In 1900, Ubud became a Dutch protectorate at its own request, and the colonialists interfered little, allowing the traditional arts and culture of the area to remain relatively unchanged. The modern era of Ubud perhaps began in the 1930s, when foreign artists were encouraged by the royal family to take up presence in the town.

From their Ubud base, the likes of Walter Spies and Rudolph Bonnet were instrumental in promoting an understanding of Balinese art and culture worldwide. From the 1960s onwards, travellers started to arrive in earnest, mostly intrepid types as the infrastructure was still very limited indeed. Since then, Ubud has developed rapidly into a high profile, top class international destination, whilst still maintaining its integrity as the centre of Balinese art and culture.

In 2014 the UWRF will honor Saraswati, the Hindu patron goddess of learning, with the theme 'Wisdom & Knowledge'.Leading writers, thinkers, artists and performers from across Indonesia and all corners of the globe will come together over five full days of events to celebrate knowledge and the arts, education, wisdom and science.

An innovative program of arts and music, panel discussions, workshops, literary lunches and dinners, book launches and much more will be revealed in mid-2014.Ubud Writers & Readers Festival officially announced the names of the 15 emerging Indonesian writers who will be invited and sponsored to appear in the Festival on October 1-5, 2014 in Ubud, Bali.

The mission of Ubud Writers & Readers Festival is to create a world class festival that celebrates extraordinary stories and amplifies brave voices; tackles global issues and big ideas.

This poster design for 2014 features the illustration of local artist Gusti Nyoman Sudara.In Balinese visual art, Saraswati is depicted as a beautiful, four-armed lady standing on a giant lotus and accompanied by a white swam (wisdom) and a peacock (beauty). Her hands carry four objects that symbolise the specific qualities of science, education and the arts: Lontar manuscript (enlightening and liberating), lute (captivating/mesmerising), lotus (purifying and transforming), and prayer beads (infinite and spiritual truth).

The 15 writers were selected from a staggering 529 applicants who submitted their work to the committee, from 125 cities in 27 provinces."I am delighted to see the results of this curatorial meeting, which has shown the huge potential of the emerging writers within the Indonesian archipelago," Festival Founder/Director, Janet DeNeefe

The names of the 15 writers are: Raisa (Yogyakarta), Absurditas Malka (Bandung), Bambang Kariyawan Ys (Pekanbaru), Bunyamin Fasya (Bandung), Dias Novita Wuri (Tangerang), Erni Aladjai (Makassar), Fadel Ilahi El-Dimisky (Probolinggo), Faisal Oddang (Makassar), Ishack Sonlay (Kupang), Maggie Tiojakin (Jakarta), Ninda Daianti (Jakarta), Regi Sastra Sena (Sukabumi), Rio Fitra SY (Padang), S Metron Masdison (Padang) and Sulfiza Ariska (Yogyakarta).

These writers were selected by the UWRF 2014 Curatorial Board, who convened early this week in Ubud, Bali. The UWRF 2014 Curatorial Board consisted of: Ahmad Fuadi, the bestselling Indonesian author of Negeri 5 Menara which has been translated into English as Land of Five Towers and made into a feature film; Debra Yatim, prominent poet and human rights activist; and Ketut Yuliarsa, poet, musician and scriptwriter who resides between Ubud and Australia.

Ahmad Fuadi explained that he was pleasantly surprised the first time he read all the works submitted. "There were so many great pieces from writers who came not from the Indonesian literary 'centre,' but from the 'periphery'. These works were presented using very strong voices, which competed really well with the submissions from the 'centre,'" said Fuadi.

Debra Yatim was of the opinion that this selection process had proved wrong the assumption that Indonesia was not a 'reader society.' "Every year the UWRF Indonesian writers' callout has received hundreds of submissions. These writers must come from an active reader society."
Ketut Yuliarsa gave high praise these emerging writers for combining the rich local tradition with clear and attractive writing styles. "We feel that these 15 selected writers have big potential to continually grow."

The selected writers will be invited and sponsored to appear in the Festival, which will also be attended by approximately 100 international writers from 20 countries.The selected writers' works will also be translated into English and published in the bilingual anthology Festival book.
Since 2008, UWRF has published six bilingual anthologies.

The entire curatorial process and Indonesian writers' participation is sponsored by UWRF and HIVOS, the Dutch international development organisation. "To ensure the transparency and objectivity of the curatorial process, UWRF places its trust in the Curatorial Board, which is formed by writers and academics of outstanding integrity. Also, the Curatorial Board is made up of different members every year," noted Festival General Manager, Kadek Purnami.

Ticketing Info:
Early Bird tickets to the 2014 Ubud Writers & Readers Festival will be available from July 1, 2014