Books, bites, and big ideas: Singapore Writers Festival is back for 2025 with multilingual highlights, food-and-storytelling sessions, and over 200 programmes for everyone.
If you think the Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) is only for the bookish, think again. Happening from 7 to 16 November 2025, this year’s edition proves it’s not just about reading and writing, but also connection, culture, and conversation.
Held across ten days, SWF is Singapore’s premier multilingual literary festival, and perhaps the only one in the world that brings together English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in one vibrant event. It’s a celebration of words in any form they take: spoken, written, sung, and performed.
Singapore Writers Festival 2025: Details at a glance
Best for: Culture vultures, fans of literary art, and anyone who’s looking for artsy things to do in Singapore
Date: 7 to 16 November 2025
Price: Festival Pass at $30, Youth Pass at $15 (SG Culture Pass-eligible)
Address: Multiple locations, check the Singapore Writers Festival website for more details
A festival that speaks your language, literally
Whether you’re a self-proclaimed poet or someone who can’t remember the last time you picked up a book, Singapore Writers Festival 2025 is here to remind you that storytelling comes in many forms. Step into conversations and performances that showcase the beauty of Singapore’s many voices – and maybe discover a new appreciation for a language or culture beyond your own.
Think of it as a window into another world: immerse yourself in eerie accounts of Malay supernatural traditions in The Shadow of Things to Come; hear Tamil poets like Inbha and Dhamayanthi discuss contemporary poetry with Stories in Verse, Poems in Prose; or take a stroll with Footsteps Along Singapore River with your little ones while diving into a shared reading of the picture book, Sir Stamford Raffles: Don’t Be Discouraged Anymore!
For the readers and the literary-curious
There’s a reason SWF has become one of the most recognisable cultural events in Singapore: it’s a festival with a myriad of programmes for everyone, from bookworms and beyond.
Who says literary programmes can’t be fun? Enjoy Carnival Games With Animal Fun at SWF Playground – it’s a storytelling and carnival mash-up where animal tales lead to a round of old-school games like ring toss and egg carton ping pong. Alternatively, sit in on a Singlish retelling of George Orwell’s classic, Animal Farm, with Da Kaka Farm Meetings. Literature reimagined with a Singaporean voice? Consider us intrigued.
For an evening of literature appreciation with a twist, book your tickets to Shapeshifters: Literature Live APWT with Mantravine and Shantha Ratii. This programme brings together words, music, and movement that celebrates literature with a shapeshifting spin – based on the idea that no art form is meant to be contained.
This year also introduces a delicious twist: storytelling sessions held in restaurants, where diners can enjoy literary narratives alongside a curated meal. Peep The Salon with Marylyn Tan and F.H. Batacan for more details. Dinner and dialogue, anyone?
Affordable, accessible, and Culture Pass-approved
Good news for culture vultures: Singapore Writers Festival 2025 remains incredibly accessible. A Festival Pass is just $30, while a Youth Pass is $15, both giving access to over 200 programmes across ten days. And here’s the cherry on top: it’s SG Culture Pass-eligible, meaning more Singaporeans can experience the festival for less.
Come for the readings, stay for the performances, and leave with stories you didn’t expect to be intrigued by. At Singapore Writers Festival 2025, everyone’s invited – literary credentials not strictly necessary.
This post is in partnership with the Singapore Writers Festival.
