KBRN, Jakarta: The Literature Committee of Jakarta Arts Council (DKJ) has selected 15 best manuscripts from a total of 792 manuscripts that passed the administrative selection for the DKJ Novel Competition 2025.

The authors of these 15 selected manuscripts, comprising 3 main winners, 5 jury's choice manuscripts, and 7 chosen manuscripts, are now participating in an advanced writing training program from November 6 to 8, 2025, at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta.

The mentorship program, titled "Coaching Clinic," is organized by the DKJ Literature Committee and the National Talent Management (MTN) for Literature, delivered through the MTN Lab program.

A member of the DKJ Literature Committee, Dewi Kharisma Michellia, in her address, conveyed that the Coaching Clinic was born out of concern over the tendency of authors to be reluctant to edit their own work.

"We thought that authors need to be mentored so they become more self-reflective and submit their best possible manuscript," Dewi said.

She hopes this mentorship can improve the quality of the manuscripts submitted by authors to publishers. The program is also planned to feature material from figures in the publishing industry so that manuscript development aligns with market demand.

Head of the DKJ Literature Committee, Fadjriah Nurdiarsih, expressed her full support for the event.

“Whatever the work is, poetry, novel, these works should all undergo thorough reviews and revisions so readers see each piece at its best," she said.

On the first day, Thursday (11/6), featured the Manuscript Revision Input Class, facilitated by the competition's three main judges: Harry Isra M. (Literary Critic), Oka Rusmini (Writer), and Ramayda Akmal (Academician/Writer). Each judge mentored 5 participants, providing in-depth feedback on the structure, characterization, narrative style, and other substantive aspects of the participants' works.

The representative from the MTN for Literature, Aan Mansyur, also attended the event. He said that MTN Lab is part of the national priority program of the MTN for Arts and Culture under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia. The program is designed as a space for the creation and development of talented individuals' work through various activities.

”Through MTN Lab, authors will receive development in writing skills as well as an understanding of the book industry market," Aan said.

On the same occasion, the Coordinator of MTN, David Irianto, mentioned that the program's long-term vision is to develop literary talents capable of competing internationally. He shared that a 'new talent' program has been implemented in five cities: Padang, Singaraja, Lombok, Banjar Baru, and Malang.

This collaboration was welcomed by the Special Staff for Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations of the Culture Ministry, Annisa Rengganis.

"We hope that, after the Coaching Clinic Master Class, the writers participating in the MTN Lab program can gain international recognition," Annisa said.