PUBLISHED June 16th, 2014 04:21 am | UPDATED May 9th, 2018 03:13 am
Held in conjunction with CausewayEXchange (CEX), an annual festival that showcases artists and writers from Singapore and Malaysia with the aim to promote more collaboration across the causeway, World Lit: Malaysian Focus celebrates the best of contemporary Malaysian literature through a series of talks and workshops.
Conceived in 2011, World Lit showcases writers from around the world every month at The Arts House. Previous writers who have been featured include acclaimed author Mohsin Hamad; international bestselling fantasy writer Garth Nix; Man Asian Literary Prize 2012 winner Tan Tuan Eng; and American poet Ryan Van Winkle, among other literary luminaries.
Kicking off the World Lit: Malaysian Focus programme is In Conversation with Lat [20 June, 7.30pm], an intimate session where audiences can discover what makes Malaysia’s favourite cartoonist tick. The three writers will then gather in a panel discussion Malaysia, Kami Cinta-Ku (Malaysia, We Love You) [21 June, 11am] to share writing tips and their observations of the Malaysian literary scene.
Dina Zaman, who has extensive experience as a columnist and whose column I Am Muslim (2007) was published into a book and became a bestseller hit, will conduct a workshop on How To Write An Opinion Column [21 June, 2pm]. She will also discuss her experience of writing her book in Writing About Faith: A View From Across the Causeway [21 June, 6.30pm].
Wrapping up the programme is A Ghost Romance: Tea with Yangsze Choo [22 June, 2pm], where the debut author delves into the alternating worlds of the afterlife and the real world. Yangsze’s debut novel The Ghost Bride (2013) on taboos, ethnic folklores and romance has been a hit since its publication, having been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and Goodreads Choice Awards.
Admission is free to all events by registration at dmr.eventclique.com, except for Dina Zaman’s workshop, which can be purchased from at $10. For updates, please visit their [website](www.theartshouse.com.sg).