Saša Stanišić ( sr-cyr, Саша Станишић; born 7 March 1978) is a Bosnian-German writer.

Biography

He was born in

Višegrad Višegrad ( sr-cyrl, Вишеград, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rests at the confluence of the Drina and the Rzav (Drina), Rzav river. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 10,668 in ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

as the son of a

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

mother and a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

father. In the spring of 1992, he fled alongside his family to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as a refugee 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 ...

. Stanišić spent the remainder of his youth in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, where his teachers encouraged his passion for writing. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, graduating with degrees in

Slavic studies Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or ...

and German as a second language. In 2006, Stanišić released his debut novel, published in English as ''How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone''. The book won multiple awards both in Germany and abroad and has been translated into 31 languages as of 2019. The English translation by

Anthea Bell Anthea Bell (10 May 1936 – 18 October 2018) was an English translator of literary works, including children's literature, from French, German and Danish language, Danish. These include ''The Castle (novel), The Castle'' by Franz Kafka, ''Aus ...

was awarded the

Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize The Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize is an annual literary prize for any book-length translation into English from any other living European language. The first prize was awarded in 1999. The prize is funded by and named in honour of Lord Wei ...

. It was also adapted for the stage by the Stadtschauspielhaus Graz, where Stanišić was the city's writer-in-residence in 2006–2007. In 2019 he won the

German Book Prize The German Book Prize () is awarded annually, in October, by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association () to the best new German-language novel of the year. The books, published in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, are nominated by their ...

for his novel ''Herkunft'' (English title: ''Where You Come From''). In his acceptance speech Stanišić expressed his discontent with the decision of the

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are six awarding committees from four institutions, one for each Nobel Prize. Five of these committees are working bodies ...

to award the 2019 Literature Nobel Prize to the Austrian author

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrians, Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has ...

. Stanišić criticized Handke for his support of

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

, saying, "I had the fortune to escape that which Peter Handke does not describe in his texts."

Bibliography

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English translation

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Awards and honors

* 2013

Alfred Döblin Prize The Alfred Döblin Prize () is a German literary award. Named after Alfred Döblin, it was endowed by Günter Grass in 1979. The prize is awarded every two years jointly by the Academy of Arts, Berlin and the :de:Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, Li ...

* 2019

for ''Herkunft'' (''Where you come from'') * 2021 Schiller Prize of the City of Marbach * 2023

Nelly Sachs Prize The Nelly Sachs Prize (German: ''Nelly Sachs Preis'') is a literary prize given every two years by the German city of Dortmund. Named after the Jewish poet and Nobel laureate Nelly Sachs, the prize includes a cash award of €15,000. It honours ...

* 2023

Angelus Award The Angelus Central European Literature Award also known as Angelus Award () is a Polish international literary award established in 2006 and presented by the city of Wrocław, Lower Silesia. The award is given annually for best prose books writ ...

* 2024

Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize The Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize () is a German literary award established in 2000 by the city of Braunschweig and the radio broadcaster Deutschlandradio. It is named after the 19th-century writer Wilhelm Raabe and is awarded for an individual w ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanisic, Sasa 1978 births Living people People from Višegrad Bosnia and Herzegovina refugees Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriates in Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina writers German male writers Yugoslav Wars refugees International Writing Program alumni