Yogyakarta, July 6, 2026 — Writer and journalist Linda Christanty shared her experience crafting human-interest stories based on reporting during the discussion “From Reporting to Literary Works,” held in the Multimedia Room, Margono, 2nd Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University, on Monday (July 6, 2026). This discussion was organized by the Indonesian Language and Literature Program and Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG), in collaboration with Bentara Budaya and ELTI Jogja. The event, attended by more than 50 people—including students, academics, and community members—was moderated by Nafiis Anshaari, and Prof. Dr. Aprinus Salam contributed to the discussion by analyzing a short story by Linda Christanty titled “A Dog Dies in Bala Murghab.”
Linda is widely known for her renowned journalistic works, and on this occasion, she also expressed her concerns regarding publishers’ interest in her work. “Even though no one has shown interest yet, it will still be published so that the new generation can read and discover other short stories,” said Linda, emphasizing her commitment to continue bringing literary works to the public even though the challenges of publishing are not always easy.
Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Aprinus Salam also shared a story about his encounter with Linda’s works. “I’ve known her for a long time; it all started with Linda’s short stories that appeared in *Kompas*, and we followed and read them back then,” he said, describing how Linda’s writings in the mass media had become required reading among academics since their very inception.
The discussion also touched on how literary works can emerge from journalism, citing Seno Gumira’s idea in “When Journalism Is Silenced, Literature Must Speak” as one of the references. From there, the forum delved deeper into the connection between the worlds of journalism and literature—how reporting and facts can be transformed into narratives, while also serving as a bridge for a new generation to discover a variety of short stories that have not yet received much exposure. The discussion concluded with the presentation of commemorative gifts to the two speakers, followed by the awarding of Gramedia gift cards—provided by Bentara Budaya—to the two speakers and five lucky audience members who asked questions, and finally, a group photo.
This spirit aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 on quality education—which promotes literacy access for the younger generation—and SDG 17 on partnerships to achieve common goals, where collaboration involving Bentara Budaya, KPG, ELTI Jogja, academics, and even the discussion participants—working in synergy—is key to expanding access to literacy and ensuring the continued presence of literary works within the community.
Author: G Nathania Yolanda & Lina (沈孟樺)
