What is happiness to you, and how are you pursuing it?
Read! Fest returns for its fifth edition and continues to be a celebration of the joy of reading. This year’s theme The Pursuit of Happiness shows you over 150 programmes – or pathways, for all ages and reading tastes to find their unique happiness.
Some highlights from our friends at the NLB:
Growing Up: Not the TV Series
4.30pm - 5.30pm, Saturday, 14 July 2018
Imagination Room, Level 5, National Library Building
By giving life and voice to characters that fall outside the mainstream definition of success in Singapore, these writers have created memorable coming-of-age stories that have become definitive classics in their own right. Join Dave Chua (Gone Case), Daren Shiau (Heartland) and Kelvin Tan (All Broken Up and Dancing) in this panel moderated by Alvin Pang as they talk about their works and how they came to write them.
In Search of ___ : Creative Journeys
2.30pm - 3.30pm, Saturday, 14 July 2018
Imagination Room, Level 5, National Library Building
Join Aaron Lee, Balli Kaur Jaswal and Krishna Udayasankar in this panel moderated by Jon Gresham as they trace their journeys through the places and experiences that have shaped who they are today as a person and writer. What is the experience of home for them, and how does having a relationship or affinity with more than one country influence their creativity?
Singapore Literature Book Club: My Love is Blind by Tan Guan Heng
7.00pm - 8.30pm, Thursday, 19 July 2018
Multi-Purpose Room, Central Public Library
At the age of 28, Tan Guan Heng lost his sight in a hockey accident. In this semi-autobiographical novel, Tan takes us with honesty and humour into the world of a blind person living in Singapore at the brink of independence. Gwee Li Sui writes in the Afterword of the book, "Ultimately, we must see the heart of this work as a great belief in life, what can hold together and transform all the fragments of self." Join us as we discuss the book with this inspiring author!
#bookstagrammers: Books & the Bookish
2.30pm - 4.00pm, Saturday, 21 July 2018
Possibility Room, Level 5, National Library Building
Who knew books could be this cool? Meet popular bookstagrammers Jennifer Tan @thetirelessreader, Olivia Ho @ohomatopoeia and Priscilla Tan @prisbookshelf in this panel moderated by Stephanie Michael, @PublicLibrarySG’s social media content curator, and find out what inspires them, as well as their Instagram tips and tricks!
Playwriting Workshop by Haresh Sharma
Workshop dates: Saturdays, 2.30-5.30pm, 1 Sept – 13 Oct (no session on 29 Sept)
Programme Zone, Bishan Public Library
Application deadline: July 15
Don’t miss this opportunity to improve your playwriting skills in this series of workshops by Cultural Medallion recipient Haresh Sharma, one of Singapore’s most well respected and prolific playwrights. This 6-session playwriting workshop will also feature guest speakers from the theatre scene, who will share more about how they contribute to the creative process that brings a script from page to stage.
Organised by the NLB, the Read! Fest will culminate with Singapore's National Reading Day on 28 July. For more details, click on the event links provided below, or access a PDF of the entire programme here.
VENUE: NLB, various
ADDRESS: 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064
EVENT WEBSITE: National Reading Movement
DATE AND TIME
22 Jun–28 Jul 2018, various