Writing for a new era

ACKNOWLEDGING that the world has gone through a peculiarly dark period, the Singapore Writers Festival returns this November with a theme encapsulated in just 1 word: “if”.

Where we are as a global society and where we’re headed are topics that writers have been grappling with since the pandemic, and the festival tackles these with a line-up of activities and well-known authors to mark the first in-person event of the last 2 years. In tomorrow’s BTLifestyle, get a close-up look at this year’s edition which boasts over 200 programmes and includes live appearances by literary heavyweights such as Ted Chiang, Claudia Rankine and Lois Lowry – all spread across 3 weekends for the longest festival yet.

Meanwhile, in Design, local designers are headed to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum for an exhibition titled R for Repair with the theme of sustainability and recycling. At the same time, other local creatives took centre stage with their own designs at the recently ended Design Fair.

For travellers, check out Innsbruck as your next gourmet destination, while music lovers find out what’s in store when former Britain’s Got Talent alumnus Calum Scott makes a tour stop in Singapore in October. And in Dining, have a taste of Italian cooking, omakase-style, at the new La D’Oro.