Ahmad Tohari

Award-winning and acclaimed Indonesian author Ahmad Tohari has written numerous novels and short story collections. He is the recipient of the South East Asian Writers Award and of a fellowship to the International Writing Program of Iowa City, Iowa. He is also a respected journalist for the Central Java newspaper, Suara Merdeka, and Tempo, the Indonesian weekly.Ahmad is best known for his trilogy, Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk (The Dancing Girl of Paruk Village), published by Gramedia in 2011. The novels have been translated into Dutch, English, German, and Japanese, and adapted into the film, The Dancer, directed by Ifa Isfansyah. Ahmad is also held in high regard for his knowledge of Javanese art. He currently lives near Purwokerto, where he runs an Islamic school with his family and is consultant for the regional office of the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Education.