Using a combination of paradoxical, equivocal and ambiguous text (in a neutral san-serif), the festival aims to deceive its attendees. Only by reading deeper and examining witty footnotes (in an academic serif) scattered across the deliverables can one finally decipher the true meaning of the text.

With that said, attendees are not thrown into the festival without any help. The festival comes with a series of rules that can be found on its key promotional material. These rules, cleverly written to guide festival attendees, are as follows:

1. In black we trust.
2. Read everything with great care.
3. Your instincts are usually right.
4. All things be done in moderation.
5. Obtain the festival programme as soon as possible.

I’ll ask once and only once: Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

The 2016 Edition of Singapore Writers Festival examines the veracity of truths, reviewing the persuasions found in writing whilst also asking pertinent questions about the value of faith and skepticism.

This SWF, we investigate the unreliable narrator across literary fiction and poetry, taking a closer look at the role of misdirection and equivocation in deception and crafting character bias. In non- fiction, we navigate the political landscape, dissecting history and propaganda, discussing
the validity of opinion and the possibility of absolute law and justice. The theme also prompts us to explore darker issues of Narcissism, Machiavellians and Psychopathy, encouraging us to look within to find answers about why some of us have a desire to deceive.

Finally, the prospect embodied in the theme also points to the mood of ambiguity, imploring us as recipients of persuasion to hone our mind and senses, to shake off society’s shroud of indolence and look beyond the surface to derive the deeper meaning hidden in layers of obscurity. To view the world with complete lucidity, live with great moral integrity and be infallible in the face of mendacity.