In the digitalized and globalized world of today every writer has a chance to be read and published by millions of readers and thousands of publishers. Every literature has the opportunity to be discovered and translated into different world languages much more than ever before. We want to state our case in promoting Croatian literature, very rich and diverse in styles and subjects, with authors already discovered and widely translated as well as with those who are yet to emerge. We present you the prominent Croatian authors whose works marked and even shaped the literature of several past decades within Croatia, but also well over its borders.
CONTENTS Renato Baretić Slavenka Drakulić Zoran Ferić Damir Karakaš Kristian Novak Olja Savičević Ivančević Slobodan Šnajder Ivana Šojat Igor Štiks Marina Vujčić
Renato Baretić
Baretić introduces a whole new meta-level of the text itself. — Booksa.hr on Hotel Grand
Renato Baretić (Zagreb, 1963) is a journalist and writer. He has an incomplete degree in Comparative Literature and Phonetics at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, having also briefly studied political sciences and journalism. Baretić used to work as a warehouse assistant, assistant repairman of household appliances, assistant tile-layer, sales agent, street stall seller and worker in a factory of textile machines. He periodically works as a film and tv scriptwriter, copywriter, journalist and author of questions for the most popular Croatian tv quiz shows. Co-founder and art director of the storytelling festival Pričigin in Split and former leader of the movement for cultural revival of Croatian islands. Member of the Croatian Journalists Association, Croatian pen Centre and Croatian Writers’ Association, he attended literary residency programs in Belgium, Austria and Turkey. His novel Eighth Commissioner won five major national prizes for fiction.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Renato Baretić renato.baretic@st.t-com.hr
Renato Baretić
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Eighth Commisioner shows us how nothing is the way we think it is.
main works:
— Glas Istre on Eighth Commissioner
Eighth Commissioner (Osmi povjerenik, agm, 2003), novel
Words from Pockets (Riječi iz džepova, Feral Tribune, 1998), poetry To Whom Shall We Send Our Postcards (Kome ćemo slati razglednice, agm, 2005), poetry Frames of a Frame (Kadrovi kadra, agm, 2005) non-fiction Tell Me about Her (Pričaj mi o njoj, agm, 2006), novel Hotel Grand (Hotel Grand, agm, 2008), novel Dawn (Praskozor, Naklada Jesenski i Turk : Hrvatska radiotelevizija, 2015), co-author, columns A Beginner’s Guide to Split (Split za početnike, Znanje, 2015), non-fiction Little Wolf’s Trouble (Muka malog vuka, Naklada Semafora, 2015), children’s fiction
—— translations: Eighth Commissioner: Germany (Dittrich), Macedonia (Kultura), Slovenia (Mladinska knjiga), Ukraine (Folio) Tell Me about Her: Macedonia (Blesok), Ukraine (Folio) Hotel Grand: Albania (Poeteka & Ideart), Slovenia (Modrijan), Macedonia (Blesok), Ukraine (Folio)
Renato Baretić
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Slavenka Drakulić
This slim, lucidly written book is an outstanding read. — The Guardian on They Would Never Hurt A Fly
Slavenka Drakulić (Rijeka, 1949) is an author whose books and essays have been translated into more than twenty languages. Her fiction explores the female body, illness and trauma. Her novel S. A Novel About the Balkans, dealing with the cruelty of war and rape victims, was made into a feature film As If I Am Not There, directed by Juanita Wilson. Drakulić has also published five non-fiction books, mostly writing about life in communist and post-communist countries. Drakulić is a contributing editor in The Nation (US) and a freelance author whose essays have appeared in The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine and The New York Review of Books. She contributes to Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), Internazionale (Italy), Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), The Guardian (UK), Eurozine and other newspapers and magazines. She is the recipient of the 2004 Leipzig Book Fair Award for European Understanding. At the Prague Writers’ Festival 2010, she was proclaimed as one of the most influential European writers of our time.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: info@slavenkadrakulic.com Anneli Høier Leonhardt & Høier Literary Agency A/S Studiestræde 35 DK-1455 Copenhagen K Denmark anneli@leonhardt-hoier.dk www.leonhardt-hoier.dk
Slavenka Drakulić
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In addition to the skillfully drawn S., Drakulic’s other women ring unerringly true and make the story read like a series of blows to the heart.
main works:
— The Philadelphia Inquirer on S. A Novel about the Balkans
The Balkan Express (Balkan-express, W.W. Norton & Company, 1992), essays
Deadly Sins of Feminism (Smrtni grijesi feminizma, Znanje, 1984), non-fiction Holograms of Fear (Hologrami straha, Grafički zavod Hrvatske, 1988), novel Marble Skin (Mramorna koža, Grafički zavod Hrvatske, 1989), novel How we survived communism and even laughed (Kako smo preživjeli, Vintage, 1991), essays The Taste of a Man (Božanska glad, Durieux, 1995), novel Café Europa (Café Europa, Penguin Books, 1996), essays How did we survive (Kako smo preživjeli, Feral Tribune, 1997), essays S. A Novel about the Balkans (Kao da me nema, Feral Tribune, 1999), novel They Wouldn’t Hurt a Fly (Oni ne bi ni mrava zgazili, Kultura & Rasvjeta, 2003), essays Flesh of her Flesh (Tijelo njenog tijela, Europapress Holding, 2006), essays Frida’s Bed (Frida ili o boli, Profil International, 2007), novel Two Underdogs and a Cat (2009), essays A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism (Basne o komunizmu, Profil multimedia, 2009), essays Accused (Optužena, V.B.Z., 2012), novel Dora and the Minotaur. My Life with Picasso (Dora i Minotaur. Moj život s Picassom, Fraktura, 2015), novel Mileva Einstein: A Theory of Sadness (Mileva Einstein: teorija tuge, Fraktura, 2016), novel
Of course, any attempt to interpret someone’s thought patterns is pure conjecture, but from personal experience I can only concur with the conclusions Slavenka Drakulic has drawn about Frida’s state of mind. — Richard Marcus on Frida’s Bed
Slavenka Drakulić
—— translations: Accused: Slovakia (Aspekt), Slovenia (VBZ) A Guided Tour through the Museum of Communism: USA (Penguin), Sweden (Natur och kultur), Slovakia (Aspekt), Bulgaria (Žanet 45), Italy (B.C.Dalai editore), Serbia (Rende), Albania (ISHM) Frida’s Bed: Austria/Germany (Zolnay), Sweden (Natur och kultur), USA (Penguin), Slovenia (VBZ), Serbia (Profil Belgrade), Italy (La Tartaruga), Hungary (Libri Kiado), Macedonia (Ikona) Flesh of her Flesh: Serbia (B92), Sweden (Norstedts), Austria/Germany (Zsolnay), Poland (WAB), Macedonia (Skenpoint) They Wouldn’t Hurt a Fly: Netherlands (De Geus), UK (Abacus –TimeWarner), USA (Viking), Serbia (B92), Sweden (Norstedts), Austria/Germany (Zsolnay), Denmark (Lindhardt ok Ringhof), Norway (Humanist), Hungary (Jelenkor), Finland (Like OY), Poland (WAB), Spain (Global Rhythm Press), Portugal (Pedra da Lua), Romania (Curtea Veche)
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S. A Novel about the Balkans: Sweden (Norstedts), Norway (Gyldendal), UK (Avacus), Germany (Aufbau), Finland (Otava), Italy (Rizzoli), Netherlands (De Geus), Slovenia (Aleph), Spain (Anagrama), France (Belfond les etrangeres), Portugal (Asa), India (Green Books) Café Europa: Netherlands (de Prom), Sweden (Norstedts), USA (Penguin), Germany (Aufbau), Italy (il Saggiatore), Greece (Akti-Oxy), Japan (M.Nagaba), Taiwan (Business Weekly Publications) The Taste of a Man: Netherlands (de Prom), Sweden (Norstedts), USA (Penguin), Germany (Aufbau), Italy (il Saggiatore), UK (Abacus), Norway (Gyldendal), Denmark (Gyldendal), Slovenia (Rotis), Spain (Anagrama), Albania (Konica), The Balkan Express: USA (Harper), Slovenia (Rotis), Germany (Rowohlt), UK (Hutchinson), Sweden (Ordfronts), France (Mentha), Denmark (Spektrum), Italy (il Saggiatore), Hungary (Kobra Konyvek), Norway (Aventura), Netherlands (de Prom), Finland (Kaantopiiri Oy), Japan (Sanseido), Romania (Athena) How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed: France (Jacques Bertoin), Norway (Pax), Sweden (Ordfronts), Italy (il Saggiatore), USA (Harper), Slovenia (Rotis), Germany (Rowohlt), Netherlands (de Prom) Marble Skin: Spain (Grupo libro), France (Robert Laffont), Italy (Giunti), USA (Harper), Netherlands (de Prom), UK (Hutchinson), Sweden (Ordfronts), Germany (Aufbau) Holograms of Fear: Sweden (Norstedts), USA (Norton), Netherlands (de Prom), UK (Hutchinson), Germany (Rowohlt), Slovenia (Prešernova družba)
Slavenka Drakulić
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Zoran Ferić The more you read this book, the more the words are transformed into images from a beautifully eerie film by a late Nouvelle Vague director, a Chabrol or a Truffaut. The scenery is indeed film-ready, although we are not on the Côte d’Azur or in Paris, but in Zagreb and on the Croatian Adriatic.
Zoran Ferić (Zagreb, 1961) graduated in Croatian Language and Literature at the University of Zagreb. He is one of the most widely read contemporary Croatian writers. His second short story collection An Angel in Offside, published in 2000, received the prestigious Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Award and the Jutarnji List Award for the best work of prose fiction. For his book Walt Disney’s Mousetrap he received the Dekada Prize for best fiction written in the previous decade. His novel The Maya Calendar received several awards: Jutarnji List Award for best work of prose fiction in 2011, annual Vladimir Nazor Award and Kiklop Award for best novel of the year. His works have been translated into English, German, Polish, Ukrainian, Slovenian, Italian, Hungarian, Slovakian and Spanish. He lives in Zagreb where he teaches Croatian literature at a high school.
— Sabine Berking, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on The Maya Calendar
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Corto Literary Agency diana@cortoliterary.com www.cortoliterary.com
Zoran Ferić
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The Paradox of Ferić’s novel of the so-called seagulls lies in the fact that the love stories which will stay in the reader’s memory are not the ones about enjoying sex with foreign girls. Those moments are left in the background. Each of the stories is remembered by the drama it brings to the character, undermining the legend of seagulllovers. — Alla Tatarenko, University of Lviv on Alone by the Sea
main works: Walt Disney’s Mousetrap (Mišolovka Walta Disneya, Naklada MD, 1996), short stories Four Seasons (Quattro stagioni, Areagrafika, 1998), co-author, short stories An Angel in Offside (Anđeo u ofsajdu, Naklada MD, 2000), short stories Death of the Little Match Girl (Smrt djevojčice sa žigicama, Naklada MD, 2002), novel Letter of Discharge (Otpusno pismo, Profil International, 2003), columns The Children of Patras (Djeca Patrasa, Europapress holding, 2005), novel The Symmetry of the Miracle (Simetrija čuda, Profil International, 2007), collected works The Maya Calendar (Kalendar Maja, Profil multimedija, 2011), novel Absurdity is an Infectious Disease (Apsurd je zarazna bolest, V.B.Z., 2012), columns Alone by the Sea (Na osami blizu mora, V.B.Z., 2015), novel
—— translations: Walt Disney’s Mousetrap: France (Éditions de l’Éclisse), Germany (Folio Verlag), Poland (Pogranicze Sejny), Ukraine (Lavov), Slovenia (Beletrina)
Love, sex, and manifold humorous and grotesque situations so recognizably imagined by Ferić, all of it stamped by the handwriting of one of the most persuasive and authentic voices in modern Croatian literature. — Moderna vremena on Alone by the Sea
Zoran Ferić
An Angel in Offside: Germany (Folio Verlag), Spain (Baile del sol Ediciones), Ukraine (Folio), Slovenia (Beletrina) The Death of the Little Match Girl: Germany (Folio Verlag), Italy (Nikita Editore), Morocco (Here&There), Slovenia (V.B.Z.), Turkey (Dora Basım Yayın), USA (Autumn Hill Books) The Children of Patras: Germany (Folio Verlag), Italy (Zandonai editore), Slovenia (V.B.Z.) The Maya Calendar: Germany (Folio Verlag) Alone by the Sea: Germany (Folio Verlag), Serbia (Booka)
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Damir Karakaš
This is a perfect place for new Croatian literature! — Večernji list
Damir Karakaš (Plašćica, 1967) was born in a village in Lika, the mountainous region of Croatia. After attending university in Zagreb, he worked for Croatian daily newspaper Večernji list, later becoming a reporter from war fronts in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. He is the author of eight books, three of which are short story collections and two are novels. His works have been translated into French, English, German, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, Slovenian, and Arabic. In 2008, Dalibor Matanić directed a movie adaptation of his short story collection Kino Lika, winning numerous awards in Croatia and abroad. Damir Karakaš puts up performances, conceptual art exhibitions and writes theatre plays. His play We Almost Never Lock Up was directed by Paolo Magelli as a part of a play Zagreb Pentagram, the most awarded theater play in Croatia in 2009. His plays have been performed at the theatres in Croatia, Serbia, Germany, Chile, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Sandorf Literary Agency ivan.srsen@sandorf.hr www.sandorf.hr
Damir Karakaš
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Karakaš has a superb talent to draw the reader into his world, no matter if it is Lika or Paris.
main works:
— Radio 101
Lika Movie Theater (Kino Lika, Ghetaldus optika, 2001), short stories
Bosnians are Good Folks (Bosanci su dobri ljudi, Vl. Naklada, 1999), travel prose Kombetars (Kombetari, Vl. Naklada, 2000), novel How I Entered Europe (Kako sam ušao u Europu, Ghetaldus optika, 2004), documentary novel Eskimos (Eskimi, Profil International : Ghetaldus optika, 2007), short stories Perfect Place for Misery (Sjajno mjesto za nesreću, Sandorf, 2009), novel Blue Moon (Blue Moon, Sandorf, 2011), novel Colonel Beethoven (Pukovnik Beethoven, Sandorf, 2012), short stories Forest Memories (Sjećanje šume, Sandorf, 2016), novel
—— translations: Lika Movie Theater: Czech Republic (Dauphin), Slovenia (Literarno-umetniško društvo Literatura) How I Entered Europe: Serbia (LOM) Eskimos: Arab World (Dar El Kalema), Slovenia (Literarno-umetniško društvo Literatura)
Brilliant author who does miracles with only a few words. — Zarez magazine
Damir Karakaš
Perfect Place for Misery: Czech Republic (Doplnek), Egypt (Maktabet Dar El Kalema), Germany (Dittrich), Italy (Nutrimenti), Macedonia (Makedonska reč), Serbia (Samizdat B92) Blue Moon: Serbia (LOM) Forest Memories: Serbia (LOM)
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Kristian Novak
The novel brings forth two lifetime biographies, encapsules and reconstructs at least three cultural circles, and, like plastic explosive, offers strong psychological portraits of its four narrators, and a growing mass psychology threatening to flow into violence. — Kruno Lokotar on Gypsy, but the Most Beautiful
Kristian Novak (Baden-Baden, 1979) graduated in Croatian and German Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb in 2005 and earned his PhD from Postgraduate Linguistics Studies in 2011. He holds a lectureship with the Department of Croatian Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Rijeka and teaches at the Department of German Studies in Zagreb. Novak’s chief areas of research include historical sociolinguistics, multilingualism (Croatian–German language and culture contacts) and national identity. Kristian Novak was standard member of Croatian karate national team from 1996 to 2009, winning a range of individual and team awards at national and global karate championships. His highly acclaimed second novel Črna mati zemla (2013) was shortlisted for the Kiklop Award in 2013 and named the best fictional prose of the year by Jutarnji list. The novel won the 2014 T-portal Prize for best novel in 2013. His novel Gypsy, But the Most Beautiful (2016) was awarded with the Fran Galović Award, Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Award and T-portal prize.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Kristian Novak slidekn79@gmail.com
Kristian Novak
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What deserves praise is Novak’s virtuosity in language. (…) Entering the world of the stigmatised ones, the reader will be able to see all the pathology of small communities at play, which Novak depicts with meticulous precision. Another quality of the novel is the love story between the grown up Matija Dolenčec and Dina Gajski, which takes up the first third of the narrative. Suggestively written, with many strikingly precise observations and brilliantly paced, this (sad?!) love story serving as a trigger for the novel’s main plot is probably the best text dedicated to one of the major literary themes — the relationship between lovers — in regional prose over the recent years.
main works: Hanged (Obješeni, Insula, 2005), novel Anthology of Young Poetry of Međimurje (Antologija međimurske mlade lirike, Matica hrvatska—Čakovec, 2011) co-author, poetry Dark Mother Earth (Črna mati zemla, Algoritam, 2013), novel A Gipsy, But the Most Beautiful (Ciganin, ali najljepši, Naklada OceanMore, 2016), novel
—— translations: Dark Mother Earth: Hungary (Napkut), Slovenia (Modrijan)
— e-novine on Črna mati zemla
Kristian Novak
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Olja Savičević Ivančević A colourful and bold book by a daring, imaginative author. The boisterous and unbridled style, vibrant with emotion, is topped off by many a beautiful ending. You put her down, glowing, and think: Wow! That’s what you call literature. — Deutschlandfunk on Farewell, Cowboy
Olja Savičević Ivančević is one of the best Croatian contemporary authors and a representative of the so called ‘lost generation’. Politically and socially engaged, Olja’s work has been included in a number of Croatian anthologies and international selections. Her writing has been translated into German, Czech, Italian, Spanish, Slovenian, French, English, Slovak, Macedonian, Polish, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Albanian and Zulu language. Her short stories collection To Make the Dog Laugh won the prize for best author under thirty-five awarded jointly by Vijenac and AGM. Olja won the Ranko Marinković award for the best short story in 2007 and the Kiklop Award for best poetry collection in 2008. Her novel Farewell, Cowboy won the T-portal Prize for best Croatian novel in 2011. An excerpt of the novel has been included into the Best European Fiction 2014 and won her the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: ivan.srsen@sandorf.hr www.sandorf.hr Sandorf Literary Agency
Olja Savičević Ivančević
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…a wild ride through the dusty streets of a coastal city in Dalmatia; clouds of memories are stirred up and verbal hot lead fills the air. The dust settles to reveal a subtle and cleverly crafted family story, which revolves around a pervasive past waiting to be addressed.
main works:
— Wortlandschaften on Farewell, Cowboy
Mamasafari (Mamasafari, Algoritam, 2012), poetry
It Will Be Tremendous When I Grow Up (Bit će strašno kada ja porastem, Osnovna škola “Vjeko Butir”, 1988), poetry Eternal Kids (Vječna djeca, Narodno sveučilište, 1993), poetry Women’s Writing (Žensko pismo, 1999), poetry Puzzlerojc (Puzzlerojc, AGM, 2007), poetry To Make a Dog Laugh (Nasmijati psa, AGM, 2006), short stories House Rules (Kućna pravila, Algoritam, 2007), poetry Farewell, Cowboy (Adio, kauboju, Algoritam, 2010), novel Singer in the Night (Pjevač u noći, Sandorf, 2016), novel
—— translations: To Make a Dog Laugh: Germany (Voland&Quist), Hungary (Nyitott), Macedonia (Blesok), Serbia (Samizdat B92), Spain (Baile del Sol) House Rules: Bulgaria (DA), Macedonia (Makedonska reč), Serbia (Mala Kutija), Spain (Baile del Sol) Mamasafari: Bulgaria (DA), Macedonia (Makedonika litera) Farewell, Cowboy: Germany (Voland & Quist), Italy (L’asino d’oro), Netherlands (BananaFish), Serbia (Samizdat B92), Slovenia (Littera Picta), Spain (Baile del Sol), Sweden (Gavrilo), uk (Istros Books), USA (Mc Sweeney’s) Singer in the Night: Germany (Voland & Quist), Italy (L’asino d’oro), Serbia (lom)
Olja Savičević Ivančević
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Slobodan Šnajder
The Age of Brass is a grand story of two people who have lived their lives in the age of extremes and their descendant with a legacy of a not-so-happy-childhood, and with the task to make do with this heritage. (…) The Age of Brass is also an epic river with a lot of affluents, sleeves and driftwood, on a difficult journey towards its faraway estuary.
Slobodan Šnajder (Zagreb, 1948) is a Croatian writer and publicist. He graduated in Philosophy and English Studies from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. He was co-founder and editor of the theatre journal Prolog as well as the editor of the editions published by Cekade. From January to June 1993, he was a columnist in the daily newspaper Glas Slavonije (Spelling book for the Melancholics), and, from January 1994 until 2013, he wrote a column in the daily newspaper Novi list called Dangerous Liaisons. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the left-wing magazine Novi Plamen. Although Šnajder has been writing prose for a very long time, his first full-length novel Morendo was issued in 2012. He is the recipient of Marin Držić Award, the most respectable playwriting prize in Croatia, for his play How Dunda saved Her Country (2008). For his novel The Age of Brass (2015) he received numerous national and regional awards, such as the Meša Selimović Award, the Mirko Kovač Award, Kočićevo Pero and T-Portal Prize.
— Moderna vremena on The Age of Brass
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Slobodan Šnajder ssnajde1@net.hr
Slobodan Šnajder
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main works: Kamov (Kamov, Cekade, 1978), play Croatian Faust (Hrvatski Faust, Cekade, 1981), play News from Dubrava (Glasi iz Dubrave, Cekade, 1986), non-fiction Joyful Apocalypse (Radosna apokalipsa, IC Rijeka, 1988), essays Solace of Northern Seas (Utjeha sjevernih mora, Durieux, 1996) Book of the Minuscule (Knjiga o sitnom, Konzor, 1996), prose and plays Cardinal Error (Kardinalna greška, Novi list — Adamić, 1999) To Die Under a Star (Umrijeti pod zvijezdom, 2005), columns Kaspariana (Kaspariana, Prometej, 2005), essays Death Writing (Smrtopis, Prometej, 2005), plays Beginner’s Book for Melancholics (Početnica za melankolike, Prometej, 2006), prose Bosnian Plays (Bosanske drame, Prometej, 2006), plays 505 with a Dash (505 sa crtom, Profil International, 2007) Dream of a Bridge (San o mostu, Prometej, 2007) A Certain Miss B. (Neka gospođica B., Prometej, 2007) Faust’s Wager (Faustova oklada, Prometej, 2007) Morendo (Morendo, Profil multimedija, 2011), novel Age of Brass (Doba mjedi, Tim press, 2015), novel
—— translations: Croatian Faust: Austria (Burgtheater), Germany (Theaterheute), Macedonia (Blesok) Three Plays: Russia (Tri kvadrata) The Fifth Gospel: France (L’espace d’un instant) Snakeskin: France (L’espace d’un instant), Germany (Theaterheute), Poland (Dialog), USA (Performing Arts Journal)
Slobodan Šnajder
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Ivana Šojat
These are stories of people who have been living in a terrible agony of maladjusted relationships, in which the mother isn’t an evil mother per se, but of fate and the fate of her son reveals a spiral of violence that swallows generations.
Ivana Šojat (Osijek, 1971) is a poet, novelist and literary translator. In 2000, she published her first book of poems Hyperbole, in 2003 followed by the book of poems Ascensions and in 2005 Phantoms. In 2006, she released a collection of short stories Like a Dog and essays And All the Masks Will Fall. In 2009 her highly praised novel Unterstadt was published, which deals with the fate and life paths of the Germans in Osijek in the 20th century. Based on the novel Unterstadt a theater play was set in the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek. Her novel Šamšiel (2002) was awarded with the Charter of success at the manifestation Kozarčevi dani. As a literary translator Ivana Šojat translated numerous books from English and French into Croatian. She has lived in Belgium and Osijek.
— Večernji list on Hands of Azazel
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Fraktura d.o.o T: +385 1 335 78 63 F: +385 1 335 83 20 E: fraktura@fraktura.hr
Ivana Šojat
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A complex and carefully narrated novel of the author’s story of four generations of women of a family of German extraction in Osijek. With the backdrop of the 20th century history and its tragedy a story is unwound about identity and family secrets, fate and trauma, enriched with a sense of detail and atmosphere, refined sentences and large theme reduced to an intimate story of individuals. — Jagna Pogačnik, Jutarnji list on Unterstadt
main works: Hyperbole (Hiperbole, Hrašće, 2000), poetry Shamsiel (Šamšiel, Matica hrvatska, 2002), novel Ascensions (Uznesenja, Društvo hrvatskih književnika — Rijeka, 2003), poetry Phantoms (Utvare, 2005), poetry Like a Dog (Kao Pas, Društvo hrvatskih književnika — Rijeka, 2006), short stories And All the Masks Will Fall… (I past će sve maske…, Alfa, 2006) essays Sophia Sweeps Loneliness with Capes (Sofija plaštevima mete samoću, Matica hrvatska — Osijek, 2008), poetry Moonwalkers (Mjesečari, Fraktura, 2008), short stories Unterstadt (Unterstadt, Fraktura, 2009), novel Hands of Azazel (Ruke Azazelove, Fraktura, 2011), short stories Nobody’s Sons (Ničiji sinovi, Fraktura, 2012), novel Jom Kipur (Jom Kipur, Fraktura, 2014), novel Emet (Emet, Fraktura, 2016), stories People Can’t Stay Quiet (Ljudi ne znaju šutjeti, Fraktura, 2016), poetry
War calvary that still brings hope. — Tamara Horvat Kanjera, 24express on Jom Kipur
Ivana Šojat
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Igor Štiks
A Castle in Romagna tells two stories, separated by centuries... romantic tragedies... with a good bit of suspense. — TheCompleteReview.com on A Castle in Romagna
Igor Štiks (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1977) is an author and scholar, working as a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh. His fiction, literary criticism, and essays have appeared widely in journals and reviews in the former Yugoslavia and in numerous translations. He was co-editor of Anthologies of New Croatian Fiction (1999) and International Short Fiction in English (2001). His novel A Castle in Romagna (2000) received the Slavić prize for Best First Book in 2000. The American edition of this novel was nominated for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (2006). His second novel Elijah’s Chair (2006) received the Gjalski Award for Best Fiction Book of the Year in Croatia and Kiklop Award for the best literary work of the year 2006, and was translated into fifteen languages. Other works of short fiction and essays have appeared in English, French, German, Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish, Macedonian, and Slovene editions. He completed a dual PhD in political philosophy at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and at Northwestern University. For his literary and public work, he received the French honor of Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Fraktura d.o.o T: +385 1 335 78 63 F: +385 1 335 83 20 E: fraktura@fraktura.hr
Igor Štiks
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An elegant, haunting work... a marvellous hall of mirrors (...) a first book at its most mystical and tantalizing. — Vue Weekly on A Castle in Romagna
main works: A Castle in Romagna (Dvorac u Romagni, Durieux, 2000), novel Elijah’s Chair (Elijahova stolica, Fraktura, 2006), novel Right to Rebellion (Pravo na pobunu, Fraktura, 2010), non-fiction — social studies, coauthored with Srećko Horvat History of Flood (Povijest poplave, Fraktura, 2008), poetry Welcome to the Desert of Post-Socialism (Dobro došli u pustinju postsocijalizma, Fraktura, 2015), non-fiction, co-edited with Srećko Horvat Nations and Citizens in Yugoslavia and the Post-Yugoslav States — One Hundred Years of Citizenship (Državljanin, građanin, stranac, neprijatelj. Jedna povijest Jugoslavije i postjugoslavenskih država, Fraktura, 2015), non-fiction Flour in the Veins (Brašno u venama, Fraktura, 2016), play The Cutting Place (Rezalište, Fraktura, 2017), novel
—— translations: A Castle in Romagna: Egypt (Sphinx), Macedonia (Ars LITERA), Turkey (Dedalus); Spain (Funambulista), USA (Autumn Hill Books), Austria (Folio Verlag) Elijah’s Chair: Egypt (Golden Pony), Bulgaria (Panorama), France (Galaade), Finland (Mansarda), Serbia (Arhipelag), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Zoro), Italy (Frassinelli) Poland (W.A.B.), Germany (Ullstein, Claassen) Netherlands (De Bezige Bij), Slovenia (Beletrina), Spain (Destino), Czech Republic (Mlada fronta), Hungary (Magvető), Macedonia (Ili-Ili)
Igor Štiks
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Marina Vujčić
Marina Vujčić proves her enviable writing skills in this masterfully woven story about a man with no purpose and emotion in life – we may not like Božo or relate to him, but he will strike us as a flesh and blood character.
Marina Vujčić (Trogir, 1966) holds a degree in Croatian language and literature from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. She worked as a Croatian language teacher for many years, before she became a Croatian literature editor at HENA COM. So far she has published six novels (Someone Else’s Life, 2010; And Then Božo Started Afresh, 2014; It Could Have Been Me, 2015; The Neighbour, 2015; A Discharge Letter, 2016 – co-authored with Ivica Ivanišević; and The Question of Anatomy, 2017), and a collection of plays Die Soft, 2014. A successful playwright, she won the Marin Držić Award for Die Soft (2014) and Submarine (2017) while The Neighbour won the V.B.Z. & Tisak Media award for the best unpublished manuscript in 2015. Her novel And Then Božo Started Afresh, a lucid psychological novel about a man who decides to take his life into his hands and leave Dalmatia for Zagreb, was shortlisted for European Union Prize for Literature in 2014.
— Bojana Radović, Večernji list on And Then Božo Started Afresh
FOREIGN RIGHTS: Sandorf Literary Agency ivan.srsen@sandorf.hr www.sandorf.hr
Marina Vujčić
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This novel is structured and written with talent and care; without a single superfluous sentence and with its uniquely refined phrasing, it is imperfect only to the extent in which everything has to be imperfect in order not to seem “artificial”. Marina Vujčić as a writer may have passed under your radar so far – she passed under mine; but from this book on, keep your eyes wide open because no excuses will be accepted.
main works:
—Teofil Pančić, Jutarnji list on And Then Božo Started Afresh
And Then Božo Started Afresh: Montenegro (Nova knjiga), Germany (Relations — an excerpt)
Someone Else’s Life (Tuđi život, Profil, 2010), novel And Then Božo Started Afresh (A onda je Božo krenuo ispočetka, HENA COM, 2014), novel Die Soft (Umri ženski, HENA COM, 2014), drama collection It Could Have Been Me (Mogla sam to biti ja, HENA COM, 2015), novel The Neighbour (Susjed, V.B.Z., 2015), novel A Discharge Letter (Otpusno pismo, HENA COM, 2016), novel, co-authored with Ivica Ivanišević The Question of Anatomy (Pitanje anatomije, HENA COM, 2017), novel
—— translations:
The Waiting Room: Germany (Relations)
With her Neighbour, Marina Vujčić shows that her storytelling mastery grows with each book. The ease of narration that she achieved in The Neighbour, as well as the ease of recognizing life’s patterns and experiences that we come across in her text is not the result of a light narrative, which may seem at the first sight, but rather this constant artistic progression. — Strahimir Primorac, Vijenac on The Neighbour
Marina Vujčić
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Sample translations available at croatian-literature.hr:
Renato Baretić
Slavenka Drakulić
Zoran Ferić
Damir Karakaš
Kristian Novak
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Olja Savičević Ivančević
Slobodan Šnajder
Ivana Šojat
Igor Štiks
Marina Vujčić
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