
artist most known for his ongoing
autobiographical comic book series
The Resident Tourist, the slice-of-life,
four-volume comic strip series Loti, and the music
industry satire Bricks in the Wall.
U
Ubiet | Indonesia
Ubiet, born under the name of Nyak
Ina Raseuki, is a vocalist who explores
a myriad of music genres and strives
to adopt as many singing styles as
possible. She sees herself as a pluralist, believing
that each musical tradition elicits a distinct set
of expertise. In the almost four decades of her
career, Ubiet has been involved in a multitude of
performances and recordings of classical, pop,
jazz, contemporary music, as well as various genres
originating from the Indonesian archipelago’s rich
musical traditions.
V
Verena Tay | Singapore | pp 27, 29, 48
Verena Tay has published a shortstory
collection, Spectre (2012), and three
play collections, In the Company of
Women (2004), In the Company of
Heroes (2011) and Victimology (2011). She edited
seven fiction anthologies, including the popular Balik
Kampung series.
Vernetta Lopez | Singapore | p 67
A radio DJ with Gold905, Vernetta
Lopez hosts her own solo show on
the evening primetime belt of 5pm to
8pm daily. An actress who has won
accolades in both comedy and drama, she is also the
author of Memoirs of a DJ, her first autobiography.
Vernetta has been in the Singapore entertainment
scene for 21 years and shows no signs of slowing
down.
Viviana Mejía | Colombia | p 45
Viviana Mejía is a Singapore based art
writer and curator from Colombia.
She was the gallery manager and
curator for Future Perfect gallery
(Gillman Barracks), and is currently the founder and
editor of the zine Feminist Rant. She has an M.A.
in Contemporary Art from the Sotheby’s Institute,
Singapore, and an M.A. in Modern and Contemporary
Art History and Theory from Los Andes University in
Colombia.
W
weish | Singapore | pp 14, 46
weish is a Singaporean artist whose
primary medium is live loops, creating a
multi-layered landscape of sounds with
a mixture of singing, vocal percussion
and occasional instrumentation. In the span of one
year, she has opened for Canadian indie rock band
Tegan and Sara, played at the Singapore F1 Grand
Prix, as well as performed at numerous venues such
as the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre and Concert Hall,
the Fred Perry Subsessions, The Substation, Zouk,
TEDx Singapore, Home Club, Blu Jaz, Timbre, and
The Arts House.
Whiti Hereaka | New Zealand | pp 19, 28, 32
Whiti Hereaka is the author of two
novels: The Graphologist’s Apprentice
(2010), which was shortlisted for
Best First Book in the Commonwealth
Writers’ Prize in 2011, and Bugs (2013), which won
an Honour Award at the New Zealand Post Book
Awards for Children and Young Adults in 2014. Whiti
was the 2012 recipient of the Bruce Mason award,
which recognises the work of emerging playwrights
in New Zealand. In 2013, she was a writer-inresidence at the University of Iowa as part of their
International Writing Program.
Windy Setiadi | Indonesia | p 68
Windy Setiadi graduated in 2007 from
Berklee College of Music, majoring in
Music Production and Engineering. She
then continued her master’s degree
programme in Music Technology at New York
University. In 2004, together with Gamelan Galak
Tika and composer Evan Ziporyn, she performed at
the prestigious Carnegie Hall. In 2005, she joined the
gamelan group and performed in Bali to kick-start
their international tour. After returning to Jakarta
in 2011, she worked as a sound engineer and
accordionist.
Wobology | Singapore | p 34
Wobology is the creation of computer
sound scientist Richard Meade,
guitarist Rupak George and poet
performer Deborah Emmanuel. Their
multinational backgrounds come together to make
dub, reggae and electronic compositions about love,
good vibes and equality.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Thaddeus Rutkowski | US | pp 48, 62
Thaddeus Rutkowski is the author
of the novels, Haywire, Tetched
and Roughhouse. All three books
were finalists for an Asian American
Literary Award, while Haywire won the Members’
Choice Award, given by the Asian American
Writers Workshop in New York. His stories have
appeared in The New York Times, the International
Herald Tribune and many literary magazines and
anthologies. He is a poetry slam winner and has
received a fiction fellowship from the New York
Foundation for the Arts.
Wong Su Ann | Singapore | p 57
Su Ann sits at cafes, savouring life and
latte, turning heartache into a hobby
and people into poems.
Wong Swee Fong | Singapore | p 48
Wong Swee Fong is a retired teacher
who left Ipoh, Malaysia, for Singapore
after her GCE A-levels. Since arriving
here, she has taken up citizenship and
obtained an MA in English from the University of
New South Wales, Australia, as well as a Diploma in
Chinese from the University of Adelaide. Her dream,
if she is not too lazy, is to study for and to re-sit
Malay at O-levels.
Xiaohan | Singapore | p 62
Xiaohan is a Mandopop lyricist whose
works have won her seven Best Local
Lyricist awards at the Singapore Hit
Awards and three at the E-Awards.
She is the first and only Singaporean lyricist to be
nominated twice in Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards.
She has written lyrics for A-list Asian singers such
as Jolin Tsai and Stefanie Sun. Xiaohan also wrote
lyrics for the musicals, ‘Lao Jiu’, ‘LiaoZhai Rocks’
and ‘Nanyang The Musical’. A columnist of Lianhe
Wanbao, Nuyou and Majority Media magazine, she
has also published three books: Tears are Capsules,
Countless Happiness and Train of No Return.
X
Xinran 欣然 | UK - China | pp 29, 31, 35
Xinran was a successful journalist and
radio presenter in China. In 1997, she
moved to London, where she began
work on her seminal book about
Chinese women’s lives, The Good Women of China.
Since then, she has written a regular column for The
Guardian, appeared frequently on radio and TV, and
published the novels, Sky Burial and Miss Chopsticks,
and other books. Her latest book, Buy Me the Sky
(2015), offers insight into the first generation born
under China’s one-child policy.
107
Author and presenter bios for What I Love About You Is Your Attitude Problem
and SWF3 events can be found in the respective programme booklets.
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
Xu Zhiyuan 许知远 | China | pp 12, 25, 33
Xu Zhiyuan is a columnist for the
Financial Times Chinese. After
graduating from Peking University
in 2000, he became a journalist and
author. He has worked for The Economic Observer
and Bloomberg Businessweek China. He won the
SOPA Award for Excellence in Opinion Writing
in 2008. His latest books are Alienated from the
Motherland and The Totalitarian Temptation.
许知远，作家，北京独立人文书店“单向街书店”创始人。曾
任《经济观察报》主笔，现为《生活》杂志出版人、
《亚洲
周刊》与英国《金融时报》中文网专栏作家。善用抽离冷
静的视角对中国的过去与未来进行反思，笔触充满忧患意
识。曾获颁2008年度亚洲出版业协会大奖“卓越评论奖”
。出版著作包括，
《一个游荡者的世界》、
《极权的诱惑》、
《抗争者》等。
Y
Yap Seow Choong 叶孝忠 | Sinagpore | pp 35, 49
A former journalist of Lianhe Zaobao,
Yap Seow Choong moved to China to
pursue his travel writing and publishing
career in 2003. He was a publisher for
Lonely Planet China while based in Beijing. Under
his leadership, the team curated and published more
than 30 Chinese Lonely Planet titles. Yunnan
which he co-wrote, is a best seller and won “The
Most Influential Book 2014 Award” organized by
XinHua Net. He has written and published books
on travel and design in China and Taiwan. He still
contributes columns and feature stories for various
publications in the Greater China, Singapore and
Malaysia. Yap Seow Choong is currently the Chief
Content Office and Co-founder of Youpu, a Beijing
based travel app company.
叶孝忠，原任《联合早报》记者，2003旅居中国开创旅游
文学创作与出版事业。居京期间出任《孤独星球》中国出
版人，率领团队出版了逾30部《孤独星球》中文版系列旅
游指南，其中由他执笔联合编写的《云南》一辑，居畅销榜
榜首，入选新华网“2013年度中国影响力图书”。出版过多
部以旅游与时尚设计为主题的个人专著，包括《靛蓝岛屿》
、
《慢行不丹》、
《缅甸逆旅行》、
《亚洲风格时代》、
《创意
上海》。现为北京在线旅游新创公司“游谱缕旅行”联合创
办人兼首席内容官。
108
Yap Swi Neo | Singapore | p 48
Yap Swi Neo is a retired educator.
She has taught for over 40 years at
different institutions, including several
secondary schools in Malaysia, and
Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore. Her interest
is writing short stories to describe her growingup years in Malaysia, her relationships with family,
classmates and friends, and her professional life.
Ye Zi 椰子 | Singapore | p 39
Low Joo Hong is a passionate educator,
artist, illustrator and writer. He has
a BA Honours in Fine Arts from the
University of Leeds, UK, and an MA in
Children’s Books Illustration from the Anglia Ruskin
University, UK. He received Honourable Mention
for the prestigious Macmillan Prize 2009 for his
book, There is No Steak Buried Here. He writes and
illustrates both Chinese and English stories. He is
best known as 椰子 for his Chinese productions and
J.H. Low for his English ones.
刘聚洪，笔名椰子教育工作者、儿童绘本作家。考获英
国利兹大学艺术学士学位、安格利亚鲁斯金大学童书插
图 硕士学位。2009年 凭第一本儿童绘本《此地无肉
三百两》获颁英国2009年 “麦克米伦儿 童绘本创作”
（Macmillan Prize）高度推荐奖。兼用 中英文创作，迄
今出版过八本绘本，包括一系列取材自成 语典故的绘本
作品。
Yeo Wei Wei | Singapore | pp 35, 39, 57
Yeo Wei Wei is a Singaporean writer
and translator. Her short stories
have been published in journals and
anthologies in Singapore, Malaysia,
Hong Kong and the US. Her other publications
include essays on art and poetry, a children’s
picture book and translations of Chinese poetry.
These Foolish Things & Other Stories is her debut
collection of short stories. One of the 2015 NTUNAC Writers in Residence, she is currently working
on a novel.
Yeow Kai Chai | Singapore | pp 42, 67
Yeow Kai Chai has two poetry
collections, Pretend I’m Not Here
(2006) and Secret Manta (2001), which
was adapted from an entry shortlisted
for the 1995 Singapore Literature Prize. He was
one of four authors who co-wrote The Adopted:
Stories From Angkor (2015). He has covered the
arts and entertainment as editor, writer and music
reviewer for two decades in various newspapers
and magazines, including The Straits Times, My
Paper and 8 Days. He is the festival director of the
Singapore Writers Festival.
Yohanna Abdullah | Singapore | p 34
Yohanna Abdullah is a publications
executive who has grappled with
bipolar disorder for 15 years, and
among other things, has lived on the
streets and married a stranger she met on the
internet. She has written a book on her struggles.
Yong Shu Hoong | Singapore | pp 32, 42, 50, 52
Yong Shu Hoong is the author of five
poetry collections, including Frottage
(2005) and The Viewing Party (2013),
which won the Singapore Literature
Prize in 2006 and 2014 respectively. His poems and
short stories have been published in literary journals
and anthologies, including Quarterly Literary Review
Singapore, Language for a New Century (W.W.
Norton, 2008) and Balik Kampung (Math Paper
Press, 2012). He is the editor of Passages: Stories of
Unspoken Journeys (2013) and a co-author of The
Adopted: Stories from Angkor (2015).
AUTHORS & PRESENTERS
欣然，原名薛欣然，曾任记者，也是中国广播电台知名主持
人。1997年旅居英国，在英国首次执笔，以十余年来在国
内采访接触和电台热线听众的故事为蓝本，写下首部作品
《中国好女人》。从此开始了写作生涯，成为《卫报》专栏
作家，相继在西方出版7部著作，如《天葬的爱》《菜水茶》
。2015年最新力作《给我买片天》，探讨中国第一代独生
子女的成长历程。
Z
Zakaria Zainal | Singapore | pp 23, 47
Born and raised in Singapore, Zakaria
Zainal is a Malay-Muslim son in a
Chinese-dominated society. He makes
meaning of the world through his
photographs. His first monograph, ‘Our Gurkhas:
Singapore Through Their Eyes’, is an anthology of
portraits and anecdotes of the retired Singapore
Gurkhas as they reminisce about life in the Lion
City, from the 1950s till the present day. This was
followed by Riot Recollections, an anthology of
individuals who witnessed the December 2013 riot
in Singapore’s Little India.
Zen Hae | Indonesia | pp 19, 33, 69
Zen Hae writes poetry, short stories
and literary criticism. He has produced
two books: a collection of short
stories, Rumah Kawin [The Wedding
House; 2004] and a book of poems, Paus Merah
Jambu [The Pink Whale; 2007], which was named
“Best Literary Work of 2007” by Tempo magazine.
He has worked as a journalist and an NGO activist,
and was on the Literary Committee of the Jakarta
Arts Council. Since 2012, Zen has worked as editor
for the arts space, Komunitas Salihara.
109
OTHER EVENTS
SWF TEAM
OTHER EVENTS
RIVER NIGHTS
THE LITTLE ROOM OF WANDERS
ACM Green, Asian Civilisations Museum
October 25th to December 13th, 2015
Open daily, 10 am to 7 pm and
from 10 am to 9 pm on Fridays
free admission
Before taking up the reins of the house in 1920, Émile
Hermès began gathering beautiful and ingenious
objects, keeping these in his office at Faubourg SaintHonoré. His first purchase: a parasol-walking stick
bought at the age of 12, was the start of a private
collection which has continued ever since. Paintings,
unusual objects, ingenious mechanisms, albums and
rare books...these eclectic treasures, that are blithely
immune to fashion, have become a permanent source
of inspiration for the house’s designers.
SWF TEAM
23 & 24 October 2015, Friday & Saturday
Starts at 7pm
Asian Civilisations Museum, Victoria Theatre and
Concert Hall, and outdoors on Empress Place
free admission
Immerse yourself in a colourful night-time
extravaganza at “River Nights”, part of Singapore
River Festival 2015! Enjoy facade light shows, local
and international art installations, and performances
by established arts groups such as Nadi Singapura,
Frontier Danceland, and T’ang Quartet. The River
Promenade becomes your nocturnal playground
with a host of different zones to relax and play the
night away.
NOISE SINGAPORE 2015
FESTIVAL ALUMNI SHOW
Noise Alumni Concerts & Arts Market
30 – 31 Oct 2015
5pm – 11pm
Lawn @ The Foothills
Noise Alumni Exhibition
24 Oct – 8 Nov 2015
11am – 8pm
Galeris Nila & Utama @ The Foothills
The SWF 2015 team
First row (from left to right): Muhamed Leoaidil, Phua Shiuan Ling, Yeow Kai Chai, Khor Kok Wah,
May Tan, Michele Thompson
Second row (from left to right): Joan Tan, Firda Maisarah, Lo Hwei Shan, Caroline Wan, Ramizah Ali,
Averyl Rodrigues, Tan Puay Shian, Li Sihui, Amanda Yee, Shauna Oh, Muhammad Rizal
Not forgetting our wonderful temporary beings:
Christine Leong, Ho Zimin, Letitia Tan, Sarah Adam & Wesley Teng
THE PERANAKAN ARTS FESTIVAL
Nov 4 – 8th, 2015
10am to 9pm
Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall &
Jubilee Lawn @ Empress Place
110
Performances, music and theatre, visual arts, culinary
arts are abound in this 5-day Festival featuring –
BIBIKS BEHIND BARS, KENA AGAIN! and
PINTU PAGAR, which are in English. There will be
seminars, free public stage performances, a myriad of
exhibitions by Peranakan visual artistes and a bustling
bazaar with exclusive Peranakan merchandise on sale!
Celebrate with Noise Singapore as they turn 10!
Swing by The Foothills at Fort Canning Park to enjoy
an art exhibition and concerts put together by Noise
alumni artists and musicians, and an arts market put
together by The Local People.
Visit www.peranakanfest.com for more info.
Visit www.noisesingapore.com for more info.
111
SWF SURVIVAL GUIDE
Festival passes can be collected from the
information counter located at The Arts House
Box Office.
The information counter’s opening hours are as
follows:
30 Oct: 5pm – 11pm
31 Oct – 3 Nov, 7 Nov: 9am – 9pm
4 – 6 Nov: 2pm – 9pm
8 Nov: 9am – 7pm
PUNCTUALITY
We try to start all our events on time. Attendees are
advised to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the start
of each event.
GETTING AROUND
Public parking is available near the festival site at
Parliament House, The Adelphi, Funan DigitaLife
Mall, The Fullerton Hotel, and Esplanade Theatres
on the Bay.
The festival site is also accessible by the following
bus services:
•75, 100, 107, 130, 131, 167
(Victoria Concert Hall, bus stop no. 02011)
•51, 61, 63, 80, 124, 145, 166, 174, 174E
(Opposite The Treasury, bus stop no. 04249)
•195, 961
(Facing The Arts House, bus stop no. 02181)
The nearest MRT stations are City Hall
(Exit B, 5 – 7 minute walk) and
Raffles Place (Exit H, 10 minute walk).
WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
THE ARTS HOUSE
Earshot Cafe
Ground floor, The Arts House
Open Mondays to Fridays, 11am to 8pm
Saturdays, 11am to 5pm
T: +65 6338 8220
Viet Lang
#01-01, The Arts House
Open Sundays to Thursdays, 11.30am to 10.30pm
Fridays, Saturdays and Public Holidays,
11.30am to 11pm
T: +65 6337 3379
Festival pass promotion: Flash your Festival pass
for 15% OFF a la carte items with a minimum spend
of $80.00 from 30 Oct to 8 Nov.
Barber Shop by Timbre
#01-03, Annex Building Open Wednesdays to Saturdays, 6pm onwards
T: 6336 3386
Festival pass promotion: Flash your Festival pass
from Thursdays to Saturdays during the festival for
15% off the bill from 6 – 9 pm and 10% after 9pm
Timbre @ The Arts House
#01-04, Annex Building
Open Mondays to Thursdays, 6pm to 1am
Fridays and Saturdays, 6pm to 2am
T:6338 8552 (For reservations)
6336 3386 (Please call after 5pm)
Olivia Cassivelaun Fancourt
#02-02, Annex Building
Open Mondays to Fridays, 12pm to 2.30pm
Mondays to Saturdays, 6.30pm to 10.30pm
T: +65 6333 9312
OTHER JOINTS IN THE AREA
Absinthe
72 Boat Quay, 049860
Open Mondays to Saturdays, 12pm to 2.30pm,
5.30pm to 10.30pm.
My Little Spanish Place
54 Boat Quay
Open Mondays to Fridays, 12pm to 2.30pm
and 5pm to 12am
Saturday 5pm to 12am
TAKI Japanese Dine & Sake
No.62 Boat Quay
Open Mondays to Fridays, 12pm to 2.30pm
Mondays to Thursdays, 5.30pm to 11.30pm,
Fridays to Saturdays, 5.30pm to 1:00am
T: 6532 0442
WHERE TO SHOP
SWF POP SHOP will be open on Saturdays from
12pm to 7pm.
Our first SWF POP Shop will be held at The Arts
House on Saturday 31 October and 7 November!
You can expect food, crafts and maybe even pick up
SWF themed merchandise created by vendors.
The SWF POP Shop is located at The Arts House
Entrance.
Madam Patisserie
76 Boat Quay #01-76
Opens Monday to Saturdays, 8am to 11pm
Sundays, 8am to 8pm
T: 6536 7028
SWF BOOKSTORE is located at The Arts House,
Level 1.
Da Paolo Gastronomia
6 Battery Road #K1-01
Open Mondays to Fridays, 7.30am to 8pm
T:6535 4339
MUSEUM LABEL at Asian Civilisations Museum
From 30 Oct to 8 Nov, enjoy 20% off all MUSEUM
LABEL merchandise. SWF members or Festival Pass
Goers are required to show their SWF pass or ticket
stubs to staff during payment to enjoy the discount.
Available only at Asian Civilisations Museum.
The Boathouse
#03-01, The Fullerton Waterboat House
3 Fullerton Road
Open Mondays to Fridays, 12pm to 2pm
Mondays to Saturdays, 6pm to 11pm
T: 6538 9038
SWF SURVIVAL GUIDE
FESTIVAL PASS COLLECTION
SWF SURVIVAL GUIDE
SWF3 BOOKSTORE is located at Asian Civilisations
Museum, Level 2, River Room.
Starbucks 100th Store
#02-01/02/03
The Fullerton Waterboat House
3 Fullerton Road
Open Sundays to Thursdays 8am to 11pm
Fridays and Saturdays, 8am to 12am
T: 6536 0849
Overeasy
#01-06 One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road
Open Mondays to Thursdays 11.30am to 2.30pm,
5pm to 1am
Fridays 11.30am to 2.30pm, 5pm to 3am
Saturdays 5pm to 3am
T: 9129 8484
Hombre Cantina
53 Boat Quay, 049842
Open Mondays to Saturdays, 11am to Midnight
112
113
VENUES
SWF Venues
to National Library
Building (NLB)
AS
BA
SA
H
CHIJMES
NT
PL
RD
OL
W
GH
CO
NI
S
A
V
The Gallery can only be accessed via
the entrance at Coleman Street, facing
St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Timbre Music Academy (TMA)*
1 Old Parliament Lane
#02-01
Singapore 179429
Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall
9 Empress Place
Singapore 179556
E
DR
LE
T
NN
P
Esplande – Theatres
on the Bay
NT
IA
Victoria Theatre
and Victoria
Concert Hall
ST
RD
B AT T E R Y
PS
T
LLI
PH I
EXIT H
BY C A R
Public parking is available near the festival site at Parliament House, The Adelphi,
Funan DigitaLife Mall, The Fullerton Hotel, and Esplanade Theatres on the Bay.
B
BY B U S
The festival site is also accessible by the following bus services:
75, 100, 107, 130, 131, 167 (Victoria Concert Hall, bus stop no. 02011)
51, 61, 63, 80, 124, 145, 166, 174, 174E (Opposite The Treasury, bus stop no. 04249)
ET ST
ST
IA
C
H
U
RC
H
MARK
ES
T
GU
G
GO
IN
NA
ER
UL
The Fullerton
Hotel Singapore
SY
CK
CH
RD
P
TO N
SINGAPORE
RIVER
RD
PI
and Raffles Place (Exit H, 10 minute walk).
LER
RD
The nearest MRT stations are City Hall (Exit B, 5 – 7 minute walk),
i
AR
L
* Not shown on map
BY T R A I N
Asian
Civilisations
Museum
FUL
H
NA
UT
CA
SO
H
University Cultural Centre (UCC)*
50 Kent Ridge Crescent
NUS Centre for the Arts
Singapore 119279
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (Esplanade)
1 Esplanade Drive
Singapore 038981
National Library Building (NLB)
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064
Indian Heritage Centre (IHC)*
5 Campbell Lane
Singapore 209924
Singapore River Explorer*
River Explorer Stand
UOB Centre
Embarkation Point
Getting there
GE
BR
ID
NE
RT
Suntec Singapore Convention and
Exhibition Centre
1 Raffles Boulevard
Suntec City
Singapore 039593
ESPLA
T
RL
i
RD
ME
The Arts
House
FF
AU
ST
ESPLANADE
PARK
Singapore
Cricket Club
LA
NE
NADE DR
ME
PADANG
CO
IA
A
GH
ENTRANCE
TO NATIONAL
GALLERY
’S
ST
EW
N
DR
MA
R
AN
RL
VD
LL
RD
Supreme
Court
RD
BR
W
LE
National
Gallery
Singapore
PA
AR
ID
UL
BL
GE
ID
BR
ST
D
RD
RC
GE
CI
RD
ST ANDREW’S
CATHEDRAL
P
NO
The Treasury
CIRCUL
NO
CO
Parliament
House
R
RD
S
EXIT C
CITY HALL
MRT
WAR
MEMORIAL
PARK
The Adelphi
P
PE
FO
LE
EXIT B
H
RT
Funan Digital
Life Mall
PA
UP
AM
FF
HI
ST
LL
HI
FORT
CANNING
PARK
GH
RA
CAPITOL
BUILDING
P
HI
to Suntec Singapore
Convention &
Exhibition Centre
AY
ST
RD
EXIT A
The Arts House (TAH)
1 Old Parliament Lane
Singapore 179429
i T Information Counter, Ticketing,
Festival Bookstore,
Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM)
1 Empress Place
Singapore 179555
i Information Counter, SWF3 Bookstore
National Gallery Singapore (National Gallery)
1 Saint Andrew’s Road
Singapore 178957
VENUES
BR
195, 961 (Facing The Arts House, bus stop no. 02181)
RAFFLES PLACE
MRT
ST
114
115
NOTES
SWF Venues
The Arts House (TAH)
1 Old Parliament Lane
Singapore 179429
Information Counter, Ticketing,
Festival Bookstore,
Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM)
1 Empress Place
Singapore 179555
Information Counter, SWF3 Bookstore
National Gallery Singapore (National Gallery)
1 Saint Andrew’s Road
Singapore 178957
The Gallery can only be accessed via
the entrance at Coleman Street, facing
St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
Timbre Music Academy (TMA)
1 Old Parliament Lane
#02-01
Singapore 179429
Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall
9 Empress Place
Singapore 179556
Suntec Singapore Convention and
Exhibition Centre
1 Raffles Boulevard
Suntec City
Singapore 039593
University Cultural Centre (UCC)
50 Kent Ridge Crescent
NUS Centre for the Arts
Singapore 119279
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay (Esplanade)
1 Esplanade Drive
Singapore 038981
National Library Building (NLB)
100 Victoria Street
Singapore 188064
Indian Heritage Centre (IHC)
5 Campbell Lane
Singapore 209924
Singapore River Explorer
River Explorer Stand
UOB Centre
Embarkation Point
S I N G A P O R E W R I T ER S FE S T I VA L .CO M