Croatian Writers' Association ( hr, Društvo hrvatskih književnika; abbreviated DHK) is the official association of Croatian writers. It was founded in 1900 in Zagreb with the goal "to unite writers and help them support one another, and promote Croatian literature regardless of political objectives", "to protect the interests and increase the reputation of writers" and "supports its members and their orphans." The DHK's president is

Zlatko Krilić Zlatko Krilić (born 19 August 1955) is a Croatian children's books writer. Krilić was born in Osijek and spent his childhood in Čepin. He graduated from the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Zagreb. Beside writing books for ...

, while Boris Domagoj Biletić and

Mirko Ćurić Mirko ( Cyrillic script: Мирко) is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin. By Slavic etymology, the name is composed of the root ''mir'' (meaning peace) and hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' usual in South Slavic languages, which together ...

are vice-presidents.

History

In 1897 the Croatian Writers' Club (''Klub hrvatskih književnika'') unofficially operated as part of the Association of Croatian Artists (''Društvo hrvatskih umjetnika ''), and was led by

Milivoj Dežman Milivoj ( sr, Миливој) is an old Slavic origin given name derived from elements: ''milo'' ("gracius, favour") + ''voj'' ("soldier, war"). Popular primarily in South Slavic states. The name may refer to: *Milivoj Ašner (1913–2011), a fo ...

. In 1898 the first informal agreement on the establishment of the Croatian Writers' Association was held, and a regulatory proposal was written.

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska ( la, Matrix Croatica) is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyri ...

in 1899 approved the establishment of a separate Association, and on March 17, 1900 the government approved its rules. Rules established four categories of members: real members (''pravi članovi''), association founders (''zakladnici''), founders (''utemeljitelji'') and associate members (''izvanredni članovi''). The association was established by the so called ''Mladi'' (Young) writers contrary to ''Stari'' (Old) writers gathered in Matica hrvatska and it's journal Vienac. At the inaugural meeting on April 2, 1900, held in the presence of 103 writers,

Ivan Trnski Ivan Trnski (1 May 1819 – 30 June 1910) was a Croatian writer, translator and puzzle designer. Glorified by his contemporaries as a great poet and patriot, he is now considered a skillful poet and a prolific author of occasional verse. Life Tr ...

was elected for the first president of the Association. In 1906 a monthly Contemporary (''Savremenik'') was launched. At the end of the 1908 the series Modern Croatian Writers (''Suvremeni hrvatski pisci'') was established, which was particularly prominent under the editorship of

Julije Benešić Julije is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Julije Bajamonti (1744–1800), medical historian, writer, translator, encyclopedist, historian, philosopher, and musician from the Croatian city of Split *Julije Kempf (1864–1934), C ...

(1909–1920). It was in that series that the famous anthology Croatian Young Lyric (''Hrvatska mlada lirika '') was published in 1914. The association's first years were marked by convergent efforts towards Matica Hrvatska – the association's publications of the Modern Croatian Writers series and the magazine ''Contemporary'' were supported by Matica hrvatska as possibly jointly published. At the same time the association advocated literary unity of Croats and Serbs, and proposals were made to issue a common literary magazine. In 1914 the association was temporarily suspended by a government decision due to the World War I. The postwar efforts of the association were marked by a support to linguistic and orthographic unification of Croats and Serbs. Due to failed agreements with Matica hrvatska, financial deficit and a fierce competition of the newly established magazines, the ''Contemporary'' ceased to be published in 1922, and after being temporarily issued in 1923 it was resuspended in 1924–1926. The topic of the establishment of the Yugoslav Writers' Association was actively discussed, and after a proposal of the Association of Writers in Belgrade "for all writers of our country be united in one association", the Committee of the Croatian Writers' Association replied in 1927 that it such initiatives are still premature, and has proposed an alliance of autonomous associations instead. The death of

Stjepan Radić Stjepan Radić (11 June 1871 – 8 August 1928) was a Croat politician and founder of the Croatian People's Peasant Party (HPSS), active in Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He is credited with galvanizing Cro ...

all the more strengthened the Croatian national spirit of the association. The Association operated during the period of Independent State of Croatia as well. In 1945 the Association was renamed the Association of Writers of Croatia (''Društvo književnika Hrvatske''), new rules were approved and a new board was elected with

Luka Perković Luka Perković (born 30 September 1998), better known as Perkz (previously stylized as PERKZ and before that as PerkZ), is a Croatian professional ''League of Legends'' player for Team Vitality. From 2015 to 2020, Perkz was a member of G2 Esports ...

as the president. A few dozen writers were punished by prohibiting their public work and a temporary suspension of having their works published. In 1949 the Second Congress of the Writers' Union of Yugoslavia was held in Zagreb, in which the new administration was elected with Ivo Andrić as the President, and the board consisting of Miroslav Krleža,

Marin Franičević Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...

Josip Barković Josip () is a male given name found among Croats and Slovenes, a cognate of Joseph. In Croatia, the name Josip was the second most common masculine given name in the decades up to 1959, and has stayed among the top ten most common ones throughout 2 ...

, Petar Šegedin,

Viktor Car Emin Viktor Car Emin (Kraj at Mošćenička Draga, 1 November 1870 – Opatija, 17 April 1963) was a prominent Croatian people, Croatian writer. He graduated from Teachers School in Kopar. He was expelled from the Italian controlled Istria first to settl ...

and

Slavko Kolar Slavko Kolar (1 December 1891 - 15 September 1963) was a Yugoslav writer. Selected works * Nasmijane pripovijesti (1917) * Ili jesmo - ili nismo (1933) * Mi smo za pravicu (1936) * Svoga tijela gospodar (1942) * Natrag u naftalin (1946) * Glavno ...

. In 1964 the association's plenum unanimously adopted the Declaration on the Status and Name of the Croatian Literary Language, and during the

Croatian Spring The Croatian Spring ( hr, Hrvatsko proljeće), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republic ...

the association stood with Matica hrvatska in support the movement. In the 1980s, especially after the last congress of the Writers' Union of Yugoslavia in Novi Sad in 1985, the association was more actively involved in political life, usually by writing open letters in defense of

Croatian language Croatian (; ' ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language used by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina, and other neighboring countries. It is the official ...

, or civil rights of individual writers. In 1990 the original name of the Association was restored. In 2002 several former members, dissatisfied with the state of the association, founded the Croatian Writers' Society (''Hrvatsko društvo pisaca'').

Association today

The association has regional chapters in

Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, Zadar, Split,

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

and Čakovec. It issues several magazines: Bridge (''Most''), Republic (''Republika'') and ''Korabljica''. The series Contemporary Croatian Writers has been renewed under the name Library of the Croatian Writers' Association (''Knjižnica Društva hrvatskih književnika''). Several literary awards have been established.

Presidents

Stjepan Miletić Stjepan Miletić (24 March 1868 8 September 1908) was a Croatian playwright, director, critic, and writer. Biography Stjepan Miletić Jr. was born in Zagreb in 1868 to the noble Miletić family. He studied philosophy in Vienna, later achievin ...

Natko Nodilo Natko Nodilo (31 August 1834 – 21 May 1912) was a Croatian politician, historian, journalist, university professor, and chancellor of the University of Zagreb. Born in Split, he studied theology in Zadar until 1856, when he dropped out of colleg ...

Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Ksaver Šandor Gjalski (26 October 1854 – 6 February 1935) was a Croatian writer and civil servant. He was born Ljubomil Babić at Gredice, near Klanjec in Hrvatsko Zagorje into a minor aristocratic family. He finished high school in Varaž ...

(twice) *

Nikola Andrić Nikola Andrić (5 July 1867 – 7 April 1942) was a Croatian writer, philologist, and translator. Biography Andrić was born in Vukovar in 1867. After obtaining a degree in Romance and Slavic studies in Vienna and Paris, he received his PhD i ...

(twice) * Branimir Livadić *

Mihovil Nikolić Mihovil is a Croatian given name. It is a variant of Michael (given name), Michael. It may refer to *Mihovil Logar (1902–1998), Serbian composer *Mihovil Pavlek Miškina (1887–1942), Croatian writer and politician *Mihovil Nakić (born 1955), Cr ...

Milutin Cihlar Nehajev Milutin ( sr, Милутин) is a Serbian masculine given name of Slavic origin. The name may refer to: *Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (1253–1321), king of Serbia *Milutin Bojić (1892–1917), poet *Milutin Ivković (1906–1943), football ...

* Stjepan Trontl * Franjo Fancev *

Ilija Jakovljević Ilija may refer to: * Ilija, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran * Ilija, Slovakia, a village and municipality in the Banská Štiavnica District, in the Banská Bystrica Region * Ilija (given name), South Slavic given name *ilija (puki) kante ...

Mile Budak Mile Budak (30 August 1889 – 7 June 1945) was a Croatian politician and writer best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian fascist Ustaša movement, which ruled the Independent State of Croatia during World War II in Yugoslavia ...

* Luka Perković (1945–1948) *

(1948–1952) *

Ivan Dončević Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

(1952) * Petar Šegedin (1953, 1968–1970) *

Mirko Božić Mirko (Cyrillic script: Мирко) is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin. By Slavic etymology, the name is composed of the root ''mir'' (meaning peace) and hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' usual in South Slavic languages, which together me ...

(1954, 1959–1960) *

Miroslav Feldman Dr. Miroslav Feldman (28 December 189930 May 1976) was a Croatian-Jewish poet and writer. Feldman was born in Virovitica on 28 December 1899. He studied medicine in Zagreb and Vienna. After graduation, he returned to Croatia and worked as a phys ...

(1955) *

Vjekoslav Kaleb Vjekoslav Kaleb (27 September 1905 – 13 April 1996) was a Croatian short story writer and novelist. Biography Kaleb was born in Tisno and educated in Zadar, Belgrade, Šibenik and Zagreb, where he attended Teacher’s Academy (today: Faculty ...

(1956) *

Marijan Matković Marijan is a male Croats, Croatian first name. The Macedonian version of this name is Marjan. Marijan is also a last name found in Croatia. People named Marijan *Marijan Beneš – Croatian boxer *Marijan Brkić Brk – Croatian musician *Mari ...

(1957–1958) *

Jure Kaštelan Juraj "Jure" Kaštelan (18 December 1919 – 24 February 1990) was a Croatian poet and writer. Education and career Juraj "Jure" Kaštelan was born on 18 December 1919 in Zakučac in Dalmatia. He attended primary school in Split and then matricu ...

(1961) * Dobriša Cesarić (1962) *

Dragutin Tadijanović Dragutin Tadijanović (4 November 1905 – 27 June 2007) was a Croatian poet, and in his native Croatia he is referred to as a " Bard." Tadijanović was born in the village of Rastušje close to Slavonski Brod in the region of Slavonia. He pub ...

(1963) *

Gustav Krklec Gustav Krklec (23 June 1899 – 30 October 1977) was a Croatian writer and translator. Krklec was born in 1899 in Udbinja near Karlovac. In 1900, he moved with his family to Maruševec, a village near Varaždin. He studied in Vienna and Zagre ...

(1964, 1974–1976) * Vlatko Pavletić (1965–1968) * Ivo Frangeš (1970–1972) *

Jure Franičević-Pločar Jure may refer to: * De jure, Latin legal phrase * Jure (given name) Jure is a South Slavs, South Slavic masculine given name found in Slovenia and Croatia. It is cognate to the names Juraj and Jurij, in turn cognate to ''George (given name), Geor ...

(1972–1974) *

(1976–1977) *

Milivoj Slaviček Milivoj ( sr, Миливој) is an old Slavic origin given name derived from elements: ''milo'' ("gracius, favour") + ''voj'' ("soldier, war"). Popular primarily in South Slavic states. The name may refer to: *Milivoj Ašner (1913–2011), a fo ...

(1978–1979) *

Šime Vučetić Šime () is a masculine Croatian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Šime Budinić (1535–1600), a 16th-century Catholic priest and writer from Zadar, Venetian Dalmatia (today Croatia) *Šime Ljubić (1822–1896), Croatian histori ...

(1980–1981) * Pero Budak (1982–1984) * Marija Peakić Mikuljan (1985–1989) * Nedjeljko Fabrio (1989–1995) *

Ante Stamać Ante or Antes may refer to: * Ante (cards), an initial stake paid in a card game * Ante (poker), a forced bet in the game of poker * Ante (name), Croatian form of the given name Anthony * The Latin word ''ante'', meaning "before", which is used as ...

(1995–1999) *

Slavko Mihalić Slavko () is a Slavic masculine given name. Notable holders of the name include: Arts * Slavko Avsenik, Slovenian musician * Slavko Avsenik, Jr., Slovenian musician * Slavko Brankov, Croatian actor * Slavko Brill, Croatian Jewish sculptor * Slavko ...

(1999–2005) *

Stjepan Čuić Stjepan is a Croatian masculine given name, variant of Stephen, used by ijekavian speakers. In Croatia, the name Stjepan was among the top ten most common masculine given names in the decades up to 1969. Notable people with the name include: * St ...

(2005–2008) * Borben Vladović (2008–2011) *

Božidar Petrač Božidar (Bulgarian, Macedonian, sr-cyr, Божидар, pl, Bożydar, sometimes transliterated as Bojidar, or Bozhidar) is a Slavic given name meaning "Divine gift". It is a calque of the Greek name Theodore, itself derived from the Greek word "T ...

(2011–) *

(2020–)

References

{{Authority control Croatian language Cultural organizations based in Croatia Writers' organizations by country 1900 establishments in Croatia Arts organizations established in 1900

History

Association today

Presidents

See also

References