BIOGRAPHY
Laksmi Pamuntjak (b. 1971) is an Indonesian novelist and poet, known for award-winning fiction, poetry, and cultural writing that resonates across languages and borders. Born and raised in Jakarta, she has also lived in Perth, Melbourne, Singapore, and Berlin.
A bilingual writer whose work spans novels, short stories, poetry, journalism, and food writing, Laksmi has contributed essays on culture and politics to international outlets, including op-eds for The Guardian.
She is the author of three novels—Amba (The Question of Red), Aruna dan Lidahnya (The Birdwoman’s Palate), and Fall Baby—two poetry collections, Ellipsis and The Anagram, and two short story collections, The Diary of R.S.: Musings on Art and Kitab Kawin (The Book of Mating). The Diary of R.S.is a collection of short fictions inspired by paintings, while Kitab Kawin—which also inspired her podcast Podcast Kitab Kawin—explores the inner lives of women. Her There Are Tears in Things: Collected Poems and Prose (2001–2016) brings together selected works from across her career.
In 2018, a film loosely adapted from Aruna dan Lidahnya was released nationwide. It had its European premiere at the 2019 Berlinale International Film Festival and is available on Netflix under the title Aruna and Her Palate.
Her debut novel Amba (The Question of Red) has been translated into several languages. In February 2024, The Economist named it one of six essential books to read to understand Indonesia today.
AWARDS & HONORS
In 2016, the German translation of Amba, Alle Farben Rot (transl. Martina Heinschke), won the LiBeraturpreis. It was also shortlisted for Indonesia’s Kusala Khatulistiwa Award in 2015 and topped Germany’s Weltempfaenger list of the best translated fiction from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Arab world.
The film adaptation of Aruna dan Lidahnya (The Birdwoman’s Palate) won two Citra Awards at the Festival Film Indonesia: Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In 2018, Laksmi’s first English-language novel, Fall Baby, was published in Germany as Herbstkind. The following year, Penguin Random House SEA released the original version, which won the 2020 Singapore Book Award for Best Literary Work.
In 2023, she was named one of the “95 Most Resilient and Inspiring Women” by Indonesia’s Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPPA) for her work on women’s issues.
In June 2025, the English translation of Kitab Kawin by Annie Tucker won the Humanities in Translation Prize. The book will be published by Northwestern University Press in Fall 2026, under the title The Book of Mating.
OTHER WORKS & PROJECTS
Laksmi has also published Perang, Langit dan Dua Perempuan (War, Heaven and Two Women), a treatise on faith, violence, and the Iliad inspired by Simone Weil and Rachel Bespaloff, and translated two works by leading Indonesian poet and essayist Goenawan Mohamad.
As a food critic, she has written five editions of the Jakarta Good Food Guide, Indonesia’s first independent and literary culinary guide—covering everything from fine dining to street food—and notable for refusing restaurant advertising.
She was also the co-founder of Aksara Bookstore in Jakarta, for twenty years one of the city’s most beloved bilingual bookstores.
Although she set aside her musical career in the mid-1990s, Laksmi remains deeply devoted to classical music. She continues to cite her 1993 performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra as the highlight of her life.
In Fall 2023, she undertook a two-and-a-half-month art and writing residency at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, where she wrote Selaput Biru (Blue Iris)—a memoir reflecting on middle age through her love of art, literature, music, and memory. Published in March 2024, it has been acclaimed as one of her most personal works.
From August to December 2024, she was Writer-in-Residence at Literaturhaus Zürich, where she began research for her new novel.
PODCAST
Since 2021, Laksmi has hosted Podcast Kitab Kawin, based on her short story collection Kitab Kawin (The Book of Mating). Each episode combines her readings and reflections with conversations with experts, academics, activists, and survivors, addressing issues such as domestic and sexual violence, child marriage, and the complexities of relationships.
ART, POETRY & CURATORIAL WORK
Laksmi has published several poetry collections and represented Indonesia at Poetry Parnassus, the UK’s largest poetry festival, held at the Southbank Centre, London, in conjunction with the Cultural Olympiad of 2012.
Her poems, short stories, and essays have appeared in Asia Literary Review, Biblio: A Review of Books, QLRS, Heat, Takahe, Softblow, Critical Muslim, BooksActually Gold Standard 2015, and Asymptote. Her poetry appears in The World Record (Bloodaxe Books, 2012) and Rain of Poems (Casagrande, 2013), and she wrote the preface to Not a Muse: The Inner Lives of Women (Haven Books, 2008).
Between 2009 and 2011, she served as an international jury member for the Amsterdam-based philanthropy institution Prince Claus Award.
In 2022, she co-curated a literary exhibition in Jakarta to commemorate the centennial of the great Indonesian poet Chairil Anwar.
She has also collaborated with non-profit and cultural institutions including UNICEF Indonesia, Goethe-Institut Jakarta, Museum MACAN, Salihara Art Centre, and JEFORAH.
She continues to write, curate, and engage in conversations at the intersection of art, literature, and social conscience—remaining, above all, a storyteller devoted to giving language and light to the hidden lives of women.
CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS
Beyond her work with cultural and non-profit organizations, Laksmi has also partnered with lifestyle brands such as NOKIA and Silversea Luxury Cruises to create unique literary content.