In a year without travel, this Indonesian author lets you choose your own adventure

The story starts with a pair of red shoes and a deal with the devil. But where it ends is up to reader — sort of.

That’s the concept behind Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha’s latest novel, The Wandering.

It’s been longlisted for the Stella Prize — Australia’s book award for women and non-binary authors — which this year features the most diverse array of writers in its eight-year history.

More than half of those longlisted are writers of colour, many of them Asian-Australian. The list is also diverse in form, with works of fiction, non-fiction, essays, young adult novels and short stories making the cut.

Among them, Paramaditha’s book is unique — translated from Bahasa Indonesia by Stephen Epstein, it’s a ‘choose your own…