When the British comic researcher Paul Gravett was preparing for the publication of the book titled 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die in 2010, he opened up the opportunity for recommendations on Indonesian comics for inclusion in the book for introduction to the global public.  

I recommended to Paul that, at the very least, the following three titles should be included: Wayang Purwa(1956) by Ardisoma; Dewi Krakatau by Zam Nuldyn, and the Shandora trilogy by Teguh Santosa. In my opinion, these three comics would provide a minimally basic introduction of Indonesian comics to the global comic scene.  However, Paul then asked a question: Have all of these been translated into foreign languages – best if into English, or one of the European languages?

Unfortunately, only one of the comics – and that only excerpts – had been translated into French and English. A French publishers, Trismégiste, had translated an episode of Wayang Purwa titled Manikmayainto French and English in 1982. So, the only comic included in Paul Gravett’s book list was Wayang Purwa.

This is just a glimpse of the difficult position of Indonesian comics within the world history of comics. Up to now, very little about the history of Indonesian comics has been included in a global map of the world of comics. Certainly, some Indonesian comics have drawn a bit of attention, and international awards, in Japanese comics forums. Indonesian artists have also contributed to the drawing and coloring of comics published by DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

In general, however, comic book readers around the globe remain blind to the unique and rich character of Indonesian comics. We could simply draw the conclusion that this is due to the integral elements of Indonesian comics that make it difficult – in terms of quality – for them to compete with the comics from other countries available.  

Is that true? This assumption is problematic because it is based on the perception that there is a universal standard of quality. In fact, the long tradition, sheer volume and rich variety of Indonesian comics counters the assumption that none of the comics produced in Indonesia could compete internationally.

The Tradition of ‘Graphic Novels’ before the Term Existed

One of the indicators I would like to cite concerning this issue is the achievements made by Indonesian comics within the context of the term “graphic novel”, which has long been debated from both aesthetic and academic standpoints. This term was made popular by Will Eisner, who printed it on the cover of his book titled A Contract With God in 1978. Eisner actively promoted the term “graphic novel” as a descriptive for a new format for comics in America.  

Eisner took the stance that the term “graphic novel” referred to comics that dealt with adult problems in an adult manner as an aspiration toward definition as literature ("novel") sand visual art ("graphic art"). This stance was widely criticized. As pointed out by R.C. Harvey, the term “graphic novel” had been used since 1964 by Richard Kyle. Harvey is an American cartoon and comic historian, who preferred the understanding of a graphic novel as being a “long form of comic book”.

Within Harvey’s understanding, every comic book that is more than 32 pages long, and ranging up to 48, or 64 pages and more, could be defined as a graphic novel. Within this context, Indonesia is rich with graphic novels. This was true in Indonesia, with its long comic stories, before 1978 (or even 1964). For example, in 1955, R. A. Kosasih began publishing his Mahabharata comic book series, which was based on the legends of wayang (traditional leather puppetry).

In all, Kosasih published 40 issues of Mahabharata, each having more than 42 pages. Kosasih, who was the first to bring the Mahabharata into the realm of visual storytelling like comics, researched the legends, wrote the text and did the drawing and coloring himself.  At the peak of Mahabharata’s success, Kosasih was printing 30,000 copies per issue, with distribution reaching from Medan in North Sumatra to the eastern reaches of eastern Indonesia.

Kosasih worked prolifically into the 1980s, when his hands began to shake so much from old age that he had to give up making comics. His works crossed genre boundaries to encompass wayang, romance, jungle adventure, superhero, and martial arts comics. His prolific creativity and the popularity of his comic books that boasted long and continuing stories contributed strongly to the growth of the Indonesian comic industry from the 1950s into the 1980s.

The wayang comics are a genre unique to Indonesia. Basically, these comics feature stories adapted from a hybrid mythology originating in the Hindu traditions of India and the ancient legends of Java. Kosasih chose a syncretic approach, which introduced Islamic values into this hybrid mythology.  

One of the core characteristics of the wayang comic genre is the tendency to tell long stories. For example, the Wayang Purwa series by Ardisoma, which is considered an Indonesian masterpiece, was printed in 22 issues, each of which was more than 42 pages in length. This tendency toward telling long stories remained a model for comic books in Indonesia into the 1980s.  

Another genre requiring lengthy storytelling is the silat martial arts genre, which is characteristically Indonesian in nature. Initially, the motivation for such storytelling in comics in Indonesia may have been inspired by classic samurai films or wu xia classic kung fu stories written by Chinese authors, or the stories of the local writer Asmaraman Kho Ping Hoo. However, the mythology underlying the production of Indonesia’s martial arts comic sagas has its roots deeply embedded in the traditions of silat, a type of martial arts known throughout the Indonesian archipelago, and currently more popular than ever in Indonesia, as well as abroad, thanks to the movies The Raid 1 and The Raid 2 created by Gareth Evans.

The stars of this genre, whose texts and drawings have come to define it, are Ganes TH., Djair, Hans Jaladara, Man, Jan Mintaraga, and Teguh Santosa.

Ganes TH, inspired by the Zatto Ichi films about a blind Japanese samurai, created Si Buta Dari Gua Hantu(1967). This series colored and written entirely by Ganes TH reached 21 issues.  The Si Buta episodes titledManusia Srigala dari Gunung Tambora encompassed 672 pages. While the Prahara di Donggala episodes reached 633 pages. As many as 11 issues of this series contained 400 pages.  

Another example is Djair, who created a deep and vast story landscape in the Jaka Sembung serial, which spinoff such as the serial of Si Tolol dan Bajing Ireng. The main character, Jaka Sembung, became famous worldwide with the international release of a film based on the comic, which attracted the attention in the Program Market of the Cannes Film Festival in1981. The Jaka Sembung film now holds cult status in various countries across the world thanks to the distribution of DVDs by Mondo Macabro.

There is also Teguh Santosa, who is particularly important to mention in the context of Indonesian graphic novels because he printed the term, “novel bergambar” or “novel with pictures” on the cover of his comic titled Mat Romeo in 1971–earlier than Will Eisner. Mat Romeo is part of the Sandhora Trilogy, a historical romance, which is often classified as a martial arts comic as well. The first book of the trilogy, Sandhor, appeared in 1970 and contained 596 pages. The second, Mat Romeo, contained 448 pages. While the third installment, Mencari Mayat Mat Pelor appeared in 1975 and contained 640 pages.  

Actually, before Teguh, Medan’s legendary comic artist, Taguan Hardjo, already used the term “nopel bergambar” or “novel with pictures”. He used it on the cover of Morina, his work that was first published in 1962 according to a prominent Indonesian comics collector and journalist, Henry Ismono.

All of the works mentioned here are impressive not only in their length, but also because they successfully conveyed complex narratives. The characters were not shallow, but were adequately layered. As well, a number of the wayang and some of the martial arts comics attempted to convey life values. Most notably, these Indonesian graphic novels were targeted at an adult readership.  

Indie Comics as a Global Alternative

Since the 1950s, the comic industry has loomed fairly large in terms of the overall publishing sector in Indonesia. In the 1980s, however, the number of graphic novels being published decreased.

Yet, the local comic market remained viable as religious and educational comics thrived, along with a local version of Japan’s teen girl genre Shoujo Manga. At one point translations of the shoujo and shonen (for teen boys) manga from Japan dominated the Indonesian comic market.  

In the 1990s, another marketing alternative emerged that was quite unexpected. Channels into the international market began opening up to the independent Indonesian comics being produced in Yogyakarta, Bandung and Jakarta. These independent or Indie comics were highly individual, and driven by the Punk spirit of DIY (Do it Yourself) that took the form of the distribution of photocopied issues.  

Another characteristic of this new generation of Indonesian comics was their production and distribution, which was driven by the activism prevalent in the various graphic art communities. The indie network has been active since the 1990s and continues to lend its unique dynamics to the Indonesian comic scene as it expands its reach continuously into cities like Surabaya, Malang, Bogor, and Denpasar.

At the beginning of the 2000s, this network started making its mark through festivals, exhibitions and discussions about comics. In this current second decade of the 2000s, this network is evolving in various directions, perhaps mostly notably the circulation of digital comics.  

A number of Indonesian comic artists, born from the fertile womb of Indie art, have become active in international forums. For example, Sapto Raharjo, or Athonk, published his Bad Time Story I comic in photocopy form at his own expense in Jogyakarta in 1994. Athonk claims that this work was the first underground comic to appear in Indonesia. He made this comic in the English language and sold and distributed it to Punk shops that he was acquainted with in Australia and America.

A second installment of Bad Time Story has also been published and distributed, and there are plans for a third, making the series a trilogy. The Bad Time Story series is decidedly subversive, touching on the taboo subjects of devils and angels, with the protagonists on the side of Satan. Athonk, whose educational background is in the Indonesian Art Institute in Jogyakarta, which has produced a number of other alternative comic artists, also has created one character, Old Skull, in his own likeness to function as a commenter on social issues.  

Another of these comic artists is Eko Nugroho, who is widely recognized as a young and emerging Indonesian visual artist in the international art scene. Eko is perceived as one of the Power 100 most influential contemporary artists in the world.  One of the most important aspects of Eko’s art activities is his serious involvement in the world of comics in Indonesia since the 1990s.  

Initially, Eko published a series of small-scale comics called The Konyol, which were based on his daily life.  Concurrently, he was also creating experimental works like "Bukan Komik", The WC (1997), Komik Korek, and 43,1% 5-0,7 X ½ (1998). However, his most important achievement was the establishment of the photocopy collective that produced the comic anthology known as Daging Tumbuh (DGTMB). The first volume of this anthology was published in June 2000.

The DGTMB collective and the anthology constitute the strongest representation of the DIY indie spirit in Indonesia; encompassing the democratization of art by making it possible for anyone to create art and publish or distribute it without curation. The content was photocopied, but there was always a lot of tinkering and experimentation with materials for the covers. There was also spinoff merchandise that circulated the lighthearted energy, spirit and artistic skills of the DIY community and ISI students and alumni. In terms of content, it is clear that the DGTMB has influenced a lot of comics and experimental graphic novels in the indie scene since 2000.

One of the ISI graduates to become important in Indonesia’s comic circles during this period is Beng Rahadian. He was the first artist to label his work as a graphic novel, when he published Selamat Pagi, Urbaz. Initially this comic was photocopied. However, in 2004, the small-scale publisher Terrant, intent on creating a market for graphic novels, published his work in proper comic book/graphic novel format. The publisher’s efforts failed, but Beng has made a name as one of the best and most consistent comic artists in Indonesia.

Beng, who has placed his full confidence in the comic community and disciplined study of comics, is even better known for his activism, which led him to establish Samali Academy in 2005. He has traveled extensively throughout Indonesia as an art activist, and has been invited to visit Myanmar, Angouleme, and Leipzig in 2015. Wherever he goes, he expands his comic work network.

The Indonesian Indie comic community has a decidedly “out-of-the-box” character. A prime example of this is Tita Larasati, who had lived in Holland for some time. She developed her graphic arts skills to send visual messages and stories about her doings to her family in Indonesia. Some of these graphics were then published as Curhat Tita (2008). Tita could be said to represent a wave of female comic artists who have opted for a unique alternative channel for their graphic art through a new genre in Indonesian comics known as the graphic diary.  

Tita writes most of her comics in English and generally publishes them on her blog. Eddie Campbell (From Hell, the Bacchus series) praises Tita’s comics as "charming" and "engaging". At this time, Tita is one of the best-known Indonesian comic artists in Europe.

Besides Tita, quite a few other Indonesian comic artists have garnered success abroad in the 200s, especially in the United States. Some have found work as illustrators for major comic publishers, such as DC Comics and Marvel Comics. The digital artists’ community that has evolved from the physical gatherings and cyber-based groups forming at the beginning of the 2000s, has become a catalyst for the development and emergence of young sketch and coloring art professionals in Indonesia.  For example: Apriyadi Kusbiantoro (Superman: Doomed), Ario Anindito (Wolverines), Ariela Kristantina (Deep State), Ardian Syaf (Superman: Earth 2), and the comic artists of Studio Stellar under the direction of Sunny Gho.

Social media entities, such as Deviant Art and Facebook, have become galleries for talent seekers and international comics companies, as well as forums for developing reader bases for new generation comic artists. However, these newer artists are still in the illustrator stage of development. The opportunity for the emergence of more Indonesian comics and graphic novels onto the international comic scene is definitely there, and will be well into the future.

Hikmat Darmawan is a Critics, Culture Analyst, Asian Public Intellectual Nippon Foundation 2010 and Creative Director of Pabrikultur which concerns on media and cultural activities.

Hikmat Darmawan (Bandung, West Java, May 22, 1970) has been active in many cultural communities since 2000, co-founding the Musyawarah Burung community to accommodate a common passion for cultural and art activities. From virtual discussions, the  Musyawarah Burung community developed concrete projects such as piano recitals, poetry readings and cultural orations. He also co-founded Akademi Samali in 2005. It is a comic community dedicated to exploring possibilities for Indonesian comic artistic and industrial development.

Aside from this, Hikmat actively engages in public discussions. He has given workshops on nonfiction writings, journalism and between 2003-2004 gave a series of special comic workshops on conflict resolution in Poso (Sulawesi), Jakarta and Madura, a program supported by Common Ground Indonesia. 

In 2006-2007, he was program manager for MP Book Point, a bookstore in Jakarta catering to a wide range of interests. There, he developed partnerships to hold public activities on literature, movies, comics, social movements and art. In 2007 he cofounded www.rumahfilm.org, a platform for Indonesian movie critics to explore Indonesian cinema within its socio-cultural context. 

He returned to print media as editor of Madina Magazine in 2008-2009 and in 2010 was selected for the Asian Public Intellectuals Fellowship Program from the Nippon Foundation. During this period, he conducted research in Japan and Thailand about the globalization of manga subculture. Since 2012, he has resumed activities with Akademi Samali and ID Kreatif, besides acting as consultant on comics, books and film programs for the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.     

His current project Pabrikultur (pabrikultur.com) is a brand journalism provider, which also offers programming of cultural events. His latest book is Komik Gebrak! Esai-Esai Komik: Narasi dan Eksistensi (2015).

Ratih Kumala was born in Jakarta, in 1980 and studied in Sebelas Maret University of Surakarta-Indonesia, majoring in English Literature. She is the author of six fictions; Tabula Rasa (novel), Genesis (novel), Larutan Senja (collected fiction), Kronik Betawi (novel), Gadis Kretek (novel), and Bastian dan Jamur Ajaib (collected fiction).

Not only books, she also writes screenplay for TV drama and wide screen movies. Gadis Kretek is now published in English –Cigarette Girl (GPU, Indonesia), and in German –Das Zigarettenmadchen (culturbooks publishing, German). Now she lives in Jakarta with his husband, Eka Kurniawan, who is also a writer, and their daughter Kidung Kinanti Kurniawan.

Pada 17 Mei 2016 ini kita kembali memperingati Hari Buku Nasional. Pada zaman Bung Karno berkuasa, Hari Buku Nasional diperingati setiap 21 Mei, berbarengan dengan ulang tahun Persatuan Toko Buku Indonesia (PTBI). Namun, sejak 17 Mei 1980, rezim Soeharto menetapkan 17 Mei sebagai Hari Buku Nasional yang baru, bertepatan dengan peresmian gedung Perpustakaan Nasional di Jakarta oleh Nyonya Tien Soeharto. Tanggal itu juga berbarengan dengan ulang tahun Ikatan Penerbit Indonesia (Ikapi).

Sejak Soeharto dijatuhkan pada 21 Mei 1998 (tepat pada Hari Buku Nasional versi sebelumnya), suara-suara yang berbeda dari suara dominan penguasa mulai terdengar terkait penetapan Hari Buku Nasional. Namun, terlepas dari kontroversi yang akar sejarahnya amat panjang itu, kini faktanya kita masih memperingati Hari Buku Nasional setiap 17 Mei.

Setelah 70 tahun kita merdeka, bagaimanakah situasi perbukuan nasional kita?

Secara umum, harus diakui kita masih ketinggalan dari banyak bangsa lain. Dari sisi produktivitas menerbitkan buku, angka 30.000 judul setahun jelas sangat kecil bila dibandingkan dengan jumlah penduduk kita yang 240 juta jiwa. Bandingkan dengan tetangga kita Malaysia yang penduduknya jauh lebih sedikit dari kita, tapi produksi bukunya kurang lebih sama dengan kita.

Menurut data Biro Pusat Statistik pada 2010, persentase penduduk Indonesia di atas usia 15 tahun yang melek huruf relatif tinggi, yakni 96,07%. Namun, minat baca kita rendah sekali. Data UNESCO 2012 menunjukkan angka minat baca di Indonesia adalah 0,001. Artinya hanya ada 1 dari 1.000 pendduuk Indonesia yang memiliki minat baca serius. Jika jumlah pendduk kita 240 juta jiwa, hanya 240.000 orang yang memiliki minat baca serius. Angka tersebut jauh dari angka kelas menengah Indonesia yang diperkirakan mencapai 150 juta orang.

Begitu pula dengan jumlah penjualan buku nasional dalam setahun yang angkanya hanya sekitar 33 juta eksemplar setahun. Artinya, bisa digambarkan secara kasar bahwa dalam setahun hanya ada satu dari tujuh orang Indonesia yang membeli buku. Itu pun hanya satu eksemplar!

Namun, harapan harus terus dipelihara dan kerja yang belum selesai wajib dilanjutkan. Terlepas dari berbagai hambatan yang mengadang, termasuk bayang-bayang kelabu pemberangusan buku yang masih saja berkelebat hari-hari ini, bagaimanapun sudah banyak perbaikan yang terjadi.

Upaya ke Pentas Dunia

Salah satu yang perlu dicatat adalah momen saat Indonesia dipercaya menjadi tamu kehormatan Pameran Buku Frankfurt (PBF) 2015. Terlepas dari berbagai kontroversi yang sempat merebak, di pameran buku tertua dan terbesar di dunia itu Indonesia unjuk gigi memperkenalkan kekayaan intelektual dan merebut perhatian internasional. Kita membuka mata dunia bahwa Indonesia juga memiliki buku-buku yang bermutu dan layak disejajarkan dengan karya terbaik lainnya dari berbagai belahan dunia.

Selama PBF 2015, lebih dari 400 judul buku terbitan penerbit Indonesia diminati oleh penerbit asing untuk dipertimbangkan pembelian hak terjemahannya. Satu kemajuan yang layak dicatat mengingat sebelumnya kita biasanya hanya menjadi konsumen buku-buku asing. Hal ini menunjukkan besarnya potensi dan daya saing  industri kreatif Indonesia di kancah internasional.

Seiring dengan itu, para penulis Indonesia mulai diperhitungkan di pentas dunia lewat buku-buku yang telah diterjemahkan ke beragam bahasa asing. Di antaranya Eka Kurniawan yang menjadi nomine Man Booker International Award lewat Man Tiger hasil terjemahan Labodalih Sembiring. Eka yang karyanya telah diterjemahkan ke lebih dari 25 bahasa asing menyejajarkan diri dengan para pemenang Hadiah Nobel Sastra seperti Orhan Pamuk yang juga menjadi nomine lewat novel Strangeness in My Mind.

Untuk menghasilkan prestasi serupa, bahkan yang lebih baik dari itu, kita perlu lebih banyak menerjemahkan karya-karya terbaik kita ke dalam berbagai bahasa penting dunia. Dengan demikian buku-buku karya para penulis kita akan dikenal, dibaca, dan ditelaah secara lebih serius. Maka, program penerjemahan sastra dan pengembangan kapasitas para penulis Indonesia perlu didukung oleh segenap pemangku kepentingan dalam ekosistem literasi kita. Selain itu, kita pun perlu terus menerjemahkan karya-karya penting dalam bahasa asing ke bahasa Indonesia agar para penulis kita senantiasa belajar dari karya-karya terbaik dunia.

Merayakan Sastra, Memaknai Literasi

Pada tahun ini perayaan Hari Buku Nasional juga disemarakkan dengan dua festival sastra internasional yang dihelat pada bulan yang sama, yakni ASEAN Literary Festival (ALF) di Jakarta yang berlangsung 5-8 Mei, dan Makassar International Writers Festival (MIWF) di ibu kota Sulawesi Selatan yang diadakan pada 18-21 Mei.

ALF yang telah diselenggarakan untuk kali ketiga sejak 2014 sempat diguncang aksi segelintir orang yang memprotes sejumlah acara yang menyinggung tragedi 1965. Namun, acara perayaan sastra ini akhirnya tetap berhasil terselenggara dengan semarak.

Sementara, MIWF yang telah diselenggarakan untuk kali keenam, tahun ini mengambil tema “Baca!”.  Satu-satunya festival sastra internasional di Indonesia Timur ini menjanjikan beragam acara menarik yang layak disambut dan dimaknai oleh para pencinta buku dan literasi di tanah air.

Meski dibayangi kegetiran atas pemberangusan buku dan acara diskusi buku yang masih saja terjadi, saya percaya bahwa kita sesungguhnya bangsa beradab yang mau mencintai buku dan oleh karenanya berpotensi besar menyumbang karya penting bagi dunia.

Maka, di ujung catatan singkat ini, untuk merayakan buku izinkan saya mengingat kalimat menohok yang pernah dilontarkan Joseph Brodsky, penyair eksil Rusia pemenang Nobel Sastra, “Ada beberapa tindakan yang lebih jahat ketimbang membakar buku. Salah satunya adalah tidak membacanya.”

Anton Kurnia, pembaca, penulis, dan pegiat literasi.

London Book Fair adalah pameran buku yang dianggap sebagai olimpiade di industrinya, salah satu pameran terbesar yang dihadiri sekitar 25 ribu pengunjung dari 124 negara. Tahun ini, LBF telah mencapai 45 tahun penyelenggaraannya.

Bagi Indonesia ini adalah tahun ke-2 mengikuti LBF secara kolektif di bawah dukungan penuh dari Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia. Mengikuti pameran ini merupakan ajang penting untuk mempromosikan buku-buku dari Indonesia dan menjual rights buku-buku asal Indonesia. Sudah waktunya Indonesia dikenal tidak hanya dari hal-hal yang sudah biasa diasosiasikan dengan Indonesia, seperti Bali, tsunami, terorisme, tapi juga karya-karya intelektualnya.

Target groups:                                 

Publishers, Executives, Marketing Manager, Programme Manager, Digital Manager, Rights & License Manager with at least three years of experience in publishing                                                                                   

Content:

This interactive publishers training is a comprehensive course for publishers who have already acquired some experience in the book trade. The training will answer the following questions:

• Do you have a clear vision of your business model?
• Do you know your target groups well?
• Have you defined your marketing and distribution strategy?
• Do you have a strategy for selling and buying rights?
• Have you created clear work flows inside your publishing house and for interaction with your external service providers?
• Are you aware of the inter-dependence between product development and the production process?
• Do you publish e-products the professional way, knowing which content is suitable for which format?
• What distribution channels do you use?
• And are you aware of the different possibilities electronic publishing can bring to the table?

The course will give in-depth information on these and many other issues. In intensive workshop modules participants will have the opportunity to put theory into practice and work on concepts, allowing them to take home a specific action plan for their publishing house.

Methods:

The training will feature inputs on each individual topic, followed by hands-on group exercises, during which the participants can develop their individual action plan.

Bologna Children's Book Fair ke 53 yang dilaksanakan pada tanggal 4 – 7 April 2016 merupakan pameran buku-buku anak terbesar di dunia dimana pada akhir minggu berikutnya diadakan pula acara bagi pembaca muda dan kunjungan sekolah – sekolah. Pameran tahun ini bertemakan "Fuel the Imagination" diikuti oleh 1200 peserta dari 70 negara dengan Jerman sebagai tamu kehormatan bekerja sama dengan Goethe-Institut Italia menampilkan pameran 30 ilustrator terbaik dengan tajuk “Look!”. Pada saat yang bersamaan juga dirayakan 50 tahun pameran ilustrator, 60 tahun perayaan penulis kisah ternama Italo Calvino dan pembukaan pameran pertama Bologna Digital Media.

Untuk kedua kalinya Indonesia hadir dalam Bologna Children’s Book Fair sebagai bagian dari upaya untuk memanfaatkan sebaik-baiknya kesempatan yang telah dibukakan oleh kesuksesan Indonesia sebagai Tamu Kehormatan pada Frankfurt Book Fair 2015 dengan tema “17.000 Islands of Imagination” untuk memperkenalkan karya para penulis dan ilustrator buku anak Indonesia ke dunia internasional. Selama empat hari pameran di Bologna, Indonesia yang menempati stand di Hall 29 A29 akan menampilkan 200 judul buku anak pilihan dan menyenggarakan demo ilustrasi oleh tiga ilustrator buku anak Indonesia: Renata Owen, Evelyn Ghozalli, dan Iwan Yuswandi.

Caetla Edition in Paris has recently published a French edition of Indonesian comic book title "Curhat Tita: Back In Bandung". This comic is written by Tita Larasati, originally published in 2008 by CAB (an imprint under Mizan Pustaka, a Bandung based publisher), tells the story of the author's experience in settling back in her hometown in Bandung, after spending years as graduate art student in Amsterdam.

Tita Larasati was born 1972 in Jakarta, but was educated in the small town of Bandung which  became her adopted city. She then left to do a PhD in the Netherlands in 1998. She eventually spend nine years in the country where she marry a Dutchman and gave birth to two children.

In 2007, Tita decided to return to live in Bandung with her family. This return to her  country and to the city of her youth that she describes in this comic book, with a look from both Western and Indonesian about little things of everyday life, food, traffic problems, the phase of her children.

Editor at Caetla found the view point of the story interesting for western reader, giving perspective on how foreigner see European and how they cope once they returned to their country.  Tita showed a lot of humor, poetry and lightness even in serious moments.

As described by another great specialist comic autobiography, Eddie Campbell, "Tita Larasati tells the charming and always catchy stories,  from a region of the world where the comic strips have not been much captured." It was a huge success in Indonesia with the publication of his newspaper comic in a blog on the web, then book series.  

The Caetla French edition is published in March 2016. Information about the book can be found at http://www.caetla.fr/Retour-a-Bandung

Setelah keberhasilan Indonesia di Bologna Book Fair  dan London Book Fair  pada Maret dan April 2016 lalu, buku-buku dari Indonesia kini hadir di Stand Indonesia dengan lokasi  E2F28 di Bejing International Book Fair (BIBF 2016)  pada 24-28 Agustus 2016.

Inilah kali pertama penerbitan Indonesia tampil di BIBF secara kolektif karena sebelumnya anggota penerbit Indonesia hanya hadir sebagai pengunjung. Selama lima hari pameran di Beijing, Indonesia menampilkan 200 judul buku pilihan dan  memberikan wawasan tentang industri penerbitan di Indonesia.

Indonesia akan menghadirkan penulis Agustinus Wibowo yang didampingi penulis terkenal Yu ha dalam acara ZERO: When The Journey. Takes You Home disponsori BIBF bekerja sama dengan Paper Republic pada Rabu, 24 Agustus, pada pukul 13.00-15.00 bertempat di  Writers’ Stage, BIBF Venue.

Dalam acara Introduction to the Asean Market yang digelar di  EAST HALL 2,  Rabu 24 Agustus, jam 14.00-15.00, Ketua Komite Buku Nasional, Laura Prinsloo,  hadir sebagai pembicara yang mempresentasikan Indonesia “Islands of Opportunity” menjabarkan potensi yang dimiliki negara ini dari berbagai sisi: seperti demografi, ragam bahasa, kebebasan berekspresi, dan pertumbuhan industri penerbitan di Indonesia.

“Kami juga akan mengundang Duta besar Indonesia untuk Tiongkok, Soegeng Rahardjo untuk   hadir dalam program-program yang kami adakan,” papar laura  di kantor KBN, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan di Jakarta, Selasa (9/8).

Program di stand Indonesia ditutup dengan acara HAPPY HOUR yang akan dilangsungkan pada Jumat, 26 Agustus pada pukul 16.00. Program ini mengundang pengunjung pameran untuk melepas penat sambil menikmati stand Indonesia sekaligus sajian penganan khasnya.

Penanganan Hak Cipta

BIBF akan mengisi enam aula, dengan luas lebih dari 80 ribu meter persegi dan mempromosikan dunia anak, pendidikan dan dunia digital, sekaligus juga memfokuskan perhatian kita tentang buku gaya hidup yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan pasar di negeri Tiongkok. BIBF juga ikut membantu menangani hubungan penerbit dengan jaringan yang dibutuhan seperti manajer untuk penanganan hak cipta sebuah buku dan yang lainnya.

Untuk pertama kalinya, BIBF akan memperkenalkan aula untuk Penerbit Anak Sedunia dengan luas lahan 14.350 meter persegi. Juga diperkenalkan sekitar 200 penerbit dari Cina dan negara sekitarnya, termasuk penandatanganan 1.000 hal cipta yang disepakati. Pameran 10.000 judul dan cover buku anak dalam 13 bahasa juga digelar.  Selama lebih dari lima hari, pameran ini akan menarik minat 40.000 orangtua dan anak-anak untuk memperkenalkan event ini sekaligus menjual buku-buku yang disediakan.

Kerjasama Bilateral dan Multilateral

Menurut Ketua Komite Buku Nasional Laura Prinsloo, manfaat yang akan diperoleh dari partisipasi Indonesia dalam pameran buku ini adalah mendukung program-program pemerintah termasuk meningkatkan kerjasama bilateral dan multilateral di bidang pendidikan dan kebudayaan, meningkatkan produktivitas dan daya saing di pasar internasional agar bangsa Indonesia maju dan bangkit bersama bangsa lain di Asia.

“Sekaligus juga mewujudkan kemandirian dengan menggerakkan sektor strategis ekonomi domestik, khususnya industri perbukuan dan memposisikan Indonesia sebagai pemain utama industri perbukuan di lingkup MEA dan internasional." ujar Laura.

Setelah keberhasilannya sebagai Tamu Kehormatan Frankfurt Book Fair 2015, Komite Buku Nasional dibentuk dengan berfokus pada promosi literasi Indonesia di panggung internasional melalui penerjemahan karya, pameran buku, festival dan program residensi penulis. Komite ini mendapat dukungan penuh Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia sebagai bentuk kolaborasi kreatif antara pemerintah dan publik. ***

Goenawan Mohamad is an Indonesian poet and man of letters born in Batang, Central Java. He is the founder and editor of Tempo (“Time”) magazine in Indonesia, which was twice forcibly closed by the Suharto’s New Order administration because of its vocal criticism of the authoritarian regime. In 1999, Mohamad was named International Editor of the Year by World Press Review magazine. In 1998, he was one of four winners of the CPJ International Press Freedom Awards, and in 2006 he received the Dan David Prize award. The World Press Review awarded him its International Editor of the Year Award in 1999. Goenawan was one of the founders of the Lontar Foundation and is on the advisory boards of the human rights group ARTICLE 19 and the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict. He is an alumnus of the College of Europe 1966-1967 promotion. As a writer, Goenawan Mohamad was well known for his weekly column in Tempo, “Catatan Pinggir” (Sidelines), which is mainly commentary and critique on current affairs and the media ‘headlines’. He expressed criticism of one- dimensional, narrow-minded viewpoints and thoughts in Sidelines, which have been compiled into six books. In Sidelines, Mohamad never ended with a definitive conclusion, but always with either questions or open-ended comments intended to encourage readers to continue thinking.

Haidar Bagir is an Indonesian entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, lecturer, and the president director of the Mizan Group which he founded in 1982. Bagir teaches at the Islamic College for Advanced Studies (ICAS)/Sadra Institute in Jakarta, is the chairman of the Lazuardi Hayati Foundation for Education (an umbrella organization of a network of pre-K to K- 12 schools in several cities in Indonesia), Founder of YASMIN (a foundation for philanthropic works on community education and health in Jakarta), and chairman of IIMaN Center for the Development of Positive Sufism. He is also the editor-in-chief of Kanz Philosophia, a journal for Islamic Philosophy and Mysticism. He is also a member of the Global Compassionate Council, as well as being one of the advisers to the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission. Bagir is also on the advisory board of the Indonesian chapter of Globethics.net, a global network of persons and institutions interested in various fields of applied ethics.

As part of his preparation to be a catholic priest, Petrus Canisius Suwandi Sandiwan Brata studied philosophy and got his BA from Driyarkara Institute of Philosophy, Jakarta, Indonesia, and then his MA from Gregorian University, Rome, Italy, 1987. He studied theology at Wedhabakti Pontifical Institute of Theology, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and graduated in 1990. In May 1991, two months before his ordination as Jesuit priest, he left the Society of Jesus, and joined PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, a general book publisher under Kompas-Gramedia Group, the leading company in media and book industry in Indonesia, as a non-fiction editor. In 2009 he was appointed as Executive Director of PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama. In 2012 he was the Deputy Group Director of Gramedia Group of Book Publishing Companies. Since 2014, he is the Group Director of Gramedia Group of Book Publishing Companies and English Languge Training Centers

She changed her career in 1999 from banking sector to education as manager of Education & Training Institution (LPP) as well as lecturer at one of private university in Bandung. In 2004 she has started to manage family publishing house & printing company, PT Remaja Rosdakarya, as deputy director and promoted to be President Director in 2014. In 2004 she was appointed as Head of Book Promotion Division at Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) chapter West Java then promoted to be treasurer of Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) in 2006. She was assigned as Head of Book Promotion and Literacy Development Compartment of Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) period 2011-2015. She was Head of Publishing & Printing Standing Committee of Indonesian Chambers of Commerce (KADIN) in 2013-2015. Now, she is chairwoman of Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) period 2015-2020. 

RESIDENSI PENULIS

Program Residensi ini dirancang atas kerjasama antara Komite Buku Nasional dan

Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. Jangka waktu masing-masing residensi antara 1-3

bulan, yang dilaksanakan antara September dan November 2016. Pilihan negara tempat

residensi diutamakan di negara di mana ada Atdikbud RI.

TUJUAN

Tujuan dari program ini adalah memberi kesempatan kepada para penulis untuk:

1. Mengadakan penelitian yang diperlukan untuk menyelesaikan karya;

2. Menyelesaikan karya di sebuah tempat yang kondusif;

3. Membangun jejaring di luar negeri, baik dengan sesama penulis, maupun

penerjemah dan penerbit;

4. Mengikuti program (diskusi, seminar, pembacaan karya, dst.) yang diadakan oleh

penyelenggara yang telah disepakati oleh 3 pihak (Kemendikbud, Komite Buku

Nasional dan Penulis).

TARGET

1. Sebuah karya yang layak diterbitkan;

2. Peluang penjualan hak cipta ke penerbit asing

3. Promosi sastra dan budaya Indonesia melalui partisipasi penulis peserta program

residensi dalam kegiatan festival sastra di negara yang dituju

4. Laporan perjalanan dan jejaring yang dicatat oleh penulis

5. Program lanjutan di dalam negeri, berupa presentasi dari para penulis mengenai

program yang diikutinya

6. Secara aktif membangun jejaring literasi internasional.

KRITERIA UNTUK PENULIS

SYARAT MUTLAK:

1. Warga negara Indonesia;

2. Dalam keadaan sehat;

3. Setidaknya mempunyai satu buku/karya yang ditulis dalam bahasa Indonesia atau

daerah yang sudah diterbitkan;

4. Karya yang sedang ditulis harus dalam bahasa Indonesia;

5. Karya yang sedang ditulis dapat diselesaikan selama residensi atau sampai waktu  yang telah disepakati dan tercantum dalam kontrak;

6. Lolos seleksi proposal dan wawancara;

7. Bersedia bekerjasama dan mengikuti program yang disusun oleh Komite Buku

Nasional dan Kemendikbud.

PERTIMBANGAN TAMBAHAN:

1. Mampu berkomunikasi dalam bahasa asing, terutama bahasa Inggris;

2. Mempunyai karya yang telah diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa asing;

3. Mempunyai karya yang telah mendapatkan penghargaan;

4. Mempunyai undangan dari institusi di luar negeri yang bersedia bekerja sama

dengan Komite Buku Nasional.

PERSYARATAN ADMINISTRASI:

1. Mengisi formulir yang disediakan  dan mengirim kelengkapannya;

2. Mengisi dan mengurus dokumen perjalanan yang dibutuhkan;

3. Membuat laporan akhir selambatnya 1 minggu setelah program residensi selesai.

YANG DIPEROLEH PENULIS:

1. Tiket domestik dan internasional (pulang-pergi);

2. Asuransi perjalanan;

3. Biaya pengurusan visa dan surat pengantar yang dibutuhkan;

4. Uang saku per bulan

BATAS WAKTU

Aplikasi harus sudah dikirim selambat-lambatnya tanggal 10 September 2016

Pengumuman aplikasi yang diterima: 15 September 2016

KONTAK

Komite Buku Nasional

Kementrian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan

Gedung C, Lantai 2

Jalan Jend. Sudirman, Senayan

Jakarta 10270

Email: contact@islandsofimagination.id

Sari Meutia started her career as an editor at Mizan Pustaka, one of the largest publishing houses in Indonesia, in 1997. Now she is CEO of both Mizan Publishing House and Pelangi Mizan-another company under Mizan Group, and Literary Promotion & International Fair Coordinator of the National Book Committee.

Yuliani Liputo has been working in book publishing since 1994, first as editor at Mizan Publishing and now in charge of international copyrights buying and selling for the company. She handles Literary Development and Workshop at the National Book Committee