By Lerraine Neo (26A01A)

On the 7th of November, Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) 2025 commenced with its opening night programme. Held at the Victoria Theatre, the programme was attended by local writers, teachers, youth contributors, and more. The 2025 festival centres around the theme “Shape of Things to Come”, inviting festival-goers to reflect on the past, present, and consider the future. 

“At the heart of SWF is our commitment to uplifting Singaporean writers,” Festival Director Yong Shu Hoong noted in his opening speech. “We believe that global conversations should be a platform to uplift local creators.” 

SWF continues to celebrate Singaporean and Southeast Asian authors. Unlike last year’s Country Focus, which highlighted Korean authors, this year’s festival presents “SG60 Homage”, a commemorative track. From now until the 27th of February, exhibitions at various venues ‘traces the history of publishing in Singapore’ and ‘honours individuals, groups, movements and ideas that have significantly enriched the Singapore literary scene.’

Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, and Senior Minister of State for Education David Neo emphasised that the track would pay tribute to local literature in all four official languages, reminding us that multiculturalism is a key, defining pillar of Singapore that plays a critical part in keeping us resilient in times of crisis. 

In order to continue expanding the common space for those of different races, SWF has introduced simultaneous interpretation of Mandarin, Malay and Tamil into English for a number of programmes, opening the door for cross-appreciation and allowing SingLit to strengthen the Singaporean identity.  

Minister Neo also drew attention to Snippets of the Future, an installation featuring microfiction stories from local students aged 7 to 21. Students were invited to produce speculative fiction detailing their vision of Singapore in 2065 in 200 words or less. They produced “bold and imaginative visions of the future”, from AI kopitiam uncles to flying hawker centres. 

“Every story begins with a spark, a question, a feeling, or a possibility. Together, these stories shape how we see one another,” he concluded. “May you be inspired to write new stories, challenge old ideas, and connect across boundaries.” 

Irsyad Dawood, a local actor and the night’s emcee, echoed the sentiment of challenging old ideas. His recent stage credits include Wild Rice’s Dive and Teater Ekamatra’s Potong, where he also serves as an Artist-in-Residence. “It’s a very apt theme, thinking about the future, thinking about radical ways of living and questioning what we know to be true.” 

“In these times, a lot of arts companies are looking forward—even more than before—because looking forward is scary,” he continued. “It is a very trying time for us, for everyone, especially for youths.” 

Indeed, with the rise of new technologies and shifting global norms, it is hard to tell how both the local and international literary scenes will develop. For local poet Laili Abdeen, this uncertainty is what makes writing more pertinent than ever. 

“It’s not just writing. There’s this greater emphasis about what’s happening, about writing in the right context and going to spaces that are right for your writing,” she explained. Her work has been published in Mahogany Journal’s third edition Soundscapes and fifth edition Rojak. She is also the co-founder of Layl-Ash Shyar, an open-mic for Muslim writers and editor for their inaugural anthology. She also commended SWF’s commitment to sustainability, noting their small changes such as the lack of physical festival passes this year. 

As for new technology, Director Yong highlighted the festival’s Sci-fi Spotlight and Tech Talks series, which explore how science and technology influence society, with a particular emphasis on the Asian perspective. Events such as the Festival Closing Debate: This House Believes That Robots Are Our Friends and Who’s afraid of AI poetry? encourage audiences to confront their preconceived notions and fears about the rising use of technology in our lives and literary spaces.

“A lot of times, the immediate association [with technology and the future] is to do with machinery, and there’s a bit of a negative association,” local poet Theophilus Kwek commented. He is the youngest writer and first Singaporean to be awarded the Cicada Prize by the Swedish Institute, and was named in Forbes’s 2024 30 under 30. “It’s good that over the next two weeks people can look past these things. There’s so much promise for this theme, and I’m really excited to see how different writers interpret and explore it.” 

“It may not be a very revolutionary theme, but it is on the right track,” spoken word poet and actor Riqi Hanzrudyn expressed. Earlier this year, he was selected for Outspoken’s 2025 Out and Up showcase, and co-founded monthly open-mic event Yapperty Yap. “It’s a very forward thinking theme; I get the vision.” 

The night ended with a snippet of Shapeshifters: Literature Live APWT with Mantravine and Shantha Ratii. The full performance will be happening on the 14th of November, from 8.30 pm to 10.00 pm at the Arts House. The performance combined live music and dance, with an interesting contrast between upbeat, techno-esque beats, a flowy melody, and the classical Kuchipudi dance. 

As the performers took their final bow and the lights flickered back on, Singapore Writers Festival 2025 had officially begun. With panels, talks, and experiential events spanning a variety of genres and topics, from evolving technologies to emerging local voices, this year’s festival truly had something planned for all audiences. 

“It is my hope that at SWF we will continue to make literature engaging and accessible to all—young and old, emerging or established—by showing how it links to other disciplines,” Director Yong concluded. “My sincere thanks for showing up, for being curious, and for believing in the power of words.”