A Palestinian novel, Indonesian women’s stories and a new anthology of emerging writers gave the second day of Ubud Writers & Readers Festival’s main programme a shared focus: whose experiences reach readers, and how those stories travel.
On Friday, October 23, discussions extended across stages, classrooms, cafés and cultural spaces. Within the festival’s theme, “Samarasā: Awareness. Empathy. Action.”, the day connected international literary exchange with the practical work of writing, translating and finding an audience.
Personal Stories Opened Wider Conversations
The morning programme placed Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail alongside Rachel Clarke’s The Story of a Heart, offering different approaches to memory, loss and human connection. Later, Tari Lang’s My Neighbour, the Dictator brought Indonesia’s troubled history into the conversation through personal testimony.
These sessions formed part of the festival’s 23rd edition, running from October 21–25. Organisers announced more than 150 authors, thinkers, journalists and poets, with over 100 main-programme conversations and panels across the festival.
Interest in Shibli’s work had already been evident the previous day. Speaking to detikBali on October 22, London visitor Sadia Chaudry explained why hearing Palestinian perspectives directly was important to her.
“Adania is a Palestinian writer, and we need to hear directly from Palestinians,” she said.
Her response illustrated what an author encounter could add to reading: the opportunity to connect a published work with the person and experiences behind it. Friday’s dedicated Minor Detail session placed that relationship at the centre of the programme.
Women’s Writing Crossed Languages and Borders
Women’s experiences formed a strong thread through Friday’s discussions. “Women Who Write Women” featured voices including South African-Australian author Sisonke Msimang and Balinese writer Oka Rusmini. “The Domestic is Political” examined the relationship between private life and wider structures of power, while “Translating Women is Translating Change” included translator and novelist Tiffany Tsao.
Read together, these sessions raised connected questions about representation. Who decides which experiences deserve publication? What happens when those experiences move into another language? How can translation preserve the social context behind a character’s words?
The invitation-only masterclass “Seni, Politis, dan Konteks Penerjemahan,” led by Dhianita Kusuma Pertiwi, addressed those challenges through the craft of translation. Its focus included idioms, local conventions and the political choices involved in selecting equivalents.
The programme also included “Translating to the Mother Tongue,” widening the discussion beyond the familiar ambition of taking Indonesian books into English. Literary exchange also involved bringing stories into languages that readers used at home.
Ten Emerging Writers Shared Stories from the Islands
One of Friday’s clearest investments in Indonesian literature was the programme’s launch of Stories from the Islands, the 2026 festival anthology. It brought together ten Indonesian writers selected through the Emerging Writers Programme.
The collection explored inheritance and change through stories of family, myth, love and belonging. Its significance lay partly in the range of places represented. The selected writers included Ajen Angelina from Ruteng, Arianto Adipurwanto from Lombok, Carisya Nuramadea from Bogor, Dhias Nauvaly from Yogyakarta and Galuh Ginanti from Denpasar. Their participation connected the international gathering with literary work developing across Indonesia.
Ahead of the festival, emerging writer Nityasa Wijaya described the value of joining this community.
“For me, UWRF is not just a space to introduce my work,” she said, in remarks published by Balihbalihan on October 8.
She also emphasised the opportunity to meet other writers, build relationships and discuss work across generations. Having her story Perempuan Buah Langit included in a bilingual anthology, she explained, offered a wider audience for its perspective on women’s lives within a patriarchal society.
Friday’s publishing masterclass complemented that ambition. Representatives of the literary magazine Wasafiri, Cassie Lawrence and Vamika Sinha, offered guidance on preparing submissions, understanding editorial expectations and approaching international publication.
Environmental Stories Began with People and Place
Environmental concerns appeared throughout the day, connecting writing with the protection of land, livelihoods and memory.
At Threads of Life Gallery, the book-launch programme for Our Weapon Is the Traditional Ritual featured Siti Maimunah, Aleta Baun and Olin Monteiro. The book centred five marginalised women confronting environmental destruction and the loss of community spaces, examining how ritual and inherited knowledge supported their resistance.
Aleta Baun also appeared in the Festival Club programme with writer Cyntha Hariadi for “Holding Ground: Women and Environmental Resistance.” The session connected the defence of land with storytelling: preserving community memory and questioning accounts of development that overlooked local costs.
For participants seeking to write about such issues, Adam Bobbette’s “Writing about the Environment” masterclass offered a practical counterpart. Its focus on research and nonfiction connected environmental concern with the skills needed to communicate it clearly.
Bali itself remained part of this learning. A visit to Sebatu introduced village stories and woodcarving, while a Balinese-language breakfast and a natural-dye workshop offered encounters with local knowledge beyond the discussion stage.
New Readers, New Forms and an Evening of Poetry
The programme reached younger audiences through storytelling at SD Negeri 1 Ubud and a children’s writing session at SD Negeri 1 Melinggih Kelod. These activities placed literary participation within local schools, alongside the festival’s international conversations.
At Bar Luna, “Reading Between Feeds and Reels” examined how BookTok, Instagram and short videos influenced reading choices. Another session, “Childhood Magic: Tales with Djokolelono,” looked back at the stories that shaped young readers, linking established children’s literature with changing habits of discovery.
As evening approached, the programme moved towards performance. The Festival Poetry Slam offered a meeting of local and international voices, while Love Composes, a video-poetry work by Yeng Chheangly, explored memory and rebuilding after war and political upheaval.
Friday’s programme gave literary exchange several forms: a translated story, a school workshop, an environmental testimony and a poem spoken aloud. Across them, Ubud offered writers and readers opportunities to carry unfamiliar experiences into their own understanding of the world.
