Jesse Q. Sutanto explores themes of misogyny in the gaming community and beyond in her new YA novel, Didn’t See That Coming, her second work set in Indonesia. Seventeen-year-old Kiki Siregar plays her favorite virtual game using the handle DudeBro10 and has persuaded fellow players that she’s a … [Read more...]
Michelle Kadarusman’s middle-grade novel Berani is an inspiring introduction to environmental activism
'I'd really like to impart to my readers in the middle grade to believe that you can make a difference.' Michelle Kadarusman says writing for middle-grade is where she has found her voice. The Canadian Australian Indonesian author's novels have a compelling way of unraveling complex world issues … [Read more...]
Indonesian-Chinese who grew up ‘out-of-wedlock’ in Suharto era relive ‘trauma’ through new book
Thousands of Indonesian-Chinese children born in the 1970s to 1980s were classified as ‘out-of-wedlock’ at a time when Chinese identity was suppressed A new book about the stateless Indonesian-Chinese has resonated with readers of the ethnic group who grew up during President Suharto’s rule It … [Read more...]
7 Questions for Norman Erikson Pasaribu
Q The Booker Prize website has this wonderful line on its page about your collection: “Powerful blend of science fiction, absurdism and alternative-historical realism that aims to destabilise the heteronormative world and expose its underlying rot.” Reading these stories, I see the evidence of … [Read more...]
Award-winning author Norman Erikson Pasaribu discusses ‘Happy Stories, Mostly’
Winning the 2015 Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) Poetry Book Competition, the author rocketed in 2022 with a short story collection, Cerita-cerita Bahagia, Hampir Seluruhnya (Happy Stories, Mostly). However, all that glitters might not be gold. Author Norman Erikson Pasaribu garnered quite the … [Read more...]