YOGYAKARTA — On 6 July 2026, the Indonesian Language and Literature Programme at UGM, Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG), Bentara Budaya and ELTI Jogja organised a literary discussion entitled “From Reporting to Literary Works”. The event, which featured the writer and journalist Linda Christanty, also included a presentation by Prof. Dr Aprinus Salam, a professor who analysed her works. The discussion was attended by around 50 participants in the Multimedia Room, Margono Building, 2nd Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
The discussion was attended by around 50 participants in the Multimedia Room, Margono Building, 2nd Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
One of the most interesting points raised in this discussion was Linda’s concern regarding publishers’ interest in her latest works. In today’s publishing industry, literary works based on serious and weighty humanitarian reporting are often considered to lack commercial appeal or to struggle to break into the mainstream market.
Although this presents both an obstacle and a challenge, Linda remains steadfast in her idealism. “Even if no one is interested yet, it will still be published so that the next generation can read and discover other short stories,” she said.
Linda’s strong commitment suggests that she will continue to produce works of literature. Through her field reporting, she aims to demonstrate that historical facts and dark humanitarian issues can be transformed into powerful literary narratives. A concrete example of this can be found in her short story entitled “A Dead Dog in Bala Murghab”.
Author: Humas FIB, Zaidan Abdurrahman
