From Bridgerton to true crime at Singapore Writers Festival

Pining for the next season of steamy Netflix drama Bridgerton? Slake your thirst at the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF), the headliners of which include the Regency romance series' author Julia Quinn.

The 24th edition of the annual festival will feature more than 140 programmes, both in person and online, from Nov 5 to 14.

Other notable authors announced at a Zoom press conference on Tuesday include two-term United States Poet laureate Billy Collins; Elizabeth Gilbert, the best-selling author of the 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love; and French-Moroccan author Leila Slimani, who won the Prix Goncourt for her novel The Perfect Nanny (2016).

Also speaking at the festival are Hugo Award-winning science-fiction writer Becky Chambers; Sarah Koenig, co-creator of hit investigative journalism podcast Serial; and video game writer Rhianna Pratchett, daughter of the late fantasy legend Terry Pratchett.

This year's theme is Guilty Pleasures. Festival director Pooja Nansi, 39, said that during the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic, many have turned to familiar comforts.

This is the second SWF she has had to helm in a pandemic. Last year's edition was entirely digital. "The team and I often joke that it feels like throwing a party in the apocalypse," she quipped.

"But we were just so tired of talking about Covid and I was very clear I didn't want a festival that was belabouring pain, because there's a lot of pain happening right now. So the question was, can we just be radical and have a festival that's about joy in a time like this?"

While most of the international headliners will be appearing virtually, there will also be hybrid events ranging from Youth Fringe programme How You Like That: Unpacking K-Pop to Singapore Crimes, a true-crime tour based on the Straits Times Press book Guilty As Charged.

This year's festival pioneer is Mrs Hedwig Anuar, the first Singaporean director of the National Library.

The festival is presented by Arts House Limited and commissioned by the National Arts Council, which was previously the organiser.

WHEN Nov 5 to 14

ADMISSION Early-bird festival passes till today - $28 for all programmes including international headliners; $16 for selected programmes excluding international headliners. Normal festival passes at $35 and $20 respectively from tomorrow. Select experiential programmes will be ticketed separately. Tickets at swf2021-live.sistic.com