About this workshop
Life is, in a way, all about looking—but the basis of art, as Viktor Shklovsky once argued, is also about "defamiliarisation", of turning the familiar into the unfamiliar. How might we turn our eyes upon something we've seen every single day of our lives, and transmute the ordinariness of our hours into the extraordinary within our prose?

In this easy-going and hands-on workshop by Daryl Qilin Yam, we'll be looking at samples of writing, select works of art and photos from each other's camera roll in order to exercise the imagination, train ourselves in the art of gazing, and see how image-making can be both a source of inspiration and a goal in our own writing.

About the instructor
Daryl Qilin Yam (b. 1991) is the award-nominated author of four books, including the bestselling short story collection Be Your Own Bae (2024), the Singapore Literature Prize-shortlisted novella Shantih Shantih Shantih (2021), and the novel Kappa Quartet (2016), with a special tenth anniversary edition forthcoming later this year. He co-founded the literary charity Sing Lit Station and serves as the managing editor of its publishing arm AFTERIMAGE. He is the 2025 recipient of Singapore’s Young Artist Award.

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.

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.

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.