Singapore Writers Festival returns with crime, hidden stories in focus

The Singapore Writers Festival will return in November with more than 300 authors, speakers and moderators from around the world, bringing together fiction, journalism, memoir, translation and crime writing under this year’s theme, “Hidden in Plain Sight.”

Starting Nov. 13, the 29th edition will feature more than 200 programs examining “stories and perspectives that can be overlooked, concealed or understood differently depending on who is looking.”

Among this year’s additions is a dedicated focus on crime and mystery genre writers, with Korean crime writer Seo Mi-ae among its featured participants.

Seo, known for psychological thrillers rooted in research into criminal behavior, will join Singapore writers Rueben Dass and Jocelyn Suarez for “The Making of a Serial Killer,” a discussion on how writers construct convincing killers and predators.

She will also appear alongside author June Hur in the session “Two Ways of Writing a Korean Mystery (and Killing It),” comparing Seo’s psychologically driven approach to crime fiction with Hur’s use of historical atrocities and court intrigue in young adult mysteries.

The session will also explore how Korean cultural details are received differently by domestic and overseas readers, as well as writing for English-language audiences with and without translation.

Elsewhere, the festival’s international lineup includes writers Amitav Ghosh, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and sociologist Ruha Benjamin.

Ghosh will deliver a keynote speech on how writers imagine the planet’s future amid intensifying global crises, while Moreno-Garcia will examine truth and artificiality in fiction.

The 10-day festival's programming will also extend beyond fiction and literary criticism, with Benjamin set to discuss hidden biases in technology and society.

Beyond conventional talks and panels, programs will also include literary walks, workshops, interactive storytelling and activities for children and younger readers. It will also continue its focus on Southeast Asian and multilingual writing, with expanded Chinese, Malay and Tamil programming and live interpretation or digital translation available at selected sessions.