Best-selling authors Dewi Lestari, Intan Paramaditha and Leila S Chudori are among a group of 12 published Indonesian writers who have been invited to attend The London Book Fair in March.
Laksmi Pamuntjak, Nirwan Dewanto, Agustinus Wibowo, Clara Ng, Seno Gumira Ajidarma, Faisal Oddang, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, Reda Gaudiamo and Sheila Rooswitha Putri will accompany them, the British Council reported.
“Indonesian literature deserves to have the widest of international audiences and I am delighted that in this group of authors we have exciting representatives of the rich strands of writing in Indonesia today across generations and genres,” said the council’s Literature Director, Cortina Butler.
“I hope that publishers, translators, writers and anyone with an interest in the culture of the largest country in South East Asia will take advantage of the chance to engage with these exceptional writers.”
Indonesia will be the first Southeast Asian country to feature as the Market Focus of the fair, which attracts buyers and distributors from across the globe in the print, audio, TV, film and digital fields.
Laura Bangun Prinsloo, chief executive of the Indonesian National Organising Committee, said the fair would be a platform for promoting written works from her country, and she hoped it would lead to more Indonesian books being translated overseas.
“This journey is one that began several years ago and has thus far resulted in the sale of more than 1,000 Indonesian titles to foreign publishers,” she said. “The Cultural Program brings together talented voices from across our 17,000 islands, offering the opportunity to share with the UK the diverse stories that make up the fabric of Indonesia’s literary imagination.”
The London Book Fair will be held on March 12-14.
Indonesia was also the guest of honor at the 2015 Frankfurt Book Fair.