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THE UBUD Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF), which will be held from October 29 to November 2, 2025, will address the major challenges of our time under the main theme “Aham Brahmasmi – I Am the Universe.”
“We are highlighting writers, artists, thinkers, and performers from this great but still under-recognized country, in the hope that the world will one day appreciate their talents as we do,” said UWRF 2025 Founder and Festival Director Janet DeNeefe at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday (10/01), 2025.
Janet said that through this theme, everyone will be encouraged to accept the reality that humans are part of the universe. At the same time, humans are now required to maintain their unique creativity amidst the rapid development of technology and artificial intelligence (AI).
Therefore, the festival will be designed to foster relevant conversations, which will then lead to engaging programs, featuring leading writers, actors, journalists, poets, and thinkers from various parts of the world.
UWRF 2025 will feature more than 200 diverse and thought-provoking programs. Award-winning authors, renowned journalists, and political commentators will present in sessions designed to foster cross-border dialogue, inspire change, and strengthen the global literary community.
One of these will be the 2025 International Booker Prize winner, Indian author and women’s rights activist Banu Mushtaq, who won the award for her debut short story collection, “Heart Lamp,” along with her translator.
He mentioned that several renowned international figures will also be present, including Egyptian-Canadian novelist Omar El Akkad, Japanese journalist and #MeToo advocate Shiori Itō, and Lebanese-Australian journalist Antoinette Lattouf, along with leading historians David Van Reybrouck and William Dalrymple.
Other influential figures said to be attending the event include novelist and journalist Leila S. Chudori, one of Indonesia’s most prominent writers, along with the winner of the 2025 Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa, Sasti Gotama, and talented young writers such as Ray Shabir and Hamzah Muhammad.
The festival also awarded the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award to Indonesian poet and writer Taufiq Ismail for his outstanding contribution to Indonesian literature. Wawan Kurniawan and Udiarti are also two writers selected for this year’s Emerging Writers Program.
Author Ratih Kumala added that this year’s Emerging Writers works will also be published bilingually by Penguin Random House, enabling them to reach a global audience while maintaining their Indonesian values.
She will also discuss her latest novel, “Koloni,” a fable that analogizes the socio-political conditions of humanity through the power struggle of 200 ants in a colony. At the event, Ratih also served as a member of the Curatorial Board for the 2025 Emerging Writers Program. [antaranews]
