The 2018 Singapore Writers Festival is just around the corner. As both a moderator and a featured writer, I have a lot more events this year than in 2017. Please drop by and say hello.
SCHEDULE
03 Nov, Saturday 8.00pm – 9.30pm (90 minutes) – Break Out: A Gala Reading
- What: Reading
- Venue: The Arts House, Gallery II
- Featuring: Adam Aitken, Maria Galina, Law Lok Man, Louise 羅樂敏, Nina McConigley, Victor Fernando R. Ocampo, Sithuraj Ponraj, Yoko Tawada
- Moderator: TBC
How does one stay true to one’s identity even as he/she crosses multiple cultures, languages and time zones? Is a person’s voice to be discovered, or a continuum of incremental influences? Whether whipping up new speculative realms or switching between linguistic codes, these writers exemplify the magpie sensibility. Don’t miss this special reading showcasing imaginative wordsmiths.
04 Nov, Sunday 7.00pm – 8.00pm (60 Minutes) – The Familiar and the Alien
- What: Panel Discussion
- Venue: The Arts House, Chamber
- Featuring: Rachel Heng, Kass Morgan, Krishna Udayasankar
- Moderator: Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
In imagining the future or an alternative reality, a writer must achieve resonance through setting and characterisation. How does one draw in the reader with enough known elements from the real world in order to make it relatable? Kass Morgan creates a dystopic series where Earth has been devastated by a nuclear apocalypse; Rachel Heng sets her novel in a near future in New York City where people can live for 300 years; and Krishna Udayasankar, a Singapore-based Indian author known for her modern retelling of Mahabharata through the novels Govinda, Kaurava and Kurukshetra.
05 Nov, Monday 8.30pm – 9.30pm (60 Minutes) – The Influence of Science Fiction on Modern Science
- What: Classroom Series
- Venue: The ArtsHouse, Living Room
- Featuring: Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
What were the science fiction works that came before modern science? Published in 1818, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been argued to be the first sci-fi novel. Since then, authors such as Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke have imagined what science could achieve through their writing. In this Classroom Talk, sci-fi author Victor Fernando R. Ocampo explores the relationship between literature and the sciences, and how science fiction has actually inspired, and continues to inspire, the science of today.
08 Nov, Thursday 7:30pm – 8:30 (60 minutes) – LONTAR Retrospective
- What: Panel Discussion
- Venue: SWF Bookstore
- Featuring: Jason Erik Lundberg, Victor Fernando R. Ocampo, Christina Sng
Moderator: Michelle Martin
BooksActually presents LONTAR Retrospective with Jason Erik Lundberg, Christina Sng, Victor Ocampo.
10 Nov, Saturday 10.30am – 11.30am (60 minutes) – Speculative Fiction as Moral Compass
- What: Panel Discussion
- Venue: The ArtsHouse, Blue Room
- Featuring: Victor Fernando R. Ocampo, Rachel Heng, Nuraliah Norasid
- Moderator: Khoo Sim Eng
From pursuing immortality to eradicating marginalization, speculative fiction reveals the deepest desires of humankind. How can the genre prompt readers to assess humanity’s moral progress, and to rethink what could be right or wrong? This panel brings together authors across science fiction and fantasy to discuss the potentialities of the genre.
11 Nov, Sunday 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM (90minutes) – Chicken Rice and Adobo: What We Love about the Philippines and Singapore
- What: Reading and Panel Discussion
- Venue: HideOut@Funan Showsuite, Junction of Hill Street and High Street. Free Event
- Featuring: Aaron Lee, Claire Betita de Guzman, Lawrence Ypil, Heng Siok Tian, Felix Cheong and Victor Fernando R. Ocampo
- Moderator: Eric Tinsay Valles
Description:
Increased trade and cultural exchanges between Singapore and the Philippines have led to shared experiences and stories in prose and poetry. This session continues a literary dialogue that has spawned joint anthologies and readings. Listen to the featured writers read excerpts of their works and join in the fellowship centered on what we love such as comfort food, cultural diversity and a good story.
The Infinite Library and Other Stories 