Festival Fundraising Dinner

Kiran Desai is an Indian author best known for her novel The Inheritance of Loss, which won both the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award. She has written three novels: Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, recipient of the Betty Trask Award; The Inheritance of Loss; and The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and named one of the New York Times Top Five Fiction Books of 2025. Translated into more than 35 languages, her work has earned her a Guggenheim Fellowship, a fellowship from the American Academy in Berlin, and a Columbia University Medal of Excellence. In 2015, she was also recognized by The Economic Times as one of the 20 most influential global Indian women.

Kiran Desai adalah penulis asal India yang dikenal luas melalui novelnya The Inheritance of Loss, yang memenangkan Man Booker Prize dan National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award pada 2006. Ia telah menulis tiga novel, yaitu Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, The Inheritance of Loss, dan The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. Novel terbarunya, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, masuk daftar pendek Booker Prize dan terpilih sebagai salah satu dari lima novel terbaik tahun 2025 versi The New York Times. Karya-karya Kiran Desai telah diterjemahkan ke lebih dari 35 bahasa dan meraih berbagai penghargaan serta fellowship internasional bergengsi. Pada 2015, The Economic Times juga menobatkannya sebagai salah satu dari 20 perempuan India paling berpengaruh di dunia.

Tash Aw is a Malaysian writer born in Taipei to Malaysian parents, who grew up in Kuala Lumpur before relocating to England. His debut novel The Harmony Silk Factory, published in 2005, won the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Novel, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Subsequent novels include Map of the Invisible World, published in 2009, Five Star Billionaire, published in 2013 and longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and We, The Survivors, published in 2019 and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His most recent novel, The South, was longlisted for both the 2025 Booker Prize and the 2025 National Book Critics Circle Award. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he has also held visiting professorships at Columbia University and fellowships in Paris and Berlin, and his novels have been translated into 23 languages. Aw studied law at Cambridge and Warwick before completing an MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia.

Tash Aw adalah penulis asal Malaysia yang lahir di Taipei dan dibesarkan di Kuala Lumpur sebelum menetap di Inggris. Novel debutnya, The Harmony Silk Factory (2005), meraih Whitbread First Novel Award dan Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Novel, serta masuk daftar panjang Man Booker Prize. Sejak itu, ia menerbitkan sejumlah novel yang mendapat pengakuan internasional, termasuk Map of the Invisible World, Five Star Billionaire, dan We, The Survivors. Novel terbarunya, The South, masuk daftar panjang Booker Prize dan National Book Critics Circle Award 2025. Karya-karya Tash Aw telah diterjemahkan ke dalam 23 bahasa. Selain menulis, ia juga pernah mengajar dan menjadi peneliti tamu di berbagai institusi internasional. Ia menempuh pendidikan hukum di Inggris sebelum meraih gelar magister penulisan kreatif dari University of East Anglia.

Peter Godwin was born and raised in Zimbabwe. He worked as a human rights lawyer and a foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times and the BBC. He has authored seven non-fiction books, including Mukiwa, which won the George Orwell Prize and the Esquire, Apple, and Waterstones awards, and When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, which won the Borders Original Voices Award. His book, The Fear, was selected by the New Yorker as a best book of the year. He has taught writing at Wesleyan and Columbia and served as President of PEN American Center. His latest book is Exit Wounds: A Story of Love, Loss and Occasional Wars.

Peter Godwin lahir dan dibesarkan di Zimbabwe. Ia bekerja sebagai pengacara hak asasi manusia serta koresponden asing untuk Sunday Times dan BBC. Ia telah menulis tujuh buku nonfiksi, termasuk Mukiwa, yang meraih George Orwell Prize serta penghargaan dari Esquire, Apple, dan Waterstones, serta When a Crocodile Eats the Sun, yang memenangkan Borders Original Voices Award. Bukunya, The Fear, dipilih oleh The New Yorker sebagai salah satu buku terbaik tahun tersebut. Ia pernah mengajar penulisan di Wesleyan dan Columbia, serta menjabat sebagai Presiden PEN American Center. Buku terbarunya adalah Exit Wounds: A Story of Love, Loss and Occasional Wars.

Dandhy Laksono is an Indonesian journalist, director, and author of Reset Indonesia who has had a career spanning more than 26 years. Throughout his career, he has covered various important issues, from banking cases in Jakarta to martial law in Aceh and the 2004 tsunami. In 2009, he founded Watchdoc, which later won the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2021. In addition to Reset Indonesia, which he co-wrote with three colleagues, Dandhy has also written the books Indonesia for Sale and Jurnalisme Investigasi (Investigative Journalism). His name is widely known through documentary films such as Sexy Killers, Dirty Vote, Dirty Vote 2–O3, and Pesta Babi, which address various social, political, and environmental issues in Indonesia.

Dandhy Laksono adalah jurnalis Indonesia, sutradara, dan penulis Reset Indonesia yang telah berkarier selama lebih dari 26 tahun. Sepanjang karirnya, ia meliput berbagai isu penting, mulai dari kasus perbankan di Jakarta hingga darurat militer di Aceh dan tsunami 2004. Pada 2009, ia mendirikan Watchdoc, yang kemudian meraih Gwangju Prize for Human Rights dan Ramon Magsaysay Award pada 2021. Selain Reset Indonesia yang ia tulis bersama tiga rekannya, Dandhy juga menulis buku Indonesia for Sale dan Jurnalisme Investigasi. Namanya dikenal luas melalui film-film dokumenter seperti Sexy Killers, Dirty Vote, Dirty Vote 2–O3, dan Pesta Babi, yang mengangkat berbagai isu sosial, politik, dan lingkungan di Indonesia.

Tari Lang is an international businesswoman who has built a long career working across the United Kingdom, the United States, Asia, and the Gulf and Arab States. Born to an Indonesian father and a British mother, both radicals, she became heavily involved in politics from a young age. Her experiences during the 1965 coup profoundly shaped her life and led to her memoir My Neighbour, the Dictator: A Rare First-Hand Memoir of Indonesia's Pivotal Year, 1965. She moved to the United Kingdom at eighteen to pursue her career in international business and reputation management. She now serves on the boards of several cultural and creative organisations. Tari lives in Edinburgh and France, is married to a Scot, and has eight grandchildren.

Tari Lang adalah seorang pengusaha internasional yang telah membangun karir panjang bekerja di seluruh Inggris Raya, Amerika Serikat, Asia, dan Negara-negara Teluk dan Arab. Lahir dari ayah Indonesia dan ibu Inggris, keduanya radikal, dia terlibat berat dalam politik sejak usia muda. Pengalaman-pengalamannya selama kudeta 1965 secara mendalam membentuk hidupnya dan menyebabkan memoarnya My Neighbour, the Dictator: A Rare First-Hand Memoir of Indonesia's Pivotal Year, 1965. Dia pindah ke Inggris Raya pada usia delapan belas untuk mengejar karirnya dalam bisnis internasional dan manajemen reputasi. Dia sekarang duduk di dewan beberapa organisasi budaya dan kreatif. Tari tinggal di Edinburgh dan Perancis, menikah dengan seorang Skotlandia, dan memiliki delapan cucu.

Candice Chung is a Singapore-based Australian writer, journalist, author and creative writing lecturer. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, BBC Radio, Feminist Food Journal, The Australian Gourmet Traveller, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Food and more. Her debut memoir Chinese Parents Don't Say I Love You was named a Readings Best of 2025 Nonfiction Book and a Financial Times Best Summer Book of 2025. She was a judge for the 2026 Kavya Prize, which seeks to recognise the best writing from Scotland's emerging writers of colour.

Candice Chung adalah seorang penulis, jurnalis, dan dosen creative writing berbasis Singapura. Karyanya telah muncul di The Guardian, BBC Radio, Feminist Food Journal, The Australian Gourmet Traveller, The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Food dan lainnya. Memoar debutnya Chinese Parents Don't Say I Love You dinamai Readings Best of 2025 Nonfiction Book dan Financial Times Best Summer Book of 2025. Dia adalah juri untuk Kavya Prize 2026, yang berusaha untuk mengakui tulisan terbaik dari penulis warna muda yang sedang berkembang di Skotlandia.

Georgina Godwin is a British broadcaster and interviewer working across literature, culture and global affairs. She is Books Editor at Monocle Radio, where she hosts the flagship literary programme Meet the Writers and the international current affairs show The Globalist. She also presents Visionary, a podcast for Here East exploring the people shaping the future of technology, creativity and work. Originally from Zimbabwe, she helped found the country's first independent radio station and was subsequently declared an "enemy of the state" and banned from returning. Godwin regularly chairs literary events worldwide. She is on the board of English PEN and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Georgina Godwin adalah seorang broadcaster dan pewawancara Inggris yang bekerja di bidang sastra, budaya dan urusan global. Dia adalah Books Editor di Monocle Radio, di mana dia menampilkan programme sastra unggulan Meet the Writers dan acara urusan global saat ini The Globalist. Dia juga mempersembahkan Visionary, sebuah podcast untuk Here East yang mengeksplorasi orang-orang yang membentuk masa depan teknologi, kreativitas dan pekerjaan. Berasal dari Zimbabwe, dia membantu mendirikan stasiun radio independen pertama negara tersebut dan kemudian dinyatakan sebagai "musuh negara" dan dilarang untuk kembali. Godwin secara teratur memimpin acara sastra di seluruh dunia. Dia adalah anggota dewan English PEN dan seorang Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Katie Kitamura is an American novelist, journalist, and art critic known for her minimalist and psychologically intense prose. Her latest novel, Audition, was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize and was a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize. It was also a finalist for the Gotham Book Prize and the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and longlisted for the Women's Prize and the Carol Shields Prize. Her previous novel, Intimacies, was one of The New York Times' 10 Best Books of 2021, longlisted for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and one of President Obama's Favourite Books of 2021. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize in Literature, Berlin Prize, Cullman Center Fellowship and the Prix Littéraire Lucien Barrière, Kitamura's work has been translated into 29 languages and is being adapted for film. She teaches in the Creative Writing Programme at New York University.

Katie Kitamura adalah seorang penulis Amerika, jurnalis, dan kritikus seni yang dikenal karena prosa minimalnya yang intens secara psikologis. Novel terbarunya, Audition, masuk dalam daftar pendek Penghargaan Booker 2025 dan menjadi finalis untuk Penghargaan Pulitzer 2026. Karya ini juga menjadi finalis untuk Penghargaan Gotham Book, Penghargaan Joyce Carol Oates, dan masuk dalam daftar panjang Penghargaan Women's Prize serta Penghargaan Carol Shields. Novel sebelumnya, Intimacies, merupakan salah satu dari 10 Buku Terbaik The New York Times tahun 2021, masuk dalam daftar panjang Penghargaan Buku Nasional dan Penghargaan PEN/Faulkner, serta menjadi salah satu Buku Favorit Presiden Obama tahun 2021. Sebagai penerima Guggenheim Fellowship, Rome Prize in Literature, Berlin Prize, Cullman Center Fellowship, dan Prix Littéraire Lucien Barrière, karya Kitamura telah diterjemahkan ke dalam 29 bahasa dan sedang diadaptasi untuk film. Dia mengajar di Program Penulisan Kreatif Universitas New York.

Prabal Gurung is a Nepalese American fashion designer who launched his eponymous collection in February 2009, characterised by modern luxury and indelible style. Born in Singapore and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal, Gurung studied at Parsons The New School for Design in New York before working with Cynthia Rowley and serving as design director at Bill Blass for five years. His designs have been worn by leading figures including First Lady Michelle Obama and the Duchess of Cambridge. He has received numerous accolades, including the 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award and the 2011 CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear. Gurung was appointed Global Creative Director of Tasaki in 2017 and named Honorary Designer of the National Portrait Gallery Celebration at the Smithsonian in 2019. In 2022, he was honoured as Designer of the Year at the American Image Awards and elected Vice Chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. A committed advocate for domestic manufacturing, Gurung produces over 80 per cent of his collection in New York to sustain quality standards and support the local community. His memoir, Walk Like a Girl, was published in May 2025 by Viking.

Prabal Gurung adalah seorang desainer fashion Nepali-Amerika yang meluncurkan koleksi eponymous-nya pada Februari 2009, ditandai dengan kemewahan modern dan gaya yang tak terlupakan. Dilahirkan di Singapura dan dibesarkan di Kathmandu, Nepal, Gurung belajar di Parsons The New School for Design di New York sebelum bekerja dengan Cynthia Rowley dan menjabat sebagai direktur desain di Bill Blass selama lima tahun. Desainnya telah dikenakan oleh tokoh-tokoh terkemuka termasuk First Lady Michelle Obama dan Duchess of Cambridge. Dia telah menerima berbagai penghargaan, termasuk Penghargaan CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2010 dan Penghargaan CFDA Swarovski untuk Womenswear 2011. Gurung diangkat sebagai Global Creative Director Tasaki pada 2017 dan dinamai Honorary Designer of the National Portrait Gallery Celebration di Smithsonian pada 2019. Pada 2022, dia dihormati sebagai Designer of the Year di American Image Awards dan terpilih sebagai Vice Chair of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Sebagai advokat yang berkomitmen terhadap manufaktur domestik, Gurung memproduksi lebih dari 80 persen koleksinya di New York untuk mempertahankan standar kualitas dan mendukung komunitas lokal. Memoarnya, Walk Like a Girl, diterbitkan pada Mei 2025 oleh Viking.

Melbourne-born Janet DeNeefe, Founder & Director of Ubud Food Festival and Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, has lived in Bali for more than three decades. Her latest book is Bali: Food of My Island Home, following her memoir Fragrant Rice. She is also the owner of Casa Luna, Indus Restaurant, and Honeymoon Guesthouse and Bakery in Ubud.

Janet DeNeefe kelahiran Melbourne, Pendiri & Direktur Ubud Food Festival dan Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, telah tinggal di Bali selama lebih dari tiga dekade. Buku terbarunya adalah Bali: Food of My Island Home, mengikuti memoarnya Fragrant Rice. Dia juga pemilik Casa Luna, Indus Restaurant, dan Honeymoon Guesthouse and Bakery di Ubud.

Ketut Yuliarsa is an Indonesian writer and musician who has lived and worked in both Bali and Australia. He is the author of two bilingual Indonesian-English poetry collections, with prose, poetry, and essays published in The Bali Post, Kompas, and The Jakarta Post. In 1986, he co-founded Ganesha Bookshop, Ubud's first bookshop, and later established the Books for Bali Project to promote literacy across the island. His work for stage and screen includes the libretto for The Theft of Sita, credits with Belvoir Street Theatre and the Melbourne Theatre Company, and Story Editor and Cultural Advisor for the drama series Bali 2002. In 2026, he was awarded the Bali Modern Literary Award for his contribution to contemporary Balinese literature.

Ketut Yuliarsa adalah seorang penulis dan musisi asal Indonesia yang telah tinggal dan berkarya di Bali maupun Australia. Ia adalah penulis dua kumpulan puisi dwibahasa Indonesia-Inggris, dengan karya prosa, puisi, dan esainya yang telah dimuat di The Bali Post, Kompas, dan The Jakarta Post. Pada tahun 1986, ia mendirikan Ganesha Bookshop, toko buku pertama di Ubud, dan kemudian membentuk Books for Bali Project untuk mendukung literasi di seluruh Bali. Karyanya untuk panggung dan layar meliputi libretto untuk The Theft of Sita, kontribusi bersama Belvoir Street Theatre dan Melbourne Theatre Company, serta perannya sebagai Story Editor dan Penasihat Budaya untuk serial drama Bali 2002. Pada tahun 2026, ia dianugerahi Bali Modern Literary Award atas kontribusinya terhadap sastra Bali kontemporer.

Drs. I Ketut Suardana, M.Fil.H, is the Co-founder of the non-profit organization Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati. He works closely with the Festival Director to develop and implement strategies in line with the foundation’s vision.

Drs. I Ketut Suardana, M.Fil.H, adalah salah satu pendiri organisasi nirlaba Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati. Ia bekerja sama erat dengan Direktur Festival untuk menyusun dan menjalankan strategi yang selaras dengan visi yayasan.

Ali Sethi is a Pakistani-American writer, composer and performer best known for his ragaton blockbuster single Pasoori, which topped Spotify's Global Viral chart in 2022 and has been called by The Guardian UK the biggest song to come out of Pakistan this century. Blending traditional South Asian melodies with global beats to tell powerful tales of community and culture, Sethi's work has been described as stealthily subversive by The New Yorker and earned him a spot on TIME's 100 Next list, while Pitchfork has praised his music for embedding radical critiques of nationalism and heteronormativity within declarations of longing and pleasure, drawing on both Western pop and the Sufi poetry he was raised on. Previous projects include the Nicolas Jaar-produced album Intiha in 2023, pairing Sufi poetry with electronic abstraction, and his solo debut album Love Language in 2025.

Ali Sethi adalah seorang penulis, komposer, dan penampil asal Pakistan-Amerika yang paling dikenal lewat single blockbuster ragaton-nya, Pasoori, yang menduduki puncak chart Global Viral Spotify pada 2022 dan disebut oleh The Guardian UK sebagai lagu terbesar yang lahir dari Pakistan di abad ini. Memadukan melodi tradisional Asia Selatan dengan irama global untuk menceritakan kisah-kisah kuat tentang komunitas dan budaya, karya Sethi digambarkan oleh The New Yorker sebagai stealthily subversive (secara diam-diam subversif) dan mengantarkannya masuk ke daftar TIME 100 Next. Sementara itu, Pitchfork memuji musiknya karena menyisipkan kritik radikal terhadap nasionalisme dan heteronormativitas dalam balutan ungkapan kerinduan dan kenikmatan, dengan pengaruh dari musik pop Barat sekaligus puisi Sufi yang membesarkannya. Karya-karya sebelumnya termasuk album Intiha yang diproduksi oleh Nicolas Jaar pada 2023, yang memadukan puisi Sufi dengan abstraksi elektronik, serta album solo debutnya, Love Language, pada 2025.