About the Programme
Why do we care about and root for characters like Batman and Hamlet? What draws us to protagonists who are morally messy, contradictory, and sometimes downright dangerous — and why have storytellers kept returning to this figure for centuries?
Join novelists Myle Yan Tay (catskull) and Wen-Yi Lee (When They Burned the Butterfly) for an informal and lively conversation on one of storytelling's most enduring and beloved archetypes — the anti-hero. The two authors will trace the evolution of the anti-hero across pop culture, film and storytelling, before turning to their own fictional creations and what drew them to writing characters that resist easy moral judgement.
Leave with:
A richer understanding of the anti-hero trope and why morally grey characters capture our hearts
A new way of looking at the protagonists you love, informed by the writers of two anti-heroes
Food for thought on what our obsession with the anti-hero says about us and the world we live in
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About the Presenters
Myle Yan Tay is a writer of plays and prose. His debut novel, catskull, won Book of the Year and Best Literary Work at the Singapore Book Awards and was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize. His plays Statement Piece and Brown Boys Don't Tell Jokes were staged by Checkpoint Theatre; both were nominated for "Best Production" and "Best Script" at the Straits Times! Life Theatre Awards. He has published essays, reviews, and fiction in The Hong Kong Review, The Cincinnati Review, The Chicago Reader, and more. He co-hosts "Comic Sans," produced by Andas Productions, an award-winning podcast about comics for those who are sans knowledge.
Wen-yi Lee is the Nebula Award-nominated author of When They Burned the Butterfly and The Dark We Know, and editor of forthcoming horror anthology The Kids Came Back Wrong. Her work, including her short fiction, often finds intersections of history, speculation, troubling women, and ghosts. Find her on socials at @wenyilee_.
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Registration and Attendance
Registration is required for this programme. Please register one ticket per person.
Attendance will be taken using the NLB Mobile app. Please download the app (https://go.gov.sg/nlbmobile-attendance) or update it to the latest version. Then, scan the QR code at the venue to take your attendance upon entry.
Please arrive 10 minutes before the session starts. Seats may be released to walk-in participants if you arrive late.
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Photography and Videography Notice
Please note that photos and/or videos of this programme and its participants may be taken.
By participating in this programme, you agree that NLB may take photographs and/or videos of you (or your child as applicable) and use the images and/or videos including to archive, exhibit and publish them for publicity or any other NLB purposes.
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Wheelchair-friendly Routes and Social Stories
To access our wheelchair-friendly routes (bus and MRT) and social stories, please visit https://go.gov.sg/wheelchair-friendly-routes-social-stories and select the respective library to access the information.
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📍Venue: Central Library at the National Library Building - Programme Room 2 (Basement 1)
🏢 Address: 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064
🗓️ Date: Saturday, 5 September 2026
🕛 Time: 11.00 am - 12.30 pm
🎟️ Registration: https://go.gov.sg/cc2-2