Andrej Nikolaidis (; born May 7, 1974) is a
Montenegrin-
Bosnian novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
,
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
, and
political adviser. His novel ''Sin'' (The Son) won the
European Union Prize for Literature
The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...
in 2011. The English translation was published in 2013 by
Istros Books in the United Kingdom.
From October 2009 to February 2014 he was adviser to
Ranko Krivokapić
Ranko Krivokapić (; born August 17, 1961) is a Montenegrin politician who served as the minister of foreign affairs from April to October 2022. He is a former long-term President of the Parliament of Montenegro from 2003 to 2016, and the Presi ...
, speaker of the
Montenegrin Parliament. He is courrently columnist of Montenegrin internet portal CDM.
Biography
Nikolaidis was born and raised in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
,
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
into a
Montenegrin family. In 1992, following the breakout of the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
, Nikolaidis's family moved to the Montenegrin town of
Ulcinj
Ulcinj () is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 11,488.
As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, it was founded in 5th ...
, his father's hometown, where he owns a summer house. An ardent supporter of Montenegrin independence, anti-war activist and promoter of human rights, especially minority rights, Nikolaidis initially became known for his political views and public feuds, appearing on local television and in newspapers with his razor-sharp political commentaries. His writings for ''Monitor'' and ''
Slobodna Bosna'' aroused controversy and he ''"received threats, including death threats, after publishing several articles about “facing the past.” During a talk show on Radio Antena M, one of the listeners, while on air, said that he would kill Nikolaidis."''
Nikolaidis has published four novels in Montenegro and Croatia: ''Mimesis'' (Durieux, OKF, 2003), ''Son'' (Durieux, 2006), ''The Coming'' (Algoritam, 2009) and ''Till Kingdom Come'' (Algoritam, 2012) as well as collections of short stories ''The Cathedral in Seattle'', ''Why Mira Furlan?'', ''A Short History of Madness'' and a cultural theory book "Homo Sucker: The Poetics of Apocalypse".
In 2012, two of his novels ('The Coming' and 'The Son') were published in English by the UK publishe
Istros Books In 2014, a German edition of "The Coming", "Die Ankunft", was published by Voland & Quist.
His first critically acclaimed novel "Mimesis" was very well received in Croatia, Bosnia and among liberal Montenegrin intellectuals, where local independent media compares his expression and attitude to the one of
Thomas Bernhard. He wrote columns for pro-independence Montenegrin publications such as ''
Vijesti
''Nezavisni dnevnik Vijesti'' (; English translation: ''News'') is a Montenegrin daily newspaper.
The paper is published and managed by an entity called Daily Press d.o.o. - a limited liability company based in Podgorica. The company's ownershi ...
'' daily newspaper, ''
Monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...
'' weekly newsmagazine (from 2002 until 2009), and ''
Crnogorski književni list'' weekly newspaper, as well as Bosnian weekly newsmagazine ''
Slobodna Bosna''. He now resides in
Ulcinj
Ulcinj () is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 11,488.
As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, it was founded in 5th ...
,
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
.
On October 15, 2009, it was announced that Nikolaidis accepted a job as the adviser to politician Ranko Krivokapić, who has been the speaker of the house in Montenegrin Parliament since 2003 and is the honorary president of
SDP CG party, a minor liberal party without parliamentary representatives. The announcement came couple of weeks after Krivokapić publicly supported Nikolaidis while criticizing the Montenegrin Supreme Court's final ruling in Kusturica vs. Nikolaidis case. Nikolaidis resigned in February 2014.
Controversy
Emir Kusturica
On May 28, 2004, Nikolaidis's highly charged piece titled "Dželatov šegrt" (Executioner's Apprentice) was published as part of his regular column in ''Monitor'' weekly magazine. In it, he targeted film director
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica ( sr-cyrl, Емир Кустурица, ; born 24 November 1954) is a Serbian film director, screenwriter, actor, film producer and musician. Kusturica has been an active filmmaker since the 1980s.
He has competed at the Cannes ...
, denouncing him, among other things, as one of the "biggest media stars of the time when
Milošević's war propaganda propped people who had something stupid but patriotic to say and created news for people who were insensitive to human suffering, blind to their own guilt, and finally stupid enough to believe in their own righteousness".
Nikolaidis was subsequently sued by Kusturica for libel. After the trial in November 2004, primary court (Osnovni sud) in Podgorica under presiding judge Evica Durutović awarded Kusturica
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
5,000 in damages. However, on appeal, the verdict against Nikolaidis had been overruled by the higher court (Viši sud) in December 2005 and the case was returned to the lower court for a re-trial.
In late November 2007 the primary court (Osnovni sud) confirmed the previous verdict following a re-trial. Nikoladis again appealed the primary court verdict and the case was heard for the second time by the higher court (Viši sud) in April 2008 and this time it upheld the primary court verdict, ordering Nikolaids to pay the damages. In reaction to the verdict, Nikolaidis received individual support from Bosnia and Herzegovina where actor
Emir Hadžihafizbegović and journalist
Šemsudin "Šeki" Radončić raised funds to pay the Nikolaidis's fine.
Republika Srpska
In a January 11, 2012 article titled "What is Left of Greater Serbia," Nikolaidis wrote: ''"What would be, in B&H, in this case, true civilized step? Obviously, to global, uber-state, and uber-national institutions put justice ahead of pragmatism and ethics of profit, and conduct abolition, if needed by force, of Republika Srpska.''
..''Civilised step would be if Bole used dynamite and rifles which he hid in the ballroom in which leaders, spiritual people, and artists celebrated 20th anniversary of existence of Republika Srpska."''
Awards and honors
*2011:
European Union Prize for Literature
The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...
, winner Montenegro, ''Sin'' (The Son)
Published works
* ''Mimesis'' (2003)
* ''Sin'' (2006). ''The Son'', trans. Will Firth (Istros Books, 2013)
* ''Balkanska Rapsodija'' (2007). Balkan Rhapsody
* ''Mimesis i drugi skandali'' (2008). Mimesis and Other Scandals
* ''Dolazak'' (2009). ''The Coming'', trans. Will Firth (Istros Books, 2012)
* ''Homo Sucker : Poetika Apokalipse'' (2010)
* ''Odlaganje. Parezija'' (2012)
* ''Mala enciklopedija ludila'' (2013). The Small Encyclopedia of Madness
* ''Devet'' (2014). ''Till Kingdom Come'', trans. Will Firth (Istros Books, 2015)
* ''Smjena straže'' (2015). The Changing of the Guard
* ''Mađarska rečenica'' (2017). The Hungarian Sentence
* Anomalija (2022). ''Anomaly'', trans. Will Firth (Peirene Press, 2024)
Compilations in English
* ''The Olcinium Trilogy'' (Istros Books, 2019). Collects ''The Son'', ''The'' ''Coming'' and ''Till Kingdom Come''.
References
External links
Article in the Economist, 22 May 2012Author's Pageon Istros Books' website (UK Publisher)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolaidis, Andrej
1974 births
Living people
Writers from Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina novelists
Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Greek descent
Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Montenegrin descent
Bosnia and Herzegovina short story writers
21st-century Montenegrin writers
Montenegrin male writers
Montenegrin people of Greek descent