Stories by the two writers were published in Cerita Saat Jeda: Kumpulan Rasa Saat Pandemi Menjemput (Stories During the Pause: A Collection of Feelings at Time of Pandemic).

They were among the 27 writers and participants of renowned author Dewi “Dee” Lestari’s online kaizen writing workshop who got their stories published in the anthology.

“We know that Shakespeare wrote many of his works during the Black Death pandemic. Perhaps during that time he felt crazed because he could not go anywhere because he self-quarantined, and [we see the same thing happening] in the modern age,” said Dee, who took to Instagram to launch the book she curated.

The book came about after Dee shared her kaizen method of writing via online webinars and workshops. Derived from Japanese, the term translates to “small steps”, a mantra that has become the core of Dee’s writing process.

Drawing from Dee’s wealth of knowledge, her students, whom she has branded as semut merah (red ants), came together to submit their works in the hopes of being published with the project.

Out of around 800 submissions, and two and a half months of writing, editing and printing, 27 fictional and non-fictional stories were compiled in the book.

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