We are seeking funding to help support the translation and production costs of a debut from Indonesian writer Felix K. Nesi, People from Oetimu. We can’t wait to share this visceral debut novel from a young writer who hails from a part of the world where there is little institutional support for the arts, writing and translation (especially for a book that is a biting satire of recent historical events).

In the fall of 2024, we’re bringing out People from Oetimu in a translation by Lara Norgaard. Nesi’s novel is an absorbing epic, an emotionally incisive satire of colonization and a reflection of the oral tradition of storytelling in Timor. The book begins in Oetimu during the 1998 World Cup and cycles back from there to the independence movements against Portuguese rule in the 1970s, the period of Japanese occupation in the 1940s, and returns to the events of 1998. Nesi stays close to the characters he depicts. Each one lives and breathes, seeming to look out at you from the page. The pain of years of domination and violent conflict recurs.

Please let us know if you would like to support the translation, book design, editorial work, printing expenses, or promotional expenses of this work. We’re grateful for any help in bringing this stunning work to new audiences.