Book launch: Utama
Epigram launches Utama, the latest work by award-winning writer Ng Yi-Sheng. Blending history, myth, and imagination, this genre-defying collection re-envisions the story of Sang Nila Utama and Singapore’s beginnings. With playful invention and sharp insight, Ng weaves poetry, prose, and speculative retellings that question origins, identity, and belonging. A bold, inventive book from one of […]
Workshop: Fintegrity (Saturday session)
Developed around the core ideas of Finance and Integrity, this interactive game simulates real-life financial decisions—how adults earn, spend, save, and invest money. Participants learn and practise good money habits in a fun, engaging way, while also exploring important character-building values. The goal? To achieve the highest “Net Worth” and the most “Character/Values” points—gaining valuable […]
Reading: The Poetic Body – A Reading by Helen Mort
Helen Mort’s poetry inhabits the physical and the emotional—climbing sheer rock faces, walking through city streets, confronting love, danger, and resilience. In this special reading, the acclaimed British poet shares work that explores the body, landscape, and the fractures and triumphs of everyday life. Her voice carries the intimacy of lived experience and the sharpness […]
Panel: Wit, Satire, and the Playful Imagination
Humour in literature is never just for laughs—it can be sharp, subversive, and deeply revealing. This panel brings together writers who wield wit, satire, and irony to unsettle power, question traditions, and expose taboos. Through playful imagination and razor-edged storytelling, they show how laughter can open paths to truths that more solemn narratives leave untouched. […]
Conversation: How does food shape national identity? A look at the Taiwan railway gourmet tour in Taiwan Travelogue
The dining table serves as a lens through which we understand the food culture. Taiwanese people’s dining table is a microcosm of the times. It reveals the ethnicity, classes, and occupations of those who sit at it, and also provides a profile of the natural environment and cultural landscape of a place. Yang’s talk will […]
Panel: Legacies of Belonging
Stories of community are also stories of survival. This session explores how literature can illuminate the lives of groups often pushed to the margins—from diasporas to colonised peoples—and how writing becomes an archive of memory, identity, and resilience across time and place. Speakers: Nirmala Lakshman, Reggie Baay Moderator/Host: Gareth Richards
Book launch: Pseudo-Immortals and Sunset Chaser
Penwings Publishing unveils two new works. Pseudo-Immortals, the debut sci-fi novel by bestselling author Charissa Ong, races through a world of AI, immortality, and human mystery. Sunset Chaser by June Twilis is a lyrical collection of poems and short stories, exploring love and longing in landscapes both faraway and deeply intimate. Together, they mark Penwings’ […]
Book launch: Adorable, Malayan Spy, and Vermillion Eye
Penguin presents three new titles from Malaysian writers: Adorable by Wan Phing Lim, a sharp collection of stories on fleeting connections; Malayan Spy by Kam Raslan, a witty historical tale of intrigue; and Vermillion Eye by Tunku Halim, a chilling dive into the uncanny. Hosted by Rueben Dass, this triple launch celebrates the richness of […]
Book launch: Lim Kee Jin: Doctor and Mentor
Join historian Patricia Lim for the launch of Lim Kee Jin: Doctor and Mentor, a portrait of one of Malaysia’s pioneering medical figures. Blending biography and social history, the book traces a life devoted to healing, teaching, and public service—celebrating a legacy of compassion and leadership. Speakers: Patricia Lim Moderator/Host: Ooi Kee Beng
Conversation: Patricia Lim – A Life in Memory and Story
Patricia Lim has lived a life steeped in memory, history, and storytelling. As a professional librarian and historian, she has written acclaimed works on Johor’s local histories and the immigrant experience. In Lim Kee Jin: Doctor and Mentor, she recounts the legacy of her late husband, Dato’ Dr Lim Kee Jin. This conversation reflects on […]