Bali has a lot of interesting festivals, but this one stands apart. Every October, the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival turns Ubud into something different for four days, and “writers festival” barely covers what actually happens there. Here’s why it’s worth the trip.
Why You Should Be in Ubud This October
Ignore the name for a second. The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival sounds like it’s only for people who read a lot and love talking about books. It isn’t, not really. Every October it turns into four days of the most interesting conversations happening anywhere in Bali, on human rights, censorship, AI, gender, ageing and grief, and on what it actually takes to speak up in public right now. If you haven’t finished a novel all year, you still belong here.
Not Just for Writers
This year’s theme is Samarasā: Awareness. Empathy. Action., a concept from Sanskrit philosophy about the harmony between mind, heart and action. Festival founder Janet DeNeefe puts it simply: “In a world this fractured, awareness gives us clarity when everything feels blurred by noise. Empathy builds the bridges we keep failing to build ourselves. And action is what turns that feeling into something that moves the needle.”
That plays out in sessions with real edges. Journalist Dandhy Laksono and novelist Randa Abdel-Fattah on censorship and free speech, human rights lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis on banned media, and a panel asking whether AI is starting to write our stories for us. There’s also a conversation built around Indonesian activist Tari Lang’s memoir about growing up under Suharto’s regime. None of it needs a literature degree to land. It just needs curiosity.
A Line-Up That Doesn’t Usually Come to Bali
As Bali’s biggest cultural festival of the year, this one pulls in a serious line-up: Booker Prize winner Kiran Desai, Malaysian novelist Tash Aw, Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto, and designer-turned-author Prabal Gurung. Musician and “Pasoori” singer Ali Sethi takes the Ubud stage for the first time. In total, it’s over 150 authors, journalists, poets and thinkers across more than 100 events, most of them close enough that there’s no stadium screen between you and them.
There’s a quieter story running through this year’s programme too. From 634 submissions sent in from across Indonesia, from Aceh to Papua, ten emerging writers were selected for the Festival’s Emerging Writers Anthology, launching live at UWRF. Their stories take on land, the environment, gender and life online. It’s a real look at where Indonesian literature is heading, years before most of these names show up anywhere else.
Why It’s Worth Booking a Flight For
If you’re already looking at things to do in Ubud this October, here’s the case for making the Festival the centerpiece of the trip instead of just another Bali weekend of beach clubs and sunset spots. This isn’t a program you sit through, it’s one that keeps you talking. The days are packed with panels and main-stage conversations that are genuinely inspiring and stimulating, the kind that have you rethinking your own opinions on the walk to the next one, and the evenings bring readings and gala events that carry the energy on well after dark. The masterclasses add another layer on top, on publishing, personal branding and photojournalism, built for anyone in media, marketing or the creative industries, not only novelists, while the Festival’s Special Events programme offers intimate literary lunches and long-table dinners with its most charismatic speakers in Ubud’s finest restaurants, resorts, homes and studios. Seats are limited, so these are worth booking in advance. And it’s for a good cause: the Festival is run by the non-profit Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati, so ticket sales fund literacy and cultural exchange work across Indonesia.
The main programme runs 21 to 25 October 2026, with writing retreats starting from 18 October, all-day talks from morning through evening events. Sessions move through Ubud’s own landmarks, main-stage talks, boutique hotel masterclasses and evening gatherings, so a day at the Festival naturally turns into a walk through Ubud itself. Even if you’re based in Canggu or elsewhere in Bali, Ubud isn’t far, a one-day pass is enough to catch a session or two without rearranging your whole trip. Choose a day pass or be part of the whole festival, full schedule and passes can be purchased here ubudwritersfestival.com.
Where to Stay While You’re There
Give yourself somewhere quiet to come back to after a day of ideas. Villa Grateful, managed by Alfred, sits in the rice fields with a private pool, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, close enough to walk into town and far enough that the evenings still feel like your own. It’s the kind of place made for a group of friends or an intimate family trip.
For something more compact, Sunset Lagoon Ricefield Villa works well for solo travelers or couples. It’s a one-bedroom villa tucked into a quiet complex with a shared pool, set right at the edge of the rice fields, making it an easy base if you’d rather cool off with a paddy view after a day of festival sessions than navigate Ubud’s busier main strip.
This isn’t a writers’ festival for people who already love books. It’s proof that some of Bali’s best conversations happen across a day of talks and an evening of readings, not on a beach club dance floor. Block out the dates, book the villa, and give yourself a reason to think differently this October.
