Blok S, South Jakarta
B(l)ooks opened on 1 July 2023 at Jalan Birah Raya 10 in the Blok S area of Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta. Hikmat Darmawan of the Jakarta Arts Council founded it with Brilliant Yotenega, Kenya Sentana and Steve Wirawan, stocking Indonesian literature and humanities titles from local publishers. A typewriter sits near the entrance, and buyers are given a short poem with their book. The shop trades under the line keep b(l)ooks alive.
Best for Diverse Indonesian publishers at a neighborhood indie bookstore, est. 2023
B(l)ooks opened on 1 July 2023, at a moment when Indonesian bookselling was being written off. Hypeabis reported the opening as a counterweight to the closures of that year, including the shutting of every Gunung Agung branch. Hikmat Darmawan, deputy chair of the Jakarta Arts Council, founded the shop with Brilliant Yotenega, Kenya Sentana and Steve Wirawan. Darmawan told Hypeabis that talk of a twilight for bookshops was premature, pointing to continued growth in Europe and the United States and to physical sales rising alongside digital ones. The shop sits in Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta, at Jalan Birah Raya 10 in the Blok S district. An old typewriter stands on a brown table near the front with a blank sheet in it. Customers who buy a book are given a short poem, which Darmawan will read aloud on request. The stock is Indonesian, leaning to literature and humanities titles from local publishers. The room is small and domestic in feel rather than retail. Its working slogan, keep b(l)ooks alive, is printed on the shop's own material and repeated in coverage of it.
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