Kartika Lestari is a former full-time lecturer/researcher who one day recalled her youth’s joy—writing. She started viewing a fresh path in 2018 and took writing more seriously in 2021. To hone her craft, she has kept enrolling workshops at, among others, Temple University Japan Campus and Gotham Writers Workshop. She has focused on nonfiction and occasionally written poems. Her work has appeared in Grande Dame Literary and White Enso, among others. Since 2023, she has served as the lead organizer of the Japan Writers Conference.

Kartika grew up in a town on a mountainside in Indonesia. Over two decades ago, she moved to Japan for her graduate study at Tohoku University where she got her PhD in geophysics, focusing on climate sciences. She’s worked in Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Currently, she lives in Japan and works on her passion. In addition, she’s a co-owner of a growing company in Japan. 

To help maintain her well-being, she regularly practices reiki, meditation, and yoga. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, cooking, gardening, or walking with her dog. She also loves sharing her experiences with others—from writing to living overseas and from learning to living purposely.

Read what people say about Kartika here.
Follow her on X and Medium.