Jakarta is part of the global UNESCO Creative Cities network, as a City of Literature. Find out more about Jakarta and its surroundings here. 

Jakarta City of Literature is Indonesia’s gateway to a vast, multilingual literary landscape shaped by 17,000 islands, hundreds of local languages, and a long tradition of storytelling that moves fluidly between oral culture, print, performance, and digital platforms.  

Coordinated independently by the 17,000 Islands of Imagination Foundation, the City of Literature works with writers, publishers, translators, festivals, and communities across Indonesia to connect local voices with international networks, including the UK. Its focus is not only on authors, but also on the wider literary ecosystem—editors, programmers, booksellers, librarians, and cultural producers—supporting translation, residencies, exchanges, and public programmes that reflect Jakarta’s diversity, urban realities, and social questions.  

For British writers, a residency in Jakarta offers time, access, and context to explore how literature responds to urban life, social change, and plurality—while building meaningful connections with Indonesia’s literary community. 

During their residency, in addition to working on their artistic/creative project, the visiting writer will be asked to write a text (fiction or non-fiction, up to 1000 words) that captures their experience of the host city. The text will be used for promotional purposes, and to serve as a guide for future residents.  

Who can apply 

This opportunity is open to writers based in England. Writers applying for this residency in Jakarta should have some connection with Norwich, whether they’ve lived, worked or studied in the city, or featured it in their writing. 

The residency is open to published writers of novels, short stories or poetry, children’s or young adult literature or literary non-fiction. The application should include:  

A covering letter explaining:

• why you wish to take part in the residency, what you will bring to it and what you hope to get out of it
• a description of the manuscript or project on which you will work 
• Norwich connections 
• why Jakarta 

A short curriculum vitae, listing publications in your own and other languages 

A writing sample (up to 1,000 words) 

Please send the application to [email protected] with the subject line Norwich-Jakarta residency. The deadline for applications is 31 March 2026 and the successful applicant will be informed by the end of April 2026.  

Selection criteria 

The selection will be carried out jointly by Jakarta UNESCO City of Literature and the National Centre for Writing, based on the eligibility requirements, the residency objectives, and the evaluation criteria below:  

• Project quality (including aesthetic research and contribution to the discipline or to practice, and originality of the project)
• Benefit to writer (including writer’s progress to date in the literary milieu and the likely impact of this residency on their career) 
• Benefit to the host city (relevance of the project for the host city and opportunities for cultural activities)