Malaysia’s leading celebration of stories returns for its 15th edition! This year’s George Town Literary Festival explores Urban Myths and Memories through panels, readings, performances, and workshops featuring 37 writers and artists from 13 countries.

George Town Literary Festival 2025 

Malaysia’s leading celebration of stories returns for its 15th edition! This year’s George Town Literary Festival explores Urban Myths and Memories through panels, readings, performances, and workshops featuring 37 writers and artists from 13 countries.

Join us in Penang’s heritage heart for three days of conversation, creativity, and discovery. Admission is free with a Festival Pass, except for workshops and select events.

Explore the full programme breakdown on the official George Town Literary Festival website.

Programme at a glance:

30 November

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Book launch: Boh Beh Zhao and Elsewhere, the Cosmos Cracks

Location

Wawasan Reading Room

AFTERIMAGE presents two striking debuts from Singapore. Cheng Him’s Boh Beh Zhao—a narrative-in-poems voiced in vivid Singlish—tracks the mythic Ah Seng through Buddhism, childhood tumult, and mid-2010s clubbing. Chrystal Ho’s Elsewhere, the Cosmos Cracks walks HDB estates and art history to ask, amid the climate crisis, how wonder survives. A showcase of fresh, fearless poetry from Sing Lit Station’s press.

Speakers(s): Cheng Him, Chrystal Ho