Your to-be-read pile has been silently judging you all year, but now it has backup. The Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) returns for its 29th edition from 13th-22nd November 2026, with more than 300 writers, speakers, and moderators taking part in over 200 programmes across the Civic District and beyond.
This year’s line-up includes Singaporean author Jemimah Wei, Indian literary heavyweight Amitav Ghosh, and Booker Prize-shortlisted Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng. There’s also a brand-new Crime and Mystery Spotlight, plus table-top murder mystery games, literary walks, ane even whisky tastings.
Here’s what to know about SWF 2026, including the biggest names, free activities, family-friendly programmes, and how to get early bird tickets.
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Singapore Writers Festival 2026 runs from 13th-22nd November 2026 at venues across Singapore’s Civic District and beyond.
Most programmes take place at The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Victoria Theatre, Asian Civilisations Museum, and National Gallery Singapore.
Image credit: Singapore Writers Festival
The theme for SWF 2026 is Hidden in Plain Sight, which is all about looking twice at things that might seem obvious at first glance. That could mean uncovering a family secret, digging into history hidden beneath a new building, or examining the biases quietly built into the apps and technology we use every day.
This year’s festival will also be Shu Hoong’s final edition as festival director, making SWF 2026 his farewell edition.
Image credit: Singapore Writers Festival
Festival director and poet Yong Shu Hoong says the theme also reflects the current era of AI and scams, where appearances can be misleading and finding the truth takes a little more digging.
One of the biggest draws this year is the mix of local and international authors appearing across the festival programme.
Image adapted from: @jemmawei, @amitav_ghosh1 via Instagram
Singapore-born author Jemimah Wei is having quite the run. Her debut novel The Original Daughter, about 2 sisters growing up in a cramped flat in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore, debuted at number 1 on The Straits Times bestseller list and was longlisted for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award.
She’ll appear twice at SWF 2026. The more intimate option is The Salon with Jemimah Wei, where she’ll discuss the pressures and unspoken rules surrounding daughterhood over a Sri Lankan meal.
She’ll also join Amitav Ghosh and fellow Singaporean novelist Balli Kaur Jaswal for What the Family Doesn’t Say, a panel about family silences, secrets, and sacrifices passed down through generations. Basically, all the things that somehow surface at every CNY celebration but nobody wants to say out loud.
The Salon with Jemimah Wei
Date: 19th November 2026
Time: 12.30pm-2.30pm
Venue: Kotuwa @ New Bahru
Admission: $48
What the Family Doesn’t Say
Date: 15th November 2026
Time: 3.30pm-4.30pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Admission: Festival Pass
Image credit: @amitav_ghosh1 via Instagram
Amitav Ghosh, one of India’s best-known contemporary writers, is known for novels including The Hungry Tide and the Ibis Trilogy, as well as his writing about climate change. In his Festival Keynote Talk: A Writer’s Reimagining of Our Planetary Future, he’s tackling a spicy question: why are some of the world’s richest, best-informed people quietly building bunkers on remote islands instead of trying to fix the planet?
He’ll connect the topic to his 2025 essay collection Wild Fictions and latest novel Ghost-Eye, while examining what climate change means for the Global South, particularly countries that often experience its effects first.
Festival Keynote Talk: Amitav Ghosh
Date: 14th November 2026
Time: 1.30pm-2.30pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Admission: $35
Image adapted from: @tan.twan.eng via Instagram
Penang-born novelist Tan Twan Eng has been nominated for the Booker Prize 3 times. The Gift of Rain was longlisted, The Garden of Evening Mists was shortlisted in 2012, and The House of Doors was longlisted in 2023. Before becoming a novelist, he was a lawyer at a Kuala Lumpur law firm.
That background comes up in Off the Record with Janet Tay and Tan Twan Eng, where he sits down with fellow Malaysian novelist and former lawyer Janet Tay. The pair are longtime friends, so the session promises a more personal conversation about the self-doubt and solitary work that goes into writing a novel.
Fans who want a more exclusive setting can book The Salon with Tan Twan Eng, where he’ll talk about how he turns history and personal memory into fiction.
Off the Record with Janet Tay and Tan Twan Eng
Date: 22nd November 2026
Time: 11am-12pm
Venue: National Gallery Singapore
Admission: Festival Pass
The Salon with Tan Twan Eng
Date: 19th November 2026
Time: 6.30pm-8.30pm
Venue: Chef’s Table @ Capella, Sentosa
Admission: $60
New for 2026 is the Crime and Mystery Spotlight, a dedicated track for fans of thrillers, mysteries, and true crime.
Image adapted from: @rueben_dass_the_fictionist, @silviamg.author via Instagram
One highlight is The Making of a Serial Killer, where Korean thriller writer Seo Mi-ae, who has spent 3 decades researching real-life offenders, joins Singaporean writers Rueben Dass and Jocelyn Suarez to discuss how writers create convincing killers on the page.
Mexican-Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia, best known for the gothic horror novel Mexican Gothic, will also give a Festival Keynote Talk: Writing Between the Real and Unreal about writing honestly in an era when fake information can be manufactured with increasing ease.
She’ll then join Singapore playwright Jean Tay, whose play Sisters was inspired by a real 1965 murder, and author Ovidia Yu, whose Crown Colony mysteries are set in 1930s colonial Singapore, for Old Crimes, Fresh Takes.
Agatha Christie fans can also check out Still Killing It: Agatha Christie’s Enduring Legacy, which explores why her books continue to find new readers decades after her death. The session features Murder Most Unladylike author Robin Stevens and Irish writer Louise Hegarty.
Image credit: Singapore Writers Festival
The Making of a Serial Killer
Date: 14th November 2026
Time: 3.30pm-4.30pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre, 9 Empress Place, Singapore 179556
Admission: Festival Pass
Festival Keynote Talk: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Date: 21st November 2026
Time: 1.30pm-2.30pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Admission: $25
Old Crimes, Fresh Takes
Date: 22nd November 2026
Time: 3pm-4pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Admission: Festival Pass
Still Killing It: Agatha Christie’s Enduring Legacy
Date: 22nd November 2026
Time: 11am-12pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Admission: Festival Pass
The Crime and Mystery Spotlight isn’t all panel discussions either. There are a few hands-on events for people who’d rather solve a murder than sit through a literary discussion.
Image credit: Singapore Writers Festival
For example, Accuse You, Excuse Me: Table-Top Murder Mystery Game is for 5 players. Each person plays a character with their own secrets while trying to identify the killer before an innocent person is convicted. Solo players can also be grouped with strangers.
How 2: Solve a Bad Case of Poisoning is where a toxicologist and crime writer, both anonymous until the session begins, explain how poisons actually work versus how they’re portrayed in crime fiction. Finally, Trivia & Twists is a book-themed trivia night with a partial focus on crime and mystery.
Accuse You, Excuse Me: Table-Top Murder Mystery Game
Date: 14th & 21st November 2026
Time: 1.30pm-3pm, 3.30pm-5pm & 5.30pm-7pm
Venue: Level 2 Deputy Speakers Room, The Arts House
Admission: $15
How 2: Solve a Bad Case of Poisoning
Date: 21st November 2026
Time: 3.15pm-4pm
Venue: Chamber, Level 2, The Arts House
Admission: Festival Pass
Trivia & Twists: Ultimate Bookworm Trivia Night
Date: 20th November 2026
Time: 8pm-9.30pm
Venue: Bricolage, The Arts House
Admission: $15
The programme goes beyond novelists, with speakers covering everything from webcomics and AI to technology and algorithms.
Image adapted from: @usedbandaid via Instagram, Ruha Benjamin
Rachel Smythe, creator of the hit webcomic Lore Olympus, will discuss how digital platforms are changing the way stories are told in the Festival Keynote Talk: Reimagining Myth for a New Generation.
Journalist Stephen Witt opens the festival with Festival Keynote Talk: The Thinking Machine on his book The Thinking Machine, which follows Jensen Huang’s journey in turning Nvidia from a near-bankrupt video game graphics company into an AI giant.
Meanwhile, sociologist Ruha Benjamin closes the programme with Festival Keynote Talk: CTRL + ALT + Rethink about hidden biases in technology and the ways algorithms can reproduce assumptions already present in society.
Festival Keynote Talk: Rachel Smythe – Reimagining Myth for a New Generation
Date: 14th November 2026
Time: 7.30pm-8.30pm
Venue: Asian Civilisations Museum, River Room
Admission: $20
Festival Keynote Talk: Stephen Witt – The Thinking Machine
Date: 13th November 2026
Time: 7.30pm-8.30pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Admission: $25
Festival Keynote Talk: Ruha Benjamin – CTRL + ALT + Rethink
Date: 22nd November 2026
Time: 1pm-2pm
Venue: Victoria Theatre
Admission: $25
Not keen on spending your entire weekend inside a theatre? SWF has plenty of programmes that take you outdoors or into some of Singapore’s lesser-seen spaces.
Image credit: @houseoftyn via Instagram
One standout is The Last Mansion Standing, a walking tour of House of Tan Yeok Nee on Penang Road, the last surviving of Singapore’s 4 great Teochew mansions. Architectural historian Yeo Kang Shua leads the tour, and the ticket includes a drink at Jing Studio, the heritage salon inside the mansion.
Other literary walks include:
There’s also What Gives Us Our Names: A Literary Whisky Tasting at The Single Cask, pairing readings from Singaporean poet Alvin Pang’s book with a flight of three whiskies. The ticket includes a copy of the book, usually priced at $32, and the event is strictly for those aged 18 and above.
For something less literary and more game-night, Poetry Game Night with Ella Frears at Bricolage turns poetry writing into a game using chance-based prompts. Each ticket comes with a Poetry Fruit Machine game worth $35, plus a drink and snack set.
The Last Mansion Standing: Uncovering the House of Tan Yeok Nee
Date: 21st November 2026
Time: 10am-12pm (Mandarin) & 1pm-3pm (English)
Venue: House of Tan Yeok Nee, 101 Penang Road, Singapore 238466
Admission: $30 inclusive of a drink at Jing Studio
What Gives Us Our Names: A Literary Whisky Tasting
Date: 15th November 2026
Time: 2.30pm-4.30pm
Venue: The Single Cask
Admission: $80
Poetry Game Night with Ella Frears
Date: 14th November 2026
Time: 8.30pm-10pm
Venue: Bricolage, The Arts House
Admission: $50
Yes. There are several free activities, so you don’t necessarily need to buy a Festival Pass to get a taste of SWF.
Reading by the River turns part of the Singapore River into an open-air reading lounge, with curated books and seating from 5pm-8pm across the festival’s final weekend.
There’s also Undercurrents, a free exhibition at the Funan Underground Pedestrian Link by Singaporean author Quek Hong Shin and Malaysian illustrator Tang Yau Hoong. It follows 2 people dealing with their problems in very different ways and runs from 15th-30th November, so you can visit even after the main festival ends.
Reading by the River
Date: 20th-22nd November 2026
Time: 5pm-8pm
Venue: Singapore River
Admission: Free
Undercurrents
Date: 15th October to 30th November 2026
Time: 10am-10pm
Venue: Funan Underground Pedestrian Link, Basement 2
Admission: Free
Some of last year’s kids’ programmes.
Image adapted from: @sgwritersfest via Instagram
Parents can head to SWF Playground at the Living Room at The Arts House, a free activity zone for children featuring things like a detective scavenger hunt to solve the mystery of who has been stealing library books. One of the zones also features collages commissioned with the Yellow Ribbon Project and created through an arts programme for inmates at Changi Prison.
Kids aged 6 to 12 can also check out Mystery Book Doctor, where real paediatricians chat with young readers and write them a personalised book prescription. It’s free with registration on 15th and 21st November, 2pm-3pm.
There are ticketed workshops too, including Bring Your ‘Chou Chou’ Day, where children aged 4 to 6 can turn their favourite soft toy into the star of an illustrated story. Can’t make it down in person? SWF Digital will also have recordings, podcasts, and online programmes available through the festival website.
Bring Your ‘Chou Chou’ Day
Date: 21st November 2026
Time: 1.30pm-3pm
Venue: Music Studio, Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall
Admission: $15 for 1 adult & 1 child
SWF 2026 has 2 main pass options, while keynotes, salons, walks, and most workshops require separate tickets.
| Ticket type | Price | What’s included |
| Festival Pass | Early bird: $24 Usual: $30 | Entry to all Festival Pass programmes |
| Youth Pass | Early bird: $12 Usual: $15 | Entry to all Festival Pass programmes |
| Single-ticket programmes | From $5 | Keynotes, salons, walks and workshops not covered by the pass |
The Early Bird promotion gives 20% off Festival and Youth Passes, as well as selected single-ticket programmes, from now till 18th October 2026.
From 19th October, students, NSFs, and seniors aged 55 and above get a 20% concession, while Festival and Youth Pass holders get 20% off single-ticket programmes.
You can also use your SG Culture Pass credits for eligible festival experiences. One thing to note: entry to Festival Pass programmes is first-come, first-served, and tickets are digital. For popular sessions at Victoria Theatre, it’s worth arriving early if you want a particular seat.
You don’t need to be a card-carrying bookworm to find something to do at SWF 2026. Alongside author talks, there are murder mystery games, heritage walks, whisky tastings, exhibitions, kids’ activities, and even island walks. In other words, you can treat it less like a literary conference and more like a 10-day programme of things to do around Singapore.
And if Jemimah Wei’s The Original Daughter has been sitting unread on your shelf, you’ve got about 6 weeks to finally get through it.
Also check out:
Cover image adapted from: @amitav_ghosh1, @jemmawei,@tan.twan.eng via Instagram
Venue: Various venues, including The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Victoria Theatre, Asian Civilisations Museum and National Gallery Singapore
Admission: Festival Pass $30 | Youth Pass $15
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