Water Lily Literary Goes to Jogja

In May 2026, Water Lily Literary visited Yogyakarta to reconnect with local publishers and continue building a stronger publishing community in Indonesia.

Around 20 local publishers joined the gathering to exchange experiences, share insights, and discuss the opportunities and challenges of today's publishing industry. Together, we talked about the Indonesian book market, the importance of rights licensing, and how local publishers can become part of the global publishing ecosystem.

This gathering marked our return to Yogyakarta after hosting our first event there two years ago. Continuing that conversation, this year's gathering focused on introducing the broader landscape of international rights and licensing, how buying and selling rights can create new opportunities for Indonesian books to reach readers beyond the local market.

More importantly, we hope this gathering encourages more local publishers to participate in the international publishing industry. Through Water Lily Literary, we also invite publishers to explore new opportunities through our scouting program while introducing outstanding Indonesian titles to publishers around the world.

We believe this gathering is more than just a networking event. It is another step toward helping Indonesian publishers become more connected, more visible, and better recognized in the global publishing landscape.