EVEN BEFORE I arrived in Penang for the annual George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) in late November, I was familiar with the fabled festival. An old English teacher of mine told stories about bringing gaggles of students from my alma mater in Seremban all the way to Penang to attend GTLF—a journey he had been consistently making for the better part of a decade. I never tired of hearing those tales of mischief—literary or otherwise—and finally attended the festival in 2024 to see for myself.
In perusing the online catalogue, I discovered just how flush GTLF 2024’s programme was—forums, lectures and workshops were tightly packed into three full days, often with multiple events happening simultaneously. There were panel discussions, interviews, exhibitions, book readings, movie screenings and more, all spread across a whopping 10 different locations in the heart of George Town. Let the festivities begin!
