According to Antara news agency, the selected writers are Abdul Azis Rasjid from Banyumas, Ade Ubaidil from Cilegon, A. Nabil Wibisana from Kupang, Aksan Taqwin Embe from Tangerang, Bayu Pratama from Mataram, Erich Langobelen from Maumere, Ibe S. Palogai from Makassar, Mohammad Isa Gautama from Padang, Morika Tetelapta from Ambon, M. Subhan from Padang, Naimatur Rofiqoh from Ponorogo, Rahmat Hidayat Mustamin from Makassar, Rizki Amir from Sidoarjo, Taufiqurrahman from Yogyakarta, and Seruni Unie from Surakarta.

The event’s national program manager, I Wayan Juniarta, said the writers would fly to Ubud to participate in literary discussions with international writers. “Aside from that, the selected works will be translated into English and published in the Anthology 2017 book,” he added.

There were reportedly 913 submissions for this year’s UWRF. They consisted of short stories, poems, novels, essays, non-fiction pieces, dramatic scripts and more. Interestingly, most of the submitted works were poems (377), followed by short stories (278).

Read also: ASEAN Literary Festival to bring influential writers to Jakarta

The emerging writers, who are students, journalists, laborers and fishermen, among other things, were selected by a panel of curators that included senior journalist Seno Gumira Ajidarma, writer Leila S. Chudori and poet Warih Wisatsana.

“'Emerging' is the term used by UWRF for Indonesian writers with quality works that haven't yet been properly published,” Juniarta explained.

Seno said the event received many submissions about metaliterature this year, with themes that questioned literature and language. “This is very interesting because that means young Indonesian writers have started to explore from a more intellectual point of view."

Meanwhile, Warih said the writers' various backgrounds contributed to the creation of interesting works. “The selected works use daily life themes and that is how true literature works. Of course, it's very interesting to read works about life in a quite secluded area."

It was also revealed that six of this year's selected writers come from the eastern part of Indonesia. (mas/kes)

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