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Jakarta Arts Council names winners of novel-writing contest
Three winners have been chosen out of a shortlisted 20 works selected from 271 pieces of Indonesian literature submitted to the Jakarta Arts Council.
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The winners of the DKJ Novel Writing Contest 2018, Felix K. Nesi (left to right), Ahmad Mustafa and Mochammad Nasrullah, present their cash prizes at the award ceremony held at Teater Kecil of the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) cultural center in Central Jakarta on Tuesday. (Jakarta Arts Council/File)
T
he Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) has announced the winners of Sayembara Novel DKJ (DKJ Novel Writing Contest) 2018, which was held on Tuesday at Teater Kecil of the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) cultural center in Central Jakarta.
Felix K. Nesi, author of Orang-Orang Oetimu (Oetimu People), was named the winner and received a cash prize of Rp 20 million ($1389). Ahmad Mustafa, who penned Anak Gembala yang Tertidur Panjang di Akhir Zaman (The Shepherd who Oversleeps an Era), was named the runner-up and granted Rp 15 million ($1042), while the writer of Balada Supri (The Ballad of Supri), Mochammad Nasrullah, came third and brought home a prize of Rp 10 million ($695).
Authors A. S. Laksana, Nukila Amal and Martin Suryajaya acted as this year’s judges. They also listed five works that were considered deserving to be published, including Pemetik Bintang (Star Picker) by Venerdi Handoyo, Tiga dalam Kayu (Three in the Wood) by Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie and Nyi Manganti by Dadan Sutisna.
Read also: Jakarta Arts Council and Jakarta Academy to be restructured
Submissions were accepted from March to July, and the committee received 271 titles, though only 245 of them passed the administration criteria. They came from different provinces of Indonesia, including Jakarta, Jambi, South Kalimantan, Aceh, West Sumatra, North Maluku, South Sulawesi, Lampung and East Nusa Tenggara.
Yusi Avianto Pareanom, head of the DKJ’s literary committee, said the number of submissions this year had decreased from the 2016 contest, when 343 works had been submitted. “But all of the judges agreed that their selected 20 titles were promising,” said Yusi in a statement. “We hope these pieces can be the standard of quality writing in Indonesia; therefore, this competition will be more than just an annual tradition.”
The DKJ Novel Writing Contest has been held since 1974. Celebrated Indonesian writers who won the competition include Arswendo Atmowiloto, Ayu Utami, Ratih Kumala and Ahmad Tohari. (wir/wng)
