The Passing of a Legend
Art by Tsuu
It is with a heavy heart that we announce Avitue’s passing. Avitue was a pillar in this community and a dear friend. We hate to be the ones to share such devastating news with you–his fans, friends and colleagues.
As some of you may have noticed, Avitue has been absent for a few months. This caused alarm because Avi was one of the most reliable and consistent authors in our community. Over the last few months, we exhausted every option at our disposal to find him, and unfortunately, we have now discovered that Avitue has passed.
We’ve been searching for his next of kin to no avail. Avi was unmarried and had no children, but we’ve yet to find any other family members.
If anyone has any information (or media inquiries) that they would like to share, please reach out to weaver@riverfolkbooks.com
We’d like to see the closing of one chapter as an opportunity to start a new one in Avitue’s memory:
Based on Avitue’s love of art, a friend of Avitue’s has already reached out to some of his frequently commissioned artists to create an Art Memorial in his honor. With support, Riverfolk is in the process of organizing something special for the community to get involved with, should they want to.
We’re also currently looking into the logistics of funding an artist fellowship in Avitue’s name in his home country of Indonesia.
We will update with more information as it becomes more concrete, and we thank you for your patience in this difficult time.
We encourage you to share any positive interactions you’ve had with Avitue or any of his jokes that stand out in your memory. Please send them to queries@riverfolkbooks.com, and we’ll compile them to share in a future post. If you’d prefer not to have your message shared, please let us know in your message.
Some messages from the Riverfolk team:
Avitue was a building block of Riverfolk Books. He was a man who wrote for thousands of his fans. More importantly, he wrote the stories he wanted to, caring more about telling the stories that spoke to him rather than trying to make money, something we as a company align with.
Avitue took a strong stance on showing asexual characters in his work. He never shied away from controversial topics, fighting for representation.
He lived life on his own terms, writing books that might have landed him in jail in his home country. He wrote bravely, with no regrets, and with passion for each of his tales.
Avitue wrote for the joy of it and to share—to bring life to—a massive, sprawling fantasy setting over many centuries of history. As a fellow writer, I don’t know how he managed the pace and output that he did, or how he juggled all the stories, characters and histories. And when he hit his stride—the climaxes of story arcs, the tender moments, and choice snippets of the past—he proved just how incredibly talented of a writer he was.
From an editing perspective, he was a joy to work with. Self-assured, decisive, but more than willing to listen to feedback and criticism. Beyond all that, before I’d joined up with Riverfolk as an editor, he was someone who helped me to promote my own work through word of mouth and shout trades.
He was a friend. He was someone who gave voice and presence to queer characters in his works, as living, breathing parts of the world, as normalcy.
Avitue was a founding force behind Riverfolk; the first author to take a chance on a new, unproven indie publisher. I’ll miss him, I’ll never forget him, and the writing communities of which he was a part lost a legend with his passing.
Avitue and I had playful debates occasionally when we first met. He had an opinion on everything and was unafraid to share it. Together, we could go back and forth forever. Yet, he was still supportive, and I to him. All Avitue wanted was to live comfortably and have his books in print. It's why he was willing to give Riverfolk a shot.
It's not an exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for Avitue, there wouldn't be Riverfolk as it is now.
A hell of a man and a hell of a writer.
Istirahatlah dengan baik, temanku
Thank you for supporting Avitue. We know it meant the world to him.
Art by Fuyu Dust