Rio's debut short story collection, Aksara Amanunna (Alphabet of Amanunna, 2014), won Tempo’s Best Prose Fiction Award. His novel, Ibu Susu (Mother’s Milk, 2017) — with the playful theme of milk flooding from the sky — received the Khatulistiwa Literary Award for Best First/Second Book. Rio also translates French literature into Indonesian and is the official translator for several of Sally Rooney’s novels into Indonesian.
Rio’s time in Exeter follows recent visits from other UNESCO City of Literature writers including; Ukrainian frontline poet Yaryna Chornohuz as part of Being Human Festival in partnership with University of Exeter, and Catalan writer Gemma Ruiz Palà’s two week writing residency in Exeter for the charity’s yearly writer exchange with Barcelona City of Literature.
Following his visit to Exeter, Rio Johan said
“I had no idea what Exeter was like when I was offered a visit as part of the UNESCO City of Literature collaboration between Jakarta and Exeter—well, I had a picture, actually, of a quiet small town in a remote part of England, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I ended my trip to this city with a warm embrace of new memories and knowledge of a new place I hope to visit again someday, whether in a written story or in real life.”
About Rio
Rio Johan is one of Indonesia’s most idiosyncratic contemporary writers. His fiction fuses absurd premises with sharp satire, moving between the grotesque and the mischievous. His debut short story collection, Aksara Amanunna (Alphabet of Amanunna, 2014), won Tempo’s Best Prose Fiction Award. His novel, Ibu Susu (Mother’s Milk, 2017) — with the playful theme of milk flooding from the sky — received the Khatulistiwa Literary Award for Best First/Second Book. Rio also translates French literature into Indonesian and is the official translator for several of Sally Rooney’s novels into Indonesian. He currently lives in Paris.
International Visits
Rio’s time in Exeter follows recent visits from other UNESCO City of Literature writers including; Ukrainian frontline poet Yaryna Chornohuz as part of Being Human Festival in partnership with University of Exeter, and Catalan writer Gemma Ruiz Palà’s two week writing residency in Exeter for the charity’s yearly writer exchange with Barcelona City of Literature.
During his time in Exeter, Rio visited Devon’s oldest library – The Devon and Exeter Institution – and the University of Exeter’s Special Collections to explore pieces from their archive of poetry and materials on Exeter & Sumatra, met with translation experts and the Indonesian student society at the University, experienced Exeter’s unique ties to the powerhouse publisher Penguin first hand with the Penguin Books Vending Machine at Exeter St Davids Train Station, and witnessed more than 1000 years of literary history at Exeter Cathedral’s Treasures Exhibition.
Following his visit to Exeter, Rio Johan said “I had no idea what Exeter was like when I was offered a visit as part of the UNESCO City of Literature collaboration between Jakarta and Exeter—well, I had a picture, actually, of a quiet small town in a remote part of England, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I ended my trip to this city with a warm embrace of new memories and knowledge of a new place I hope to visit again someday, whether in a written story or in real life.”
