Writing the City is a literary arts platform in Singapore which provides a community of new and emerging prose writers a chance to develop their writing, share their work, and exchange feedback.
ABOUT
Writing the City is a literary arts platform in Singapore which supports a community of new, emerging and established prose writers to develop their writing, share their work, and give and receive feedback. Its leader and facilitator is the author of We Rose Up Slowly (Math Paper Press, 2015), Jon Gresham.
Writing the City was founded in 2011 with the support of the British Council and National Arts Council Singapore. In 2016, Sing Lit Station became involved in Writing the City and now leads the monthly creative writing workshops with the support of the National Library Board. It will no longer be a Sing Lit Station programme after 2019, but will continue to be run independently by Jon Gresham.
There are over 270 members of Writing the City in Singapore.
All workshops are open to the public.
FACILITATOR
Jon Gresham is a writer, photographer, and the author of We Rose Up Slowly (Math Paper Press, 2015), a collection of short stories.
2019 CALENDAR
Creative Writing Workshops are held every month from 2pm to 4pm on a Saturday at Toa Payoh Library, Sing Lit Station, or an alternative venue.
Workshop dates and topics scheduled for 2019:
9 Feb: What is a Story?
9 Mar: On Character with Suffian Hakim
27 Apr: Writing About Love, with Akshita Nanda
11 May: Writing A Memoir, with Melissa De Silva
8 Jun: On Autobiographical Fiction, with Melissa de Villiers
13 Jul: World-building in Fiction, with Arin Fong and Prasanthi Ram
10 Aug: The Cores of Compelling Characters, with Kevin Martens Wong
14 Sep: Myths Re-narrated and Rejuvenated, with Ng Yi-Sheng
12 Oct: Game of Suspense & Twists, with Felix Cheong
16 Nov: How Poetry Brings Prose Alive, with Joshua Ip
Date TBA: Showcase Reading
Topics may change depending on members’ input; topics for consideration include wordbuilding, the art of writing novels, the use of technology and flash fiction. Workshop attendance is limited to around 25 participants so be sure to register each month.
The two-hour workshop format usually consists of:
1. Discussion of writing craft topics with an emphasis on practical techniques
2. Writing exercises
3. Review and discussion of Singapore Literature texts
4. Feedback on texts submitted by members for critique
Find out more on the Writing the City Facebook Page
Local writers (e.g. Boey Kim Cheng, Clarissa Goenawan, Haresh Sharma, Jean Tay, Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Meira Chand) are known to appear as guest facilitators in Writing The City, sharing their experiences and advice on writing in Singapore.
A NOTE FROM SING LIT STATION
Sing Lit Station, as a supporter of new and emerging talent, also provides venue support to aspiring and established writers and poets. Unlike Writing the City, these poets are grouped into smaller, invite-only workshop groups and collectives, namely:
the Image-Symbol Department;
[ICNH];
the atom collective;
Words, Self, World, workshops for migrant workers organised by Shivaji Das and facilitated by Tse Hao Guang;
The Fire Pen creative writing workshop for migrant workers organised by Wiwi Tri and facilitated by Jon Gresham;
Club Penguin, a poetry workshop series for queer people, organised by Max Pasakorn and facilitated by Cyril Wong and other poet mentors.
For more information about venue support and/or these workshop groups, do drop us a note on our contact page.