There’s a deadline attached to this one, so start there: tickets to the Singapore Writers Festival 2026 are 20% off until 18 October 2026, and the festival runs from 13 to 22 November 2026.
The 29th edition of the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) brings more than 300 writers, speakers, and moderators to over 200 programmes, under the theme Hidden in Plain Sight. It’s organised by Arts House Group (AHG) and commissioned by the National Arts Council (NAC), and its headline addition is a Crime and Mystery Spotlight, a whole track for whodunnits.
Why the Theme Fits 2026
Festival Director Yong Shu Hoong says the theme goes beyond books. In his words, it “reflects the current times of artificial intelligence (AI) and scams, where it gets harder to distinguish between what might be obvious but untrue, and the concealed reality requiring additional effort to decipher.”
Last year’s edition ran under The Shape of Things to Come and introduced a Sci-Fi Spotlight, so this year swaps spaceships for suspects. A theme about what hides under your nose and a track about spotting clues is a tidy pairing, and it gives the programme a clear thread to follow.
The Crime Sessions Worth Booking
The spotlight lists more sessions than one person can sit through, so here are the ones to chase first. Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé wrote Ace of Spades, a thriller the festival says is frequently described as Get Out meets Gossip Girl. Her solo talk, Writing Bold Stories That Bite, is at Victoria Theatre on 14 November 2026, from 5.30pm to 6.30pm, on a Single Ticket.
That same evening, Two Ways of Writing a Korean Mystery (and Killing It) runs from 7.30pm to 9pm at National Gallery Singapore’s Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium. It pairs Seo Mi-ae, who has spent three decades researching Korea’s real-life offenders for her psychological thrillers, with June Hur, who tucks historical atrocities into young adult mysteries. It’s a Festival Pass session, which makes it the easiest yes on the list.
Classic mystery fans get their turn on 22 November 2026 at Victoria Theatre. At 11am, Robin Stevens (Murder Most Unladylike) and Louise Hegarty (Fair Play) take on Still Killing It: Agatha Christie’s Enduring Legacy, timed to 50 years since Christie’s death.
The best idea in the track may be the one with no panel at all. Accuse You, Excuse Me is a tabletop murder mystery for five players at The Arts House, with three slots a day on 14 and 21 November, and you can buy in alone and get grouped with strangers. Accusing someone you met ten minutes ago of murder is quite the icebreaker!
Lore Olympus Fans, Clear Your Saturday
Rachel Smythe, the creator of the webcomic Lore Olympus, speaks on 14 November 2026 from 7.30pm to 8.30pm in the Asian Civilisations Museum’s River Room, on a Single Ticket. Her talk covers how digital platforms are reshaping the way myths get retold. It starts at 7.30pm, the same time as the Korean mystery session at the National Gallery Singapore, so you’ll have to pick one.
There’s a second chance, and it might be the better hour. Hot, Toxic and Complicated puts Smythe, Àbíké-Íyímídé, and moderator Daryl Qilin Yam on one Victoria Theatre stage on 15 November, from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. They’re talking about why readers fall for love stories built on imbalance, and a Festival Pass covers it.
Both sit under Youth Fringe, the track for ages 13 to 25. It includes Storytelling Shiok!: The Value of Humour, a comedy-writing workshop led by Suffian Hakim on 21 November (shiok being Singlish for deeply satisfying).
Four Languages, One Pair of Earphones
SWF runs in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, and this year more sessions cross between them. Selected programmes carry AI-assisted live translation, and the festival asks you to bring your own earphones. One to try it on is the Mandarin session Writing Fiction to Remember and Heal on 15 November at The Arts House, with Teoh Hee La, Wang Zhanhei, and Hong Kong’s Hon Lai Chu.
It works the other way round too. Chinese author Shuang Xuetao’s conversation with his translator Jeremy Tiang on 22 November is in English, with live simultaneous interpretation to Mandarin. Translation is the subject of this year’s SWF Homage as well, whose free installation travels to Jurong Regional, Seng Kang, Sembawang, and Bukit Batok libraries.
Closer to home, SEA xChange gathers Southeast Asian voices, including Filipino author Caris Avendaño Cruz and Thai architect and writer Chatchavan Suwansawat. Its programmes take on beliefs and superstitions in regional fiction, which sits comfortably beside a festival full of ghosts and killers.
Beyond the Panel Room
Some of the most interesting programmes leave the building. Islands of Memories: Stories from the Southern Sea is a coastal walk at West Coast Park on 14 November, from 10am to 1pm. It’s led by Firdaus Sani, founder of Orang Laut SG, and ends with a meal prepared by the Orang Laut and Orang Pulau community.
Prefer a table to a trail? The Salon with Pooja Nansi at COMO Cuisine pairs food with the poet’s reflections on the female writers who shaped her life and work.
The festival ends on an argument. The Festival Closing Debate, This House Believes that the Better Strategy is Hide but Not Seek, takes over Victoria Theatre on 22 November, from 6.30pm to 8pm. It’s the last night of Yong’s last edition, before Yeow Kai Chai returns as Festival Director for the 30th in 2027.
How Tickets Work
There are two ways in. A Festival Pass covers every session marked Festival Pass, but admission is first-come, first-served, so a pass doesn’t reserve you a seat. Single Ticket programmes, including walks and workshops, are sold one by one. By the festival’s own count, more than 40 ticketed events sold out in 2025.
The 20% Early Bird discount has been running since 29 September and ends on 18 October 2026. From 19 October, students, full-time national servicemen, and anyone aged 55 and above get 20% concessions instead. SG Culture Pass credits can be used on festival experiences, and there’s a range of free programmes. Readers overseas aren’t left out, because SWF Digital puts recordings, podcasts, and online programmes on the festival’s website.
🗓️ Date: 13 to 22 November 2026
⏰ Time: Varies by programme
📍 Location: The Arts House at the Old Parliament, Victoria Theatre, Asian Civilisations Museum, National Gallery Singapore, and offsite venues
🎟️ Tickets: Festival Pass and Single Ticket programmes; 20% Early Bird savings until 18 October 2026; SG Culture Pass credits accepted; selected programmes are free
🔗 Details: Singapore Writers Festival
A festival about things hiding in plain sight has put its best bits right where you can find them. Pick two crime sessions and one wildcard, then book through the Singapore Writers Festival website before the Early Bird window closes on 18 October. The festival’s Telegram channel carries programme updates as the line-up grows, and bring your own earphones!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of Arts House Group, Maxim Vinciguerra, Petra Mingneau, Mr. Polar Bear, Jett Cruz, and Yeo Tze Hern.
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