FIB USU PR - On Saturday, October 11, 2025, the Indonesian Literature Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of North Sumatra, held an event in collaboration with the Ngobrol Buku literacy community. The event featured musical performances and poetry readings from Indonesian Literature Study Program students, adding to the lively and warm atmosphere of the event.
The Weekend Literary Festival featured three keynote speakers: Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie, author of the novel "Let's Go Further"; Teguh Afandi, editor of the publisher Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG); and Eka Dalanta, a representative of the Ngobrol Buku community. The discussion was moderated by Juhendri Chaniago from Ngobrol Buku.
Prof. Dr. Dardanila, M.Hum., Expert Staff to the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, USU; and Prof. Dr. Dwi Widayati, M.Hum., Head of the Indonesian Literature Study Program at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of North Sumatra, stated that this activity represents a synergy between the academic world and the literacy community to expand the space for literary appreciation in North Sumatra.
"Through activities like this, students can interact directly with authors and publishers, making the literary learning process more lively and contextual," she said.
During the discussion session, Ziggy, a resource person, shared his creative process when writing his work. He stated that maintaining narrative style and character consistency was a challenge in writing "Let's Go Further."
This novel, written in 2023, is a sequel to "We Go Today" and won the 2024 Tempo Literary Choice Book award in the prose category.
Ziggy also explained why he often features child characters in many of his works.
"Children are inseparable from social reality and have many anxieties about various issues around them, even though their voices are often ignored," he said.
Teguh Afandi, also a resource person, shared his experience working with the author. He explained that an editor's role extends beyond editing and promoting a work, but also nurturing it to ensure it receives the proper platform.
"I emphasize the importance of persistence in writing and remind aspiring writers not to rush into success. Good writing that can be accepted by publishers is finished writing," he said.
Eka Dalanta, another speaker, is a reader of Ziggy's books. He believes Ziggy's works have a special magic.
"Ziggy's writing brings joy to playing with language while simultaneously conveying a strong social message," he explained.
At the end of the session, Ziggy and Teguh surprised the 200 attendees. They revealed the covers of Ziggy's four latest books.
The titles are "Kewakitan Bulan Darah," "Matahari Dunia Antara," "Menanti Blast Bintang," and "Akhir Akhir Pusaran Dunia," which will soon be published and released simultaneously.
"USU and Medan City were the first locations chosen to announce this major four-part series project," he said.