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"


Louise Doughty | 'I thought of Apple Tree Yard as a serious and feminist indictment of the criminal justice system'

The esteemed Louise Doughty reached a swathe of new readers with her TV-adapted Apple Tree Yard—and her latest book cements her reputation. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-07 03:58:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Picador bags short stories and novel from Mary South

Picador has bagged a satirical short story collection and novel from US writer Mary South. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-07 00:40:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Finally, some Proust short enough to finish. (New novellas discovered!)

French publisher Editions de Fallois has announced that it will publish a collection of novellas and short stories by Marcel Proust, who you might remember from his very long, seven-volume À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time). Smithsonian.com reports: Agence... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-06 19:34:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Writing to Uganda: A Conversation with Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, by Matthew Davis

Interviews Matthew Davis Ugandan novelist and short-story writer Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s first novel, Kintu, won the Kwani Manuscript Project in 2013 and was longlisted for the Etisalat Prize in 2014. She was awarded the 2014 Commonwealth... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2019-08-06 13:42:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this


PRH Children’s acquires Vincent’s Fairy Tales for Millennials

Penguin Random House UK Children’s has bought world rights to 12 fairy tale retellings by Bruno Vincent, author of the Enid Blyton for Grown-ups series. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-05 19:08:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Romance Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find romance literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Romance Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-08-05 14:46:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Two Families Linked By Secrets, Deaths, and Regrets

Regina Porter’s debut novel The Travelers includes short chapters, photos, and a compendium of voices—a full cast is listed in the front matter. This includes the Vincents, with patriarch “the man James” and his son Rufus; the Christies, headed by Eddie and Agnes with their daughters Claudia... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-05 11:00:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Kissick wins W&A Working-Class Writers’ Prize

Lucy Kissick’s debut novel Plutoshine has won the inaugural Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-08-04 19:06:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Nonfiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find nonfiction literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Nonfiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-08-02 14:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Panel Mania: ‘Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival’

Featuring a foreword by Roxane Gay, the comic anthology is a powerful and instructive collection of short stories by 60 female artists. The post Panel Mania: ‘Drawing Power: Women’s Stories of Sexual Violence, Harassment, and Survival’ appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-08-02 10:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this


7 Books About Past Decades That Feel Like Traveling Back in Time

The Amazon review for my debut novel was glowing, including words like “compelling” and “fun.” And then there was this: “If you love historical fiction, you’ll love The Last Book Party.” Say what? How could my novel, which is set during the 1980s—a decade of my own youth—be historical fiction?... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2019-08-01 11:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this


S&S UK pre-empts Bishop's debut in two-book deal

Simon & Schuster UK has pre-empted journalist Caroline Bishop’s "uniquely beautiful" debut novel in a two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-07-31 22:16:28 UTC ]
More news stories like this


New Literary Agency Alerts

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find new literary agency alerts in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post New Literary Agency Alerts by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-31 16:00:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this


There’s a newly translated John Steinbeck story about a chef and his cat.

Long before funny cat content flooded every single corner of the internet, John Steinbeck, legendary dog person, was writing it for Le Figaro, proving once again that France gets all the good stuff before we do. Steinbeck wrote “The Amiable Fleas,” or “Les puces sympathiques,” in 1954 for Le... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-31 15:44:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Murder? Poachers? What the hell is going on with Where the Crawdads Sing author Delia Owens?

A few days ago, Publishers Weekly reported that Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens’ debut novel and the September 2018 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club, topped a million in print sales in 2019. Today, Laura Miller at Slate had a much juicier story about Owens: her... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-30 15:00:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Agent Alert: Heather Carr of The Friederich Agency

Literary agent alerts (this one with Heather Carr of The Friederich Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list. The post Agent Alert: Heather Carr of The Friederich Agency by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first... Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-30 11:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Christian Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find Christian literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Christian Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-29 16:00:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The Best Short Stories about Christmas Everyone Should Read

The best Christmas stories This is a somewhat unseasonal post for us, appearing in July as it is. But we’ve recently turned our thoughts towards Christmas literature for a whole host of reasons, so thought we’d offer ten of the greatest short stories about Christmas. These are stories set around […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2019-07-27 14:00:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions

Literary agents are gatekeepers of the publishing industry. Find literary fiction literary agents open to submissions in this post. List will be updated regularly. The post Literary Fiction Literary Agents Open to Submissions by Robert Lee Brewer appeared first on Writer's Digest. Continue reading at Writer's Digest

[ Writer's Digest | 2019-07-26 11:00:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Center for Fiction Names 2019 First Novel Prize Longlist

The Center for Fiction announced its 2019 First Novel Prize Longlist yesterday. The award is given to the “best debut novel published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 of the award year,” and the prize-winning author receives $10,000. Here is the 2019 longlist (featuring many titles from our 2019 Book... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2019-07-25 17:22:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this