A Guide To Singapore Writers Festival 2026: 10 Activities Not To Miss And More
Meet local writers and book doctors, dive deeper into your favourite stories and enter your detective era at this year’s SWF.
Singapore Writers Festival is back for another round in 2026. Happening from 13 to 22 November and themed ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’, there’s a special focus on the crime mystery genre this year, which Festival Director and poet Yong Shu Hoong says is inspired by “current trends that impact our lives, whether individually or on a global scale”.
Crime and mystery fans can look forward to dialogues between celebrated mystery writers, interactive experiences where you get to play detective and even a forensic psychology expert who will weigh in on how behavioural analysis is used in investigations.
But there’s so much more in store. Watch a four-way drawing battle between children’s book writers and illustrators, be the first to pick up brand new book launches, go on a literature-led trek through St. John’s Island and more.
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Must I Buy Passes To Attend The Singapore Writers Festival?
You don’t need to buy a pass to attend the Singapore Writers Festival. There are lots of free and ticketed activities that you can go for without a pass, but Festival or Youth passes (that run from $15 to $30) get you access to over 100+ programmes. You can see the full list of events, and which ones are included with the passes here.
Some programmes, such as an experimental workshop combining scent and writing and poetry readings paired with a whiskey flight, are not included with the passes as they are individually ticketed, but pass holders do get a 15 percent discount.
Get your passes here, or at the SWF ticketing counter during the festival. All passes are electronically issued, and entry to each event is on a first come first served basis.
Can I Use My SG Culture Pass Credits For Singapore Writers Festival?
Yes, you can use your SG Culture Pass credits for the festival passes, as well as many of the individually ticketed events.
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Where Is Singapore Writers Festival Held?
Most of the events are held in close proximity to each other, either at The Arts House at the Old Parliament, National Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum or Victoria Concert Hall, though there are a few activities held at locations like Bugis MRT station and St. Johns Island.
Specific locations are listed on the individual event pages.
Don’t know where to start? We’ve gathered a curated list of activities to check out based on your interests.
Play Detective
In your true crime era? Join in on a whole list of crime and mystery-related programmes that span engaging talks that give you a look inside the mind of a criminal, a BTS look at writing crime fiction and more.
1. How 2: Predict A Killer’s Next Move
How 2 is a four-part series that indulges your curiosity in anything true crime. To kick off the sequence, two mystery panelists, a forensic psychology expert and a writer, share about how behavioural analysis is used in investigations and how real-life events inspire stories.
Date: Friday, 13 November 2026
Time: 9 to 9.45pm
Location: Blue Room, The Arts House at the Old Parliament, 1 Old Parliament Lane
Ticket type: Festival pass
2. Two Ways of Writing a Korean Mystery (and Killing It)
Two South Korean writers, Seo Mi Ae and June Hur, have different ways of writing about crime: one dives into the psychology of what makes a person commit crimes, while the other fuses historical crimes into more palatable YA fiction. In this dialogue, they discuss their approaches to writing about violence, and writing for different audiences.
Date: Saturday, 14 November 2026
Time: 7.30 to 9pm
Location: Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew’s Road
Ticket type: Festival pass
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Get Hands On
Literature can be experienced in many ways beyond reading. Board a boat, consult a book doctor, combine writing with a sensory experience and more at Singapore Writers fest.
3. Book Doctor
Medicine may not solve some of your troubles, but a book that hits the right spot might. Step into the Deputy Speaker’s Room—usually not open to public access—and meet one of the ‘doctors’, who will listen to what’s bothering you, and prescribe a book to inspire, distract or comfort you.
Date: Sunday, 15 and 22 November 2026
Time: 1.30 to 2.30pm
Location: Deputy Speaker’s Room, The Arts House at the Old Parliament, 1 Old Parliament Lane
Ticket type: Free, with registration
4. Faint Impressions: A Scent-Led Writing Workshop
Let scent and the memories they evoke shape your writing. In this workshop, you’ll use fragrance compositions as a way to write more instinctively, paying attention to memories and emotions as they arise and channel them into a personal narrative.
Date: Saturday, 14 and 21 November 2026
Time: 10am to 12pm
Location: Lo & Behold R&D Kitchen, #04-21, New Bahru, 46 Kim Yam Road
Ticket type: Ticketed
Buy tickets here.
5. A Literary Walk on St. John’s Island
Go off the beaten path with Singapore travel writer Yap Seow Choong as he takes you on an expedition through St. John’s Island. Using his philosophy of ‘reading’ an island, he offers a deeper understanding of the island’s history and insight into frequently overlooked details you won’t find in a typical guidebook.
This programme will be conducted in Mandarin.
Date: Sunday, 15 November 2026
Time: 9am to 1.30pm
Location: Marina South Pier, 31 Marina Coastal Drive
Ticket type: Ticketed
Buy tickets here.
Meet The Writers
SingLit lovers, this is for you. Singapore Writers Festival gathers a number of homegrown writers to share about their personal experiences—some of which you might just find yourself relating to a little too much.
6. Balli Kaur Jaswal - Growing Into Yourself
Singaporean writer Balli Kaur Jaswal (whom you might know from Inheritance and Sugarbread) is back in town to celebrate her new book The Unpronouncables. Here, she will speak about growing up with multiple cultural influences, what inspired her new work and writing for a younger generation.
Date: Sunday, 15 November 2026
Time: 11 to 12pm
Location: Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew’s Road
Ticket type: Festival Pass
7. The Salon With Jemimah Wei
Jemimah Wei’s The Original Daughter has struck a chord with many since it first launched last year. In this conversation, the writer speaks about the hidden pressures and expectations that come with daughterhood, and toeing the line between family and independence.
If you enjoy this topic but cannot make the event, a similar event featuring Wei and two other writers is happening on 21 November 2026.
Date: Thursday, 19 November 2026
Time: 12.30 to 2.30pm
Location: Kotuwa, New Bahru, 46 Kim Yam Road
Ticket type: Ticketed
Buy tickets here.
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Diver Deeper Into The Story
Ever wanted to explore a story beyond its plot and into what makes a piece of writing special? These programmes delve into the workings of a story, from questioning the narrator to how the setting of the story shapes and adds meaning to a narrative.
8. Can You Trust the Narrator?
Three panellists come together to discuss the narrator, and why we can’t always trust what they say. Learn about unreliable narrators (seen in books like The Secret History and Gone Girl) and see how biases and limited perspectives can affect the reader’s experience.
Date: Saturday, 14 November 2026
Time: 7 to 8pm
Location: Chamber, The Arts House at the Old Parliament, 1 Old Parliament Lane
Ticket type: Festival Pass
9. The Poetry of Translation
How is the magic of one language lost when it’s translated into another? Four local writers gather to discuss selected works in their original languages and how they decide what gets kept, what is left behind and what they unexpectedly find over the process of translation.
Date: Thursday, 19 November 2026
Time: 8 to 9.30pm
Location: Play Den, The Arts House at the Old Parliament, 1 Old Parliament Lane
Ticket type: Festival Pass
10. Speculative Translation: The City, its Ghosts and its Dreams
This panel session encourages its audience to see the city as more than clusters of buildings made of concrete and steel and instead as a storytelling device. Three speakers unpack the dreams, realities and inconveniences from the past that are hidden behind a city’s architecture, and how writing can bring them to light.
Date: Friday, 20 November 2026
Time: 8 to 9.30pm
Location: Chamber, The Arts House at the Old Parliament, 1 Old Parliament Lane
Ticket type: Festival Pass