SINGAPORE, 12 January 2016 ““ Look forward to meaningful new collaborations at the sixth edition of Words Go Round (WGR), the Singapore Writers Festival’s programme for students, teachers and the community. With a line-up of nearly 60 Singaporean and international authors including Suchen Christine Lim (Singapore), Hyrul Anuar (Singapore), TT Dhavamanni (Singapore), Yann Samuel (France), and Brandon Mull (US), WGR continues to reach out to young creative minds in schools, as well as to members of the public who have an interest in literature. Inspired by the written word and beyond ““ from graphic art and spoken-word performances to theatre and film screenings, the array of experiential programmes seeks to make literary arts accessible to all audiences.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM ““ PROGRAMMES FOR THE PUBLIC

This year, the public can enjoy nine programmes ““ the highest number of offerings since WGR was initiated. For the first time, WGR is partnering with a social collective group, Diamonds On The Street. Founder and singer-songwriter Crystal Goh and performance poet Marc Nair will work with at-risk youths to co-create stories as spoken word texts, and set them to music. Join them and discover how words and music can be combined to create new platforms to share experiences in their first-ever collaboration called How Words Shape Our Journeys. Audiences will also be treated to a first listen of the youths’ newly minted works.

Also a first is the collaboration with the All In! Young Writers Festival 2016, in partnership with the National Book Development Council of Singapore. Targeted at a range of interests and specialties, the programme track explores new media and communication platforms such as social media, broadcasting, Singapore cinema, journalism, film exhibitions, book design, creative writing, blogging and more. Learn from Singapore favourites like Marc Nair, Verena Tay, and emerging educator and co-editor of From Walden to Woodlands: An anthology of nature poems Ow Yeong Wai Kit. Visiting international freelance American journalist Atia Abawai will also shed light on her experience sieving truth from falsehood as a former foreign correspondent in Afghanistan. For more information, please visit website.

PROGRAMMES FOR SCHOOLS

With offerings in Singapore’s four official languages ““ English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil, there is something for everyone. Young learners can develop creative learning through readings and lively storytelling session, while the mature students can sharpen their writing for essays, exams and beyond, or learn to create their very own picture book at the interactive workshops.

Aside from students, WGR hopes to empower the teachers by offering workshops that aid in their professional development. Teachers can choose to pick up an appreciation for Singapore and Asian literatures using examples from Ku.lit: asian literature for the language classroom at a workshop by Dennis Yeo, learn practical strategies for narrative writing from award-winning writer Felix Cheong, or gather tips from poet and literary critic Gwee Li Sui on reading “˜unseen’ poems that will help students develop the skill of independent thinking in literary analysis.

For a full line-up of WGR school and public programmes, and to register; visit website.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When can I make a booking?

The booking period is from 4 January to 10 February 2016. As bookings are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, schools are encouraged to book as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

What kinds of programmes are available?

Storytelling events, talks and workshops in the four official languages ““ English, Chinese, Malay or Tamil ““ are available for students from Pre-Primary to Tertiary levels, as well as for teachers.

How much do the programmes cost?

Prices of individual programmes are indicated in the programme booklet, and also summarised in the following table:

Most programmes are eligible for the Tote Board Arts Grant subsidy. For more information, please visit www.nac.gov.sg/aep.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Shauna Oh, National Arts Council
DID: +65 6436 9648 | Email: shauna_oh@nac.gov.sg

About National Arts Council:

The National Arts Council champions the arts in Singapore. By nurturing creative excellence and supporting broad audience engagement, we want to develop a distinctive global city for the arts. With a nod to tradition and an eye to the future, we cultivate accomplished artists and vibrant companies. Our support for the arts is comprehensive ““ from grants and partnerships to industry facilitation and arts housing. The Council welcomes greater private and corporate giving to and through the arts so that together we can make the arts an integral part of everyone’s lives. For more information on the Council’s mission and plans, please visit www.nac.gov.sg.