Reflections on Writing a Family Memoir

Dee Lestari is an Indonesian writer and singer who made her literary debut in 2001 with the first installment of her Supernova series, Kesatria, Putri, dan Bintang Jatuh (The Knight, the Princess, and the Falling Star). The Supernova saga eventually grew into a six-book series, including Akar (Roots), Petir (Thunder), Partikel (Particle), Gelombang (Wave), and Inteligensi Embun Pagi (The Intelligence of the Morning Dew). In addition to Supernova, Dee has authored several other acclaimed titles, such as Filosofi Kopi (The Philosophy of Coffee), Rectoverso, Perahu Kertas (Paper Boat), Madre, Tanpa Rencana (Unplanned), Aroma Karsa, and the Rapijali trilogy. Among the many accolades she has received, Dee remains the only Indonesian author to have twice won both Book of the Year and the Indonesian Readers’ Choice Awards for Favorite Book and Favorite Author. Her books consistently top national bestseller lists and have played a major role in shaping contemporary Indonesian literature. Many have been adapted into feature films and television series. Her influence as a writer has also taken her to various national and international literary platforms. Outside the world of literature, Dee is also active in music as both a singer and songwriter. She shares her expertise through her writing programs, Kaizen Writing and Kaizen Structure, which have graduated over 2,000 participants. Selaras is her first collaborative book and marks her 19th published work.

Dee Lestari adalah penulis dan penyanyi asal Indonesia yang memulai debut sastra pada tahun 2001 dengan buku pertama dari seri Supernova, Kesatria, Putri, dan Bintang Jatuh. Saga Supernova kemudian berkembang menjadi seri enam buku, termasuk Akar, Petir, Partikel, Gelombang, dan Inteligensi Embun Pagi. Selain Supernova, Dee juga menulis sejumlah karya terkenal lainnya, seperti Filosofi Kopi, Rectoverso, Perahu Kertas, Madre, Tanpa Rencana, Aroma Karsa, dan trilogi Rapijali. Di antara banyak penghargaan yang ia terima, Dee tetap menjadi satu-satunya penulis Indonesia yang dua kali meraih penghargaan Book of the Year dan Indonesian Readers’ Choice Awards untuk kategori Buku Favorit dan Penulis Favorit. Karyanya secara konsisten menduduki puncak daftar bestseller nasional dan berperan besar dalam membentuk sastra Indonesia kontemporer. Banyak di antaranya telah diadaptasi menjadi film layar lebar maupun serial televisi. Pengaruhnya sebagai penulis juga membawanya ke berbagai platform sastra, baik di tingkat nasional maupun internasional. Di luar dunia sastra, Dee aktif di bidang musik sebagai penyanyi dan penulis lagu. Ia membagikan keahliannya melalui program menulis Kaizen Writing dan Kaizen Structure, yang telah meluluskan lebih dari 2.000 peserta. Selaras merupakan buku kolaboratif pertamanya dan menandai karya ke-19 yang ia terbitkan.

Ingrid Rojas Contreras is a Colombian writer best known for her 2022 memoir The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir, which was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize for Memoir and the National Book Award for Nonfiction, as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award. She also won a Medal in Nonfiction from the California Book Awards for that work and was long-listed for a Carnegie Medal in Excellence in Nonfiction. Her first novel, Fruit of the Drunken Tree, won the California Book Award. Her essays and short stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, and The Paris Review, among others. Rojas was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. She teaches fiction at the University of San Francisco and is a visiting professor at Saint Mary's College of California.

Ingrid Rojas Contreras adalah penulis asal Kolombia yang dikenal lewat memoarnya tahun 2022, The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir. Buku ini menjadi finalis Pulitzer Prize untuk kategori Memoir, National Book Award untuk Nonfiksi, dan National Book Critics Circle Award. Ia juga meraih Medali Nonfiksi dari California Book Awards untuk karya tersebut, serta masuk daftar panjang Carnegie Medal in Excellence in Nonfiction. Novel pertamanya, Fruit of the Drunken Tree, memenangkan California Book Award. Esai dan cerita pendeknya telah terbit di The New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, dan The Paris Review, di antara publikasi lainnya. Rojas lahir dan besar di Bogotá, Kolombia, lalu pindah ke Amerika Serikat pada usia 14 tahun. Ia mengajar fiksi di University of San Francisco dan menjadi profesor tamu di Saint Mary’s College of California.

Lech Blaine is an Australian award-winning writer. His second book, Australian Gospel, published in 2024, was awarded The Age Book of the Year for Non-Fiction. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Car Crash: A Memoir, which was shortlisted for the National Biography Award and two categories at the Queensland Literary Awards. In October 2022, Car Crash was published in the United States and the United Kingdom by Greystone Books. Lech is also the author of two Quarterly Essays: Top Blokes and Bad Cop. He was an inaugural recipient of a Griffith Review Queensland Writers Fellowship, won the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award in 2017, and received the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Emerging Artist Fellowship in 2019. Most recently, he was the 2023 Charles Perkins Centre Writer in Residence.

Lech Blaine adalah penulis asal Australia peraih berbagai penghargaan. Buku keduanya yang berjudul Australian Gospel, yang terbit pada tahun 2024, memenangkan penghargaan The Age Book of the Year untuk kategori nonfiksi. Ia juga merupakan penulis Car Crash: A Memoir, sebuah karya yang dipuji para kritikus dan masuk dalam daftar pendek National Biography Award serta dua kategori di Queensland Literary Awards. Pada Oktober 2022, Car Crash diterbitkan di Amerika Serikat dan Inggris oleh Greystone Books. Lech juga menulis dua Quarterly Essay berjudul Top Blokes dan Bad Cop. Ia merupakan penerima pertama Griffith Review Queensland Writers Fellowship, memenangkan Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award pada tahun 2017, serta menerima Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Emerging Artist Fellowship pada tahun 2019. Terakhir, ia terpilih sebagai Writer in Residence di Charles Perkins Centre pada tahun 2023.