The 23rd Ubud Writers & Readers Festival runs in Ubud from 21 to 25 October. More than 150 writers, journalists, artists and poets from Indonesia and abroad will meet audiences at talks, panels and book launches.
The festival opens on the evening of 21 October with a gala dinner at Ubud Palace. The main programme runs from 22 to 25 October at Taman Baca on Sanggingan Road (Jl. Raya Sanggingan), where the stages, book stalls and box office are located. The schedule also includes workshops, film screenings, theatre and poetry readings.
This year's theme is “Samarasā: Awareness. Empathy. Action.” The word samarasā comes from Sanskrit and means balance and harmony. The organisers invite people to understand the world more clearly, respond to the experiences of others and turn understanding into action.
Guests include Booker Prize winner Kiran Desai, Booker finalist Katie Kitamura, Malaysian writer Tash Aw and Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto. Indonesian participants include writer Dee Lestari and poet Goenawan Mohamad.
This year the organisers are focusing on women's voices and young Balinese writers. Nityasa Wijaya, who grew up on the island, was selected for the emerging writers programme: her piece “Perempuan Buah Langit”, about a woman's perspective in a patriarchal society, has been included in the festival's bilingual anthology. Well-known Balinese writers Oka Rusmini, Tan Lioe Ie and Kadek Sonia Piscayanti will also appear.
Festival founder Janet DeNeefe has said it was conceived after the 2002 Bali bombings to help people recover.
Passes for the main programme are sold on the festival website. A day pass costs IDR 2.4 million for foreigners, IDR 1.4 million for KITAS and KITAP holders and IDR 600 thousand for Indonesian citizens. Indonesian school students get in free. Passes are collected at the Taman Baca box office on presentation of ID and proof of purchase.
Part of the programme is open without a pass: book launches, performances and exhibitions take place in cafés and galleries around Ubud, and some events only require registration on the website.
Until 26 October, the “Samarasā” exhibition is on at Indus restaurant on the same road, with free entry. A free shuttle runs roughly every half hour from 8:00 to 19:00 between the Puri Lukisan Museum (Museum Puri Lukisan) and the venues.
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