Bali’s Ubud begins 20th writers’ festival aimed at drawing 15,000 people

UBUD, Bali – Bali’s cultural capital Ubud on Wednesday night welcomed more than 200 authors, journalists and activists to its annual Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, continuing a struggle against the erasure of Indonesian literature on the world stage and seeking to reverse the falling number of Indonesian readers.

The opening gala was attended by representatives of the Indonesian government and the Australian and United States’ diplomatic corps, who praised the festival for promoting “literacy, the freedom of expression and diversity”.

Hundreds crowded into the intimate forecourt of the historic Ubud Palace, which formed the backdrop for recitals, traditional dance performances and speeches.

In the spirit of Bali, published authors including Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka, who authored The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida (2020), rubbed shoulders with activists the likes of Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva and Cuban-American political artist Edel Rodriguez.

From Singapore, Khir Johari, who has won plaudits for The Food Of Singapore Malays (2021), and writer Daryl Yam have been invited, ahead of the country’s own writers’ festival in November.

From Thursday to Sunday, Ubud organisers are hoping to attract about 15,000 people – half of whom are non-Indonesians expected to have planned their itineraries to coincide with the event.

In its 20th year, 2023’s festival counts among its key speakers Booker Prize winners Bernardine Evaristo – author of Girl, Woman, Other (2019) – and Karunatilaka.

Indonesian writer and Man Booker Prize nominee Eka Kurniawan, who wrote Beauty Is A Wound (2002), Irish author Megan Nolan and Chinese satirist Yan Lianke will also participate in talks that range from exploring tragedy through words to artificial intelligence to creative practice.

The theme, inspired by Balinese non-linear time, is Atita, Wartamana, Anagata: Past, Present, Future.

After Sunday, a series of subsidiary programmes will continue in Jambi, Maumere and Mataram in Indonesia. It is the organisers’ hope that these would in time develop into their own writers’ festivals that could create an Indonesian circuit and allow them to share the cost of flying in more expensive speakers.

Festival director Janet DeNeefe, who founded the festival in 2004, said it has come a long way since it was created to coax tourists back to Bali after the 2002 bombings.

Ms DeNeefe was born in Melbourne but moved to Bali after she fell in love with then-art gallerist Ketut Suardana, and the crowd had a strong Australian flavour.

She said: “We are extremely grateful that we can still present this event to literary, arts and current affairs enthusiasts from around the world.

“Some people have said that this is a human rights festival masquerading as a writers’ festival, but that is my passion. The bombings were the conditions in which we were created, so we do tend to choose writers who are fighting for something.”

Her daughter is Laksmi DeNeefe Suardana, who was the first representative from Bali to be crowned Puteri Indonesia, or Princess of Indonesia, in the national beauty pageant.

Ms Suardana has been appointed the festival ambassador to give the literary event some shine, and many abashedly trotted up to her for photos.

The 27-year-old said: “Indonesia’s literacy rate is 98 per cent, but the number of people who read is so low. More people can read yet fewer are reading.”

She added that the programme’s inclusion of issues such as climate change and activism should resonate with younger Indonesians, noting that as a country with more than 700 languages, the translation of the peculiarities of smaller languages into Bahasa Indonesia for a greater critical mass can sometimes be difficult.

The festival space that has been set up includes a bookstore and areas for film screenings, book launches and art exhibitions.

Ms DeNeefe on Wednesday also presented the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award to senior Balinese author and playwright Putu Wijaya who, at age 79, is considered one of Indonesia’s most prominent and prolific literary figures.