The Tiny Lit Fest (TLF), a local literary festival celebrating the Bruneian literary ecosystem, is back for the third year in a row!
From December 6-12, festival partners will be organising 18 micro-events, including author dialogues, writing workshops, book panels, spoken word and theatre performances, journaling and wellbeing events, quizzes and much more.
One of the highlights will be a dialogue with award-winning fantasy writer, Zen Cho, taking place on December 10.
In light of the current COVID-19 situation, all events will be held virtually.
The Tiny Lit Fest 2021 was officially launched on Tuesday, December 7 via Zoom, and was attended by close to 70 people.
Sarah Ghazali, director of the Tiny Lit Fest, said organisers had to make drastic adjustments to their plans after a second wave of COVID-19 infections forced Brunei into a partial lockdown four months ago.
“When things went haywire in August 2021, we were left with two choices – forgo Tiny Lit Fest until next year, or to see the kinds of magic that we could create from the comforts of our own home,” she said during the launch of TLF 2021.
“Luckily, fifteen organising partners agreed to be onboard despite time constraints, switching from Plan As to Plan Bs, even considering Plan Cs, but always, always with a plan in hand.”
She added, “This week, we’re so happy to bring to you the fruits of those many months of remote and isolated hard work. The Tiny Lit Fest is thankful for the support, and is always open to supporting organising partners who are keen to continue bringing literature and creative work to the community.”
This year, TLF 2021 is supported by the Australian High Commission and Brunei December Festival, and sponsored by Progresif, Ctrl+ Creative and Nollybook.
The festival is also supported by Nollybook as the official bookseller and The Scoop as the official media partner. Progresif Media has also been active in providing promotional and marketing support.
Ms. Chintana Vongpaseuth, the Acting Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, said: “The Australian High Commission is pleased to be able to support and be a part of Brunei’s December Festival for five consecutive years. This reflects our commitment and desire to see Brunei’s diverse range of activities continue to flourish despite the limitations of COVID-19.”
“Our commitment to the promotion of freedom of expression has never been stronger and we believe literature continues to be one of the main venues to allow youths in both our countries to be more empowered and fully explore their potential,” she said.
TLF 2021 kicked off with a panel discussion on literature and mental health, featuring speakers Dr. Hannah Ming Yit Ho, assistant professor at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam; and Ms. Fauziyyah Hanani Haji Abd Manap, a psychologist at the Ministry of Health.
Tickets are still available for the many micro-events held during TLF 2021. Registration links are available at linktr.ee/thetinylitfest, and the full calendar of events is available on The Scoop’s website and at The Tiny Lit Fest Instagram page.
We are grateful for the support from our 15 event partners: Akhmal Aiman, Books Beyond Brunei, Bruneians Read (B:Read), Diverse Lit Circle, Heartwrite Co, Kathrina Mohd Daud, Khairunnisa Isa, More to Bloom Mindfulness, Parebelle Studios, Persatuan, Alumni Sultan’s Scholars, Professional Writing Academy, The Brunei Writers, Tina Afiqah, and 247 Studios.
Stay up to date on festival happenings at @thetinylitfest on Instagram and Twitter.
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