INDONESIA FOCUS: Q+A Laksmi Pamuntjak

Indonesia is the country of focus at the London Book Fair this year and recently at Frankfurt - to what extent do you think Indonesian literature is finally having it's moment in the spotlight? I cannot say for certain what these one-off ‘spotlights’ on Indonesian literature would mean for Indonesian literature in the long term. But it is an encouraging sign; the relatively short three-and-a-half-year gap between Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) 2015 and London Book Fair (LBF) 2019 means we are still—or possibly even more—interesting to the publishing industry. And while I wish more Indonesian writers are being translated into English—and translated well—some of us are starting to break through internationally. It always takes one or two to pave the way. For me personally, FBF was a game changer in many ways. Before that we didn’t have the publishing infrastructure necessary with which to promote our literature abroad. We didn’t have literary agents – in fact I only knew of one, and he used to work for my Indonesian publisher Gramedia. It was he who took a chance on the English version of my first novel, Amba/The Question of Red, and brought it to Frankfurt Book Fair in 2013, where the novel was picked up by Ullstein Verlag and published in Germany in 2015, ahead of the FBF.  So I was very fortunate. A few months later, I landed a literary agent in New York, through whom I managed to sell world rights to other European markets. Later this year, I signed up with another literary... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-02-08 10:06:53 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "INDONESIA FOCUS: Q+A Laksmi Pamuntjak"


‘Bliss’ by Katherine Mansfield: Symbolism

The 1918 short story ‘Bliss’ is one of the best-known and most widely studied stories by the writer Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923). Although Mansfield never wrote a novel, her short stories helped to redefine the possibilities of the story form. ‘Bliss’ is a story full of ambiguous and... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-04-02 14:00:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this


London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement: Hiroshi Hayakawa

A champion of exuberant genre work as well as international literature, Japan's Hiroshi Hayakawa wins LBF's top honor. The post London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement: Hiroshi Hayakawa appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-01 14:29:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Falling in Love Is Hard When You’re the Guardian of the Dead

Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s debut novel When We Were Birds begins in the time before time and follows the uneasy truce between the living and the dead. Cigarettes are offered, liquor is poured, prayers are said, all in the hope that the buried stay buried. This is the story of Yejide, a young woman who... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-04-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of April 04, 2022

Riverhead buys a debut novel about a Georgian father and son fleeing the Russian occupation of South Ossetia in 2008, Joe Abercrombie sells a new trilogy to Tor, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


London Book Fair: Ukraine’s Presence at the Trade Show

Two programming events at London Book Fair will have particular bearing on Russia's aggression in Ukraine. The post London Book Fair: Ukraine’s Presence at the Trade Show appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-30 18:35:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


15 of the Best Short Stories Written by Women

What are some of the best short stories by female writers? Women have been making their mark on the short story form since the form became popular in the nineteenth century, and many notable female practitioners of the short story, such as Katherine Mansfield and Kate Chopin, were among the […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-03-23 15:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Key Themes of Jorge Luis Borges’ Stories

The inventive and philosophical short stories of the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) take in a range of themes. Like many other authors, Borges had a set of preoccupations which he revisited time and again in his fiction, and a number of his stories are variations on the same […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-03-22 15:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of March 21, 2022

Berkley buys a debut novel about a mother’s journey across the Caribbean, SJP Lit makes its first acquisition, Kristen Martin sells a book about orphanhood to Bold Type, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Make money turning your short fiction… into a video game?

Are you tired of getting your short stories rejected by literary magazines with weird names like Ploughshares, The Paris Review, and, lol, The New Yorker? Do you, a writer of a searing, minimalist narratives of longing and loss amid the ruins of late capitalism, need to eat?  Sure you do! Well,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-17 16:16:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Children’s Books Edition: Agent Karolina Jaszecka’s Outlook for Bologna

The Barcelona-based literary agent Karolina Jaszecka heads for Bologna with a specialty in Polish literature for young readers. (Sponsored) The post Children’s Books Edition: Agent Karolina Jaszecka’s Outlook for Bologna appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-11 13:30:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Agents Offer Predictions for Christian Publishing

Literary agents in Christian publishing identify hot trends for 2022, while urging publishers to diversify their lists and think about how to grow new authors who can take over for aging stars. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Awards: London Book Fair Names International Excellence Shortlists

Seventeen nations are represented in eight categories, with Greece making its debut in International Excellence Awards competition. The post Awards: London Book Fair Names International Excellence Shortlists appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-03-04 12:29:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Exclusive cover reveal: Laura Warrell’s Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm.

Lit Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Laura Warrell’s debut novel Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, which will be published by Pantheon in fall 2022. Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm follows Circus Palmer, a forty-year-old Boston-based trumpet player and old-school ladies’ man, who lives for his music... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-03-03 15:00:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Omar Sakr's 'epic, stunningly dirty' debut novel challenges macho heterosexual myths of Arab-Australian culture

The lives of queer Arab-Australian boys and men are vividly inhabited in award-winning poet Omar Sakr’s darkly comic debut novel, set in Western Sydney. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-02-28 19:12:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Is Adaptation a Feminine Act? On the Women Writers Who Worked on Alfred Hitchcock Presents

As women writers adapted to a changing post-WWII job market, so too did they adapt in their work, translating their skills into writing suspense for television and turning short stories into screenplays. In her essay on adaptation and “gendered discourses,” Shelley Cobb writes that “feminist... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:50:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bringing Light to the Situation of Kurdish Women: Chinur Sa’idi’s Hobbies of Mr. Like-a-Man, 
by Zakarya Bezdoode

Book Reviews Statue of renowned Kurdish historian, author, and poet Mastoureh Ardalan (1805–1848) in Erbil / Photo by Levi Meir Clancy / Unsplash Even though they appear to have a lot to say about the historical, political, cultural, and literary... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-23 21:05:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this


10 of the Best Fantasy Short Stories Everyone Should Read

As a literary genre, fantasy is one of the oldest and most recent. Although modern fantasy only began to be recognised as a distinct genre in the late twentieth century, thanks largely to the popularity of J. R. R. Tolkien and his imitators, its roots can be traced back millennia. […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-02-23 15:00:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


A Summary and Analysis of Langston Hughes’ ‘Red-Headed Baby’

Although he is probably better known as a poet, Langston Hughes (1902-67), a leading writer of the Harlem Renaissance, also wrote some of the finest short stories of the early twentieth century, and ‘Red-Headed Baby’ is one of his best. ‘Red-Headed Baby’ was published in Hughes’ 1934 collection... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2022-02-22 15:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Bologna and London Book Fair Highlight Authors Roberts and O’Farrell

Michèle Roberts in Italy and Maggie O'Farrell in England: Bologna and London announce brand-name author participation. The post Bologna and London Book Fair Highlight Authors Roberts and O’Farrell appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-02-17 07:23:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Announcing The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award shortlist

Photo credit: Nigel DaviesSunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award marks the 30th anniversary with one of it's most decorated shortlists to date:• Irish novelist Megan Nolan for her darkly funny debut novel Acts of Desperation;• US-based writer Anna Beecher for her novel... Continue reading at British Council global

[ British Council global | 2022-02-16 14:40:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this