EVENTS
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2025
Taking place from 29 October to 2 November 2025, the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF) returns with a stellar line-up of authors and thinkers for this year’s event, bringing the world’s most pressing dialogue and discussion to Bali’s cultural centre.
Guiding this year’s event is the festival’s central theme, Aham Brahmasmi, a Sanskrit concept that has been translated as ‘I am the Universe,’ facilitating conversations that explore the relationship between the individual and the cosmos. The concept also recognises that the universe’s creative potential is also embodied in the individual.
Since its inception, UWRF has been praised worldwide for its diverse and intimate program. With author talks and panel discussions, writing workshops and literary lunches, poetry slams and late-night musical events, there is something for everyone during the festival’s four full days. From UWRF’s Festival Hub at Taman Baca, to venues spread throughout Ubud, the program allows audiences to not only enjoy special experiences, but do so whilst discovering the town and surroundings.
Of course, the annual lineup of literary luminaries is one of the festival’s main draws, bringing some of the world’s most prolific writers, thinkers, and personalities to town. This year’s roster includes the winners of the 2025 International Booker Prize, Indian author and women’s rights activist Banu Mushtaq, author of Heart Lamp, translated by co-winner Deepa Bhasthi; German author Jenny Erpenbeck, who won the 2024 International Booker Prize for her novel Kairos. Respected non-fiction writers include British-born essayist and novelist, Pico Iyer; award-winning American novelist Omar El Akkad, known for the haunting dystopia American War; and Belgian writer David Van Reybrouck, author of Revolusi, which unravels Indonesia’s fight for freedom after three centuries of Dutch colonial rule.
Returning to Ubud are several frontrunners from Indonesia’s contemporary fiction scene, including playwright and poet from Eastern Indonesia, Shinta Febriany; author and winner of the 2024 Chommanard Women’s Literary Award, Ratih Kumala, who will dive into her latest work Koloni; and Balinese writer Ni Made Purnamasari. They will be joined by prolific Indonesian travel writer Agustinus Wibowo, who explores identity through journeys to remote borders, and beloved Balinese writer Ni Nyoman Ayu Suciartini, whose works have repeatedly won national literary competitions, as well as former UWRF Emerging Writer and now prolific novelist Juli Sastrawan.
“What started as a community initiative in response to the first Bali bombing has grown into a global hub of ideas, experiences, and empowerment,” says Artistic Director and Festival Founder Janet DeNeefe. “It’s the perfect place for meaningful cross-cultural exchange at a time when we need it most.”
The full lineup and rundown of events is available on the festival’s website. Festival-goers can choose between our 4-Day Festival Passes and 1-Day Festival Passes, with Special Events and Masterclasses also available for purchase. Discounts are available for students, KITAS / KITAP holders and ASEAN country citizens.
