UMSU Press and Gramedia collaborated to organize a talk show with prominent author J.S. Khairen, winner of the IKAPI award in 2024 as the best writer. The event was held on Monday (14/10) at the UMSU Auditorium, Muchtar Basri Street No. 3, Medan.
Hundreds of students attended, enthusiastically welcoming the presence of J.S. Khairen, author of the popular book ‘Kami Bukan Sarjana Kertas‘. Also present was the Principal of SMA / SMK Mitra. The goal is to promote literacy and encourage the emergence of talented young writers from the UMSU campus environment.
The National Talksow Nusa Membaca UMSU Press X Gramedia is the culmination of a series of activities held by UMSU Press and Gramedia. Previously, a book bazaar was held, and national and international students visited book reviews.
The event was opened directly by the Rector of UMSU, Prof. Dr. Agussani, MAP, represented by WR 1 UMSU Prof. Dr. Muhammad Arifin, M.Hum. In his remarks, he expressed his pride at J.S. Khairen’s visit to UMSU for the second time.
‘Although this is Uda Khairen’s second visit to UMSU, we are fortunate. His presence is expected to inspire and motivate students to become writers or novelists in the future,’ he said.
WR 1 also expressed his hope that J.S. Khairen could create works inspired by life on the dynamic UMSU campus. ‘Campus life that is so dynamic can be a source of inspiration for future works. We hope this activity will give birth to young writers who can follow in his footsteps,’ said Prof Arifin, opening this event.
Previously, the Head of UMSU Press, Dr Muhammad Arifin, M.Pd., said that UMSU Press continues to seek young talents in the world of literacy actively. ‘We recently received an award in Jakarta as the most creative and compliant publisher in submitting manuscripts to the National Library. One of our main focuses is looking for young novelists. We have organized novel writing training and initially sought 15 candidates, but only 11 were selected. If anyone has a manuscript, please send it to us,’ he said.
Besides focusing on developing young novelists, UMSU Press is committed to writing books outside the university category. As Prof. Dr Muhammad Arifin explained, it has launched eight books resulting from an 8-day book review activity, which Rector Prof. Dr. Arifin opened. The activity concluded with a month-long book exhibition on the 3rd floor of the UMSU bazaar, featuring Gramedia books, including works by J.S. Khairen. The event received a positive response, with visitors reaching 40-60 people daily.
The book fair attracted local students and international students from Uganda, Ethiopia, and Morocco. The culminating talk show with J.S. Khairen was expected to motivate the participants that writing has a bright prospect. ‘We also invited back the writers involved in the book review to deepen their knowledge,’ added Dr Muhammad Arifin.
The talk show with author J.S. Khaerin, guided by UMSU Press moderator Julpan Siregar, was interactive and motivated the participants.
