In the two years after his disappearance, the family of kidnapped student activist Biru Laut continue to lay his place at the table every Sunday. They play the record of his favourite song, Blackbird by The Beatles, and wait for him to come home. Laut may be the fictional protagonist of … [Read more...]

Like many other people during self-quarantine, award-winning Indonesian novelist, poet and essayist Laksmi Pamuntjak went through different stages. In the first two months, she found it difficult to write anything other than emails and messages to friends asking how they were. “You’d think it … [Read more...]

It's launch week for our latest children’s book, The Adventures of Na Willa, a collection of stories about a little girl growing up in Surabaya, Indonesia. Here's a quick interview with one of the translators, Kate Wakeling! What were your first thoughts on reading The Adventures of Na … [Read more...]

Norman Erikson Pasaribu on being a multiple outsider and searching for liberation in “Sergius Seeks Bacchus”. Norman Erikson Pasaribu was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia but his roots lie in the ethnic Christian Batak community of Sumatra; his family represents the many strands of internal … [Read more...]

Winning the 2020 Southeast Asian Writers Award for her novel Laut Bercerita (The Sea Speaks his Name), did not bring peace of mind for author and journalist Leila S. Chudori. The novel, published in December 2017 and inspired by real events, tells the story of activists who were kidnapped, … [Read more...]