Sariamin Ismail was the first female Indonesian novelist to be published in the Dutch East Indies. A teacher by trade, by the 1930s she had begun writing in newspapers; she published her first novel, Kalau Tak Untung, in 1933. She published two novels and several poetry anthologies afterwards, while continuing to teach and – between 1947 and 1949 – serving as a member of the regional representative body in Riau. Her literary works often dealt with star-crossed lovers and the role of fate, while her editorials were staunchly anti-polygamy. She was one of only a handful of Indonesian women authors to be published at all during the colonial period, alongside Fatimah Hasan Delais, Saadah Alim, Soewarsih Djojopoespito and a few others.

Saadah Alim (1897–1968) was a writer, playwright, translator, journalist and educator in the Dutch East Indies and in Indonesia after independence. She was one of only a handful of Indonesian women authors to be published during the colonial period, alongside Fatimah Hasan Delais, Sariamin Ismail, Soewarsih Djojopoespito and a few others. She is known primarily for her journalism, her collection of short stories Taman Penghibur Hati (1941), and her comedic play Pembalasannya (1940).