
September 2017
Here’s a digest of what happened in Indonesian literature in September 2017. Highlights recent pieces: insightful reviews, and news updates, in addition to notable goings-on as posted on website and Twitter (@idwriters) feed.
What's On
Sep 30 / International Translation Day! #ITD2017 #TranslationAndDiversity Read
Sep 17 / Our website is going dark for a day. #daruratdemokrasi Read
Sep 16 / In 2017, at the Indonesia International Book Fair in Jakarta, The Asia Foundation launched a program, a free children’s digital library called Let’s Read! This rapidly growing library, accessible via web and Android app, hosts hundreds of books from around the world—including over 100 from Indonesian authors. Read
Sep 14 / Queen Máxima opens Leiden University's new Asian Library in a ceremony in the Pieterskerk. The Library houses important collections on Asia. Read
Sep 14 / Clara Ng's "Dru dan Kisah Lima Kerajaan" launches in Manila in Tagalog language, SI DRU AT ANG KUWENTO NG LIMANG KAHARIAN. Read
Sep 13 / In 2017, the Global Focus Program at Chatham University in the US has chosen Dee Lestari's novel, Supernova: The Knight, the Princess and the Falling Star, as their official book for the year. Read
Sep 08 / Happy International #LiteracyDay! Celebrated across the world under the theme of 'Literacy in a digital world’ Read
Sep 06 / Reykjavík International Literary Festival took place from 6-9 September for the13th time. Its ambitious event brings 17 internationally acclaimed authors from outside of Iceland together with some of the most well-known Icelandic authors. On this day in 2017, EKA KURNIAWAN, launched the festival with a keynote address on opening night, along with Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, who received the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2016. Read
Sep 06 / Bearing the theme "It is a book affair", Indonesia International Book Fair (IIBF) 2017 officially opened. Also during the opening ceremony, IKAPI announced annual awards for Book and Writer of the Year go to Happy Little Soul and Pidi Baiq, respectively. Read
Sep 17 / Our website is going dark for a day. #daruratdemokrasi Read
Sep 16 / In 2017, at the Indonesia International Book Fair in Jakarta, The Asia Foundation launched a program, a free children’s digital library called Let’s Read! This rapidly growing library, accessible via web and Android app, hosts hundreds of books from around the world—including over 100 from Indonesian authors. Read
Sep 14 / Queen Máxima opens Leiden University's new Asian Library in a ceremony in the Pieterskerk. The Library houses important collections on Asia. Read
Sep 14 / Clara Ng's "Dru dan Kisah Lima Kerajaan" launches in Manila in Tagalog language, SI DRU AT ANG KUWENTO NG LIMANG KAHARIAN. Read
Sep 13 / In 2017, the Global Focus Program at Chatham University in the US has chosen Dee Lestari's novel, Supernova: The Knight, the Princess and the Falling Star, as their official book for the year. Read
Sep 08 / Happy International #LiteracyDay! Celebrated across the world under the theme of 'Literacy in a digital world’ Read
Sep 06 / Reykjavík International Literary Festival took place from 6-9 September for the13th time. Its ambitious event brings 17 internationally acclaimed authors from outside of Iceland together with some of the most well-known Icelandic authors. On this day in 2017, EKA KURNIAWAN, launched the festival with a keynote address on opening night, along with Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, who received the Icelandic Literary Prize in 2016. Read
Sep 06 / Bearing the theme "It is a book affair", Indonesia International Book Fair (IIBF) 2017 officially opened. Also during the opening ceremony, IKAPI announced annual awards for Book and Writer of the Year go to Happy Little Soul and Pidi Baiq, respectively. Read
Events
Sep 28, 2017 - Oct 01, 2017
Göteborg Book Fair 2017
Sep 23, 2017
Celebrating POST 3.0
Sep 22, 2017
Simpati untuk Hamsad Rangkuti
Sep 16, 2017
Beranda Sastra #9: Terbitan Buku Sastra Indie dari Dulu sampai Nanti
Sep 16, 2017
The 2017 AALITRA Symposium: Translating Australian Literature
Sep 06, 2017 - Sep 10, 2017
Indonesia International Book Fair
Sep 06, 2017 - Sep 09, 2017
Reykjavík International Literary Festival
Sep 05, 2017
Global Trends in Publishing and Rights Trade: Insights from the Market
Aug 25, 2017 - Sep 03, 2017
Melbourne Writers Festival
For a complete list of upcoming events, click here!
Göteborg Book Fair 2017
Sep 23, 2017
Celebrating POST 3.0
Sep 22, 2017
Simpati untuk Hamsad Rangkuti
Sep 16, 2017
Beranda Sastra #9: Terbitan Buku Sastra Indie dari Dulu sampai Nanti
Sep 16, 2017
The 2017 AALITRA Symposium: Translating Australian Literature
Sep 06, 2017 - Sep 10, 2017
Indonesia International Book Fair
Sep 06, 2017 - Sep 09, 2017
Reykjavík International Literary Festival
Sep 05, 2017
Global Trends in Publishing and Rights Trade: Insights from the Market
Aug 25, 2017 - Sep 03, 2017
Melbourne Writers Festival
For a complete list of upcoming events, click here!
Birthdays
Alberthiene Endah (Sep 16) Ama Achmad (Sep 03) Andina Dwifatma (Sep 15) Arif Bagus Prasetyo (Sep 30) Ayu Welirang (Sep 23) Cok Sawitri (Sep 01) Esti Kinasih (Sep 09) Faisal Oddang (Sep 18) FX Rudi Gunawan (Sep 20) Hadiwinata (Sep 10) Mira W (Sep 13) Nadia Silvarani Lubis (Sep 06) Naomi Srikandi (Sep 01) Ni Ketut Sudiani (Sep 07) Nirwan Dewanto (Sep 28) Patricia Tanumihardja (Sep 10) Rachmat Hidayat Mustamin (Sep 07) Saddam HP (Sep 11) Saras Dewi (Sep 16) Sekar Sosronegoro (Sep 01) Sintia Astarina (Sep 04) Taufik Ikram Jamil (Sep 19) Triyanto Triwikromo (Sep 15) Windy Ariestanty (Sep 10)
On Books
Combining high-octane action, black comedy, gratuitous, almost camp brutality, and a feminist premise, Vengeance is Mine ... does feel pulpy and Tarantino-like — Sydney Morning Herald on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 28 / Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash review: Eka Kurniawan’s pulp dark comedy
Though the novel was unsettling, I found it thoroughly entertaining. Kurniawan delivers surprises at every turn. His boisterous language is almost theatrical. — On Art and Aesthetics on Beauty Is A Wound
Sep 21 / Eka Kurniawan’s Sweeping and Crackling “Beauty is a Wound”: Magic Realism from Indonesia
Culture Trip, The on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 16 / The Best International Book Releases of September 2017
Vengeance illustrates a knotted community, where propriety and rage and survival coexist. — Atlantic on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 15 / Eka Kurniawan’s Darkly Comic Tale of Boyhood
Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash will not be to every reader’s taste. The violence, sexual and otherwise, approaches the pornographic, but this serves to amplify the force of Kurniawan’s critique of the appalling sexism that he sees in Indonesian society. — Hindu on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 15 / This bird also rises
As high-end pulp fiction, Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash is superb. — Asian Review of Books on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 14 / “Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” by Eka Kurniawan
Jakarta Post on 27 Days of Heartbreak
Sep 11 / ’27 Days of Heartbreak’: Documenting post-breakup coping process
The book is certainly about the question of red, the life and loves of young people and the death of their dreams of an ideal society. — Statesman on The Question of Red: A Novel
Sep 10 / Love and loss in vanished times
Magdalene on 69 Things To Be Grateful About Being Single
Sep 08 / Author Feby Indirani Extols the Perks of Being Single in New Book
It’s an excellent read, both entertaining and intriguing, with far more to the story than first appears. — Personal Blog on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 07 / ‘Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash’ by Eka Kurniawan (Review)
Kurniawan (Beauty Is a Wound) tells the ribald, noir-inflected, and oddly epic story of a man’s quest to regain his sexual virility. — Publishers Weekly on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 04 / Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Jakarta Post on Bertahan Hidup di Pulau Buru
Sep 04 / Mars Noersmono: Surviving a harsh life on Buru Island
Sep 28 / Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash review: Eka Kurniawan’s pulp dark comedy
Though the novel was unsettling, I found it thoroughly entertaining. Kurniawan delivers surprises at every turn. His boisterous language is almost theatrical. — On Art and Aesthetics on Beauty Is A Wound
Sep 21 / Eka Kurniawan’s Sweeping and Crackling “Beauty is a Wound”: Magic Realism from Indonesia
Culture Trip, The on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 16 / The Best International Book Releases of September 2017
Vengeance illustrates a knotted community, where propriety and rage and survival coexist. — Atlantic on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 15 / Eka Kurniawan’s Darkly Comic Tale of Boyhood
Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash will not be to every reader’s taste. The violence, sexual and otherwise, approaches the pornographic, but this serves to amplify the force of Kurniawan’s critique of the appalling sexism that he sees in Indonesian society. — Hindu on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 15 / This bird also rises
As high-end pulp fiction, Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash is superb. — Asian Review of Books on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 14 / “Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” by Eka Kurniawan
Jakarta Post on 27 Days of Heartbreak
Sep 11 / ’27 Days of Heartbreak’: Documenting post-breakup coping process
The book is certainly about the question of red, the life and loves of young people and the death of their dreams of an ideal society. — Statesman on The Question of Red: A Novel
Sep 10 / Love and loss in vanished times
Magdalene on 69 Things To Be Grateful About Being Single
Sep 08 / Author Feby Indirani Extols the Perks of Being Single in New Book
It’s an excellent read, both entertaining and intriguing, with far more to the story than first appears. — Personal Blog on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 07 / ‘Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash’ by Eka Kurniawan (Review)
Kurniawan (Beauty Is a Wound) tells the ribald, noir-inflected, and oddly epic story of a man’s quest to regain his sexual virility. — Publishers Weekly on Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Sep 04 / Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Jakarta Post on Bertahan Hidup di Pulau Buru
Sep 04 / Mars Noersmono: Surviving a harsh life on Buru Island
New Books
Released this Month
What Media Says
Marianne Katoppo
in Asymptote
Sep 28 / Marianne Katoppo: The Frog who Left the Coconut Shell Far Behind
Sapardi Djoko Damono
in Jakarta Post
Sep 13 / Sapardi Djoko Damono reveals why he became a poet
Norman Erikson Pasaribu
in Jakarta Post
Sep 13 / Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu recognized as Southeast Asian Young Writer
Martin Aleida
in Jakarta Post
Sep 11 / Martin Aleida: Voicing unheard voices
Agus Noor
in Broadway World Indonesia
Sep 08 / Agus Noor Talks His Creative Process, Directorial Myths and Possible Collaborations
Tere Liye
in Jakarta Globe
Sep 07 / Famous Author Cuts Publisher Deal, Unveils Unfair Tax Structure for Writers
Wiji Thukul
in Jakarta Post
Sep 05 / Wiji Thukul biopic gets special award at Bulgarian film fest
in Asymptote
Sep 28 / Marianne Katoppo: The Frog who Left the Coconut Shell Far Behind
Sapardi Djoko Damono
in Jakarta Post
Sep 13 / Sapardi Djoko Damono reveals why he became a poet
Norman Erikson Pasaribu
in Jakarta Post
Sep 13 / Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu recognized as Southeast Asian Young Writer
Martin Aleida
in Jakarta Post
Sep 11 / Martin Aleida: Voicing unheard voices
Agus Noor
in Broadway World Indonesia
Sep 08 / Agus Noor Talks His Creative Process, Directorial Myths and Possible Collaborations
Tere Liye
in Jakarta Globe
Sep 07 / Famous Author Cuts Publisher Deal, Unveils Unfair Tax Structure for Writers
Wiji Thukul
in Jakarta Post
Sep 05 / Wiji Thukul biopic gets special award at Bulgarian film fest
Clippings
Jakarta Globe
Sep 20 / Latin America Under Spotlight at Salihara’s Literature and Ideas Festival
ANZ LitLovers
Sep 17 / AALITRA Symposium, Translating Australian Literature, 16/9/17
Jakarta Post
Sep 11 / John McGlynn: The uphill climb for Indonesian literature
Jakarta Post
Sep 11 / The importance of literary translation for global recognition
Jakarta Globe
Sep 11 / Ubud Writers and Readers Festival Set to Return With Over 150 Speakers
Huffington Post
Sep 07 / Elizabeth Bryer on Translating Claudia Salazar Jiménez’s ‘Blood of the Dawn’
Tempo English
Sep 07 / Writer Tere Liye Complains Tax Income Rate, Sri Mulyani Answers
Jakarta Globe
Sep 05 / DKJ Literary Criticism Competition Sees Decline in Quality, Entries
Publishers Weekly
Sep 01 / PW Star Watch 2017 Finalists
Sep 20 / Latin America Under Spotlight at Salihara’s Literature and Ideas Festival
ANZ LitLovers
Sep 17 / AALITRA Symposium, Translating Australian Literature, 16/9/17
Jakarta Post
Sep 11 / John McGlynn: The uphill climb for Indonesian literature
Jakarta Post
Sep 11 / The importance of literary translation for global recognition
Jakarta Globe
Sep 11 / Ubud Writers and Readers Festival Set to Return With Over 150 Speakers
Huffington Post
Sep 07 / Elizabeth Bryer on Translating Claudia Salazar Jiménez’s ‘Blood of the Dawn’
Tempo English
Sep 07 / Writer Tere Liye Complains Tax Income Rate, Sri Mulyani Answers
Jakarta Globe
Sep 05 / DKJ Literary Criticism Competition Sees Decline in Quality, Entries
Publishers Weekly
Sep 01 / PW Star Watch 2017 Finalists
Aside/ICYMI
Sep 25 / 150+ speakers from 30+ countries appearing in 200+ events over 5 days. The #UWRF17 program book now live! Read
Sep 16 / Feby Indirani is looking for voluntary readers to give feedback for her new English translation book, Not The Virgin Mary. Read
Sep 16 / Indonesia prepares to become guest country of Europalia 2017. Read
Sep 14 / 3.4 million Indonesians are illiterate, down from 5.7 million in 2016. Read
Sep 13 / Man Booker Prize announces 2017 shortlist. Read
Sep 12 / Open Call for Applications: Australian-Indonesian Writing Exchange: Tulis 2018 Read
Sep 09 / 17th Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa announces longlist. Read
Sep 16 / Feby Indirani is looking for voluntary readers to give feedback for her new English translation book, Not The Virgin Mary. Read
Sep 16 / Indonesia prepares to become guest country of Europalia 2017. Read
Sep 14 / 3.4 million Indonesians are illiterate, down from 5.7 million in 2016. Read
Sep 13 / Man Booker Prize announces 2017 shortlist. Read
Sep 12 / Open Call for Applications: Australian-Indonesian Writing Exchange: Tulis 2018 Read
Sep 09 / 17th Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa announces longlist. Read
Writing
Works in Translation
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