Ayu Utami was born in Bogor on November 21, 1968, grew up in Jakarta, and graduated from the Faculty of Literature at the University of Indonesia. She once worked as a journalist for Matra, Forum Keadilan, and D&R. Shortly after the banning of Tempo, Editor, and Detik during the New Order era, she co-founded the Alliance of Independent Journalists to protest the censorship. She now works at Komunitas Salihara. For her work, which is regarded as expanding the boundaries of writing in her society, she received the Prince Claus Award in 2000.