SMU has been a venue sponsor of the Singapore Writers Festival since 2011. Every year, its lawn has been dotted with white bubble tents for the duration of the festival. This was a leaf taken from the book of the much larger Edinburgh festival which has a centralised outdoor setting. The tents and museums were a perennial hive of activity during the festival from 1 to 10 November, which featured 183 authors. More than 19,200 people attended free and ticketed events, up from 16,200 last year and 13,500 in 2011.