QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

With poet Yong Shu Hoong at the helm, the literary shindig drew smaller but more engaged crowds

- Clement Yong

A steady, low-key tenor was the order of the day at the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) 2024, which traded the festive extravaganza of yesteryears for higher-quality panels pitched more directly at the local literati.

Running from Nov 8 to 17, the annual literary get-together attracted a markedly smaller but more engaged audience.

Gone was the sense of crowd rush at venues The Arts House, Asian Civilisations Museum and the National Library.

Instead, a more leisurely vibe prevailed - reflective of the understated personality of debut festival director Yong Shu Hoong, who wore an otherwise ordinary shirt with floral cuffs to his own Garden Glam-themed opening party.

Yong, who wanted to also reach out to those working in the Central Business District, said more analysis is required to see if his strategy worked, though he is generally happy with the turnout.

"Expanding our relevance to different communities remains a priority," he told The Straits Times.

"We will continue to be inclusive in our programming to direct attention on marginalised segments of society, such as persons with disabilities and ex-offenders."

SWF 2025 will take place from Nov 7 to 16 with the theme of Shape Of Things To Come, in line with Singapore's celebrations of its 60th birthday.

Dubbed the "Kofi Annan of Singapore Literature", Yong's chosen focus in 2024 was In Our Nature - a superficially unsexy topic that elicited some quiet groans when it was first announced.

It was an interest spawned on his walks during the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, but can also be expanded to encourage participants to meditate on who they are as human beings.

Whatever the naysayers' gripes, this proved a fertile plot.