Denis Derk, Večernji list

Loser by a Landslide is a novel of great atmosphere, sharp sentences and solid characters that don’t dissipate in provincial weltschmertz, but buzz with life vibrancy.

 

Vienna book launching of Ivica Prtenjača’s 'The Hill' and Goran Ferčec 'There Will Be No Miracles Here'

Ivica Prtenjača and Goran Ferčec will guest at a book launch event in Vienna on Monday, April 26th, 2021. Prtenjača will be presenting his award-winning novel “The Hill” (V.B.Z., Zagreb, 2014), translated in German by the esteemed translator Klaus Detlef Olof and published by Folio Verlag (“Der Berg”). Ferčec will be talking about his novel ‘’There Will Be No Miracles Here" (Fraktura, Zaprešić, 2011), translated into German by Mascha Dabic as "Wunder wird es hier keine geben" and published by Residenz Verlag.

The event will be streamed live on YouTube, starting at 7:00 pm.

Slobodna Dalmacija on Highway Patrol

While reading Highway Patrol you will probably run into yourselves or the images of your childhood, stumble upon your own blunder, longing or fear. If, while reading, you hear your father's voice or walk into your grandma's room, if it seems that the first-person addressing you from the book is no other than the one with whom you share your daily bowl of soup, then it's impossible to read such a book from any other perspective than the context of your own home.... these are the stories about things people discuss in every coffee place over a cup of latte.

Božidar Alajbegović, Vijenac on The Sky in Quagmire

Stylistically between poetry and prose, Sven Popović heirs beatnik as much as legendary Croatian Quorum poetics, creates strong as much as dreamy fiction, prose of rock passion and jazz fluidity and softness, with crumbs of Hemingway, Burroughs, Johnny Štulić and Tom Waits between the written lines, and melody of The Ramones, The Pavement, The Strokes, Modest Mouse and Iggy Pop in the ear.

The Year of Reading in Croatia

The Croatian Government declared the year 2021 the Year of Reading based on the proposal by the Ministry of Culture and Media. Due to this declaration the Ministry of Culture and Media will begin with the implementation of the numerous programmes supporting reading that will take place throughout 2021. This is a reflection of a measure in the Action Plan of the National Strategy to Promote Reading, adopted by the Government in 2017. The main goal of the National Strategy is to contribute to the development of the reading culture and enables reading with pleasure and understanding.

In the midst of the pandemic and decreased possibility of organising and participating in cultural events – in up until now usual ways – one of the cultural activities which more attention and time could be invested in is precisely reading. During the Year of Reading, numerous activities will contribute to its affirmation among all generation of public – from newly established awards (for the best bookshops or the award of young literary critics…) and organisation of international conference to declaration of reading ambassadors. What is more, ongoing book and reading related activities of the Ministry of Culture and Media and other cultural stakeholders will gain additional visibility through a comprehensive national media campaign.

In this regard, international cultural cooperation is extremely important, acquainting Croatian readers with the international literary tendencies of which Croatian authors represent an integral part. The Ministry supports the promotion of Croatian literature by financing sample translations of the most important works available at the Croatian Literature website. It also provides residencies for authors and translators, as well as showcases at the biggest festivals and book fairs. Due to travel restrictions and limited cultural events, international publishers are being more intensely supported for publishing translations of Croatian authors and vice-versa.

Reading contributes to the growth of the society and in turn the society needs to enable adoption and development of reading habits. In order to intensify these activities and come up with new initiatives, the Ministry of Culture and Media looks forward to and welcomes all ideas and active contribution in the Year of Reading to achieve our common goals in the best way possible. 

 

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2021 the Year of Reading in Croatia


Based on: 

National Strategy to Promote Reading 2017 – 2022  


Declared by:

The Government of the Republic of Croatia on December 30th 2020


Proposed and executed by:

The Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia


Main goals:

- to contribute to the development of the reading culture
- to enable reading with pleasure and understanding for all generations
- to adopt and develop reading habits
- to promote quality literature (Croatian and international)
- to bring together all the participants in the book chain



Main activities:

- bringing enlarged visibility to all book and reading related programs traditionally organised and performed, through the intense national media campaign 
- introducing new initiatives (with the intention of continuity): 
       
>> Born to read – national project for pre-school children in cooperation with paediatricians
     (during the period from birth to school every child would get 4 picture-books by
     Croatian authors and illustrators)                          
>> The award for the best bookstores in Croatia                                
>> The award for the best book trailers made by school children                   
>> The young critics award (high school children read book for general/adult public)                   
>> Pronouncing the “Reading Days” and the “Reading Ambassadors” for all generations of public 
>> Organisation of the international conference on the promotion of reading (October)


Main partners:

- Ministry of education and science, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
- Libraries (more than 2000 different programs to encourage reading throughout the year) and many other public institutions (museums, schools…)
- Societies of Croatian writers and literary translators, Croatian PEN Centre
- Publishers and Booksellers Association within Croatian Chamber of commerce 
- Non-governmental organisations in the field of culture (not only book related)
- Croatian Television and other media partners
- Local authorities and tourist boards 
- International partners: diplomatic and cultural representatives in Croatia (France, Iran, India, Israel…)

KristianN-works/transl

MAIN WORKS

Hanged (Obješeni, Insula, 2005), novel
Anthology of Young Poetry of Međimurje (Antologija međimurske mlade lirike, 2011) co-author, poetry
Dark Mother Earth (Črna mati zemla, Algoritam, 2013), novel
Gipsy, but the Fairest of Them All (Ciganin, ali najljepši, Naklada OceanMore, 2016), novel
The Case of My Own Peril (Slučaj vlastite pogibelji, Oceanmore, 2023), novel
 


TRANSLATIONS

Dark Mother Earth: Hungary (Napkut), Slovenia (Modrijan), USA (Amazon Crossing)
Gipsy, but the Fairest of them All: Hungary (Metropolis Media), Norway (Cappelen Damm), Slovenia (Beletrina), Serbia (Književna radionica Rašić), Bulgaria (Paradox)
The Case of My Own Peril: Slovenia (Beletrina)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ministry of Culture and Media released a publication on the Creative Europe 2014-2020

Marking the conclusion of the Creative Europe 2014-2020 programme, the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media has released a publication which showcases the results of the Croatian participants during the last period. The programme included two separate sub-programmes—the MEDIA and the Culture sub-programme, while the publication focuses on the latter. Creative Europe Desk has made possible to keep up with the latest tendencies in cultural and creative industries on the European level, while creating opportunities for the Croatian creative industries to built new knowledge, skills, insights, partnerships and projects. 

The publication takes the reader through the journey of the Creative Europe in Croatia: from the very beginning, cultural organizations, artists and creative professionals in Croatia have been a part of the programme, along with their European partners. The readers will discover the amount of energy and creativity poured into these trailblazing projects. 

Among plenty fascinating content and an overview of the finalized projects, those interested in literature and reading can look into the complete overview of the Literary translation projects, on pages 57-67. Within these projects, Croatian publishers have translated a number of works from various national literatures, and foreign publishers have published the translated works of Croatian authors.

Minister of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia Nina Obuljen Koržinek: "In this programming period, the Republic of Croatia gained multiple benefits from the Culture sub-programme: an increase in the number of beneficiaries was recorded, Croatia was awarded with its first European Capital of Culture title, and Croatian laureates won a number of recognitions and awards in certain prominent fields. The Croatian cultural and creative sector has been strengthened through participation in this programme, which encourages openness, dialogue, partnerships and networking at the international level, as well as simultaneous concentric dissemination of benefits to the local communities."


* You can download publication here!

Bonislav Kamenjašević, Arteist

The storyteller is in alignment with the rhythm and joviality of the prose: vivid, joyous and playful, prone to peculiarity and unusual comments and comparisons. The stories are lively and realistic. There is a notable seed of reality, sprouted from the plant of fiction. Characters are recognizable, and the situation contain some of hearsay anecdotes from the bar. The characters have vivid, humorous and harmless outsmarting conversations.

 

Main works/Translations
Sample translation
Links
Contacts