The Singapore Writers Festival for 2022 is nearly here. It’s great that in-person events are back, after a hiatus of two years. I can’t wait to see everyone again.
Actually, I am not doing many events this year, but I am very happy to be part of the following panels:
Just The World I’m Looking For: The Multiverse and Fiction
12 Nov Sat, 6.30pm – 7.30pm at the Asian Civilisations Museum, Ngee Ann Auditorium
With Meihan Boey, Nuraliah Norasid & myself; Moderator Jason Erik Lundberg
The age-old struggle between fate and chance. The dreams and fantasies we cling to as testaments to all the versions of ourselves we could have been. We’re familiar with multiverse theory in science (and Doctor Strange), but does it hold any weight in fiction about the everyday, and do we need it? Four authors discuss the logic of creating alternate timelines, the recent interest in multiverse theory among fiction writers, and whether the multiverse provides us with answers about all the “what ifs” in our lives. This is your road not taken.
A Southeast Asian Map for the Science Fiction Future
19 Nov Sat, 7.30pm – 8.30pm at the at the The Arts House, Play Den
With Cassandra Khaw, Bryan Thao Worra & Eliza Victoria; Moderator: Victor Fernando R. Ocampo (subbing for Joyce Chng)
Do flying cars and androids alone make for a convincing sci-fi Southeast Asian world? As science-fiction writing continues to break new imaginative grounds, we talk to these writers from the region about how they keep their fictional landscapes distinctly and believably Southeast Asian without falling into tired tropes, stereotypes, loopholes, and paradoxes.
This programme is made possible with the support of the U.S. Embassy Singapore and co-presented with the Singapore Book Council.
(Don’t) Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before
This programme has been rescheduled to 20 Nov, 7pm – 8pm at the The Arts House, Play Den
With Christine Chia, David Wong Hsien Ming & myself; Moderator: Theophilus Kwek
Has this been said before? Well, we’ll say it again: it might finally be time to abandon the search for originality. What is it about the big ‘O’ that has paralyzed and haunted generations of writers seeking the next great unsaid? We’re busting this myth apart in pursuit of more generative ways of creating.
If you haven’t picked up your festival pass yet, now’s a good time to do so. I’m looking forward to the SFF opening this Friday night (4 November). See you all soon!
The Infinite Library and Other Stories 