15 writers chosen for Ubud Writers festival

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 06/03/2011

The committee of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) has chosen 15 writers to appear at the annual literary event, held in Ubud, Bali from Oct. 5-9 this year

The festival, which was first held in 2004, is one of the most prominent literary festivals in the world. Fatimah Bhutto, a poet who is the granddaughter of former Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, praised the festival as one of the best literary festivals of its kind.

“They [writers] come from various areas across the archipelago. Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara are all represented in the chosen lineup of writers,” the festival’s community development manager, Kadek Purnami, said Friday.

The writers are Alan Malingi from West Nusa Tenggara, Arafat Nur from Aceh, Aulia Nurul Adzkia from Ciamis, Budy Utamy from Riau, Fitri Yani from Bandar Lampung, Ida Ahdiah from Tangerang, Irianto Ibrahim from Kendari, Pinto Anugrah and Ragdi F Daye from Padang, Rida Fitria from Lumajang, Sandy Firly from Banjarmasin, Sanie B Kuncoro from Solo, Saut Poltak Tambunan from Jakarta, Satmoko Budi Santoso from Yogyakarta, and Wahyudin from Banten.

The writers were chosen during the 2011 UWRF Board of Curators meeting in Sanur in May. The curators involved in the selections were senior writers Kurnia Effendi from Jakarta, Dorothea Rosa Herliany from Magelang, Iyut Fitra from Payakumbuh and Made Adnyana Ole from Bali.

“The [15] chosen writers are a reflection [of Indonesia] being an archipelago because they come from various areas and cultural backgrounds. Their works of art are also in various forms: some write poems while others write novels, essays, short stories and drama scripts,” Kurnia Effendi said as quoted from tempointeraktif.com.

This year the theme of the festival will be "Nandurin Karang Awak", literally meaning cultivate the land within, based on the work of the late Balinese poet Ida Pedanda Made Sidemen.