Faruk Šehić (born 1970) is a Bosnian poet, novelist and short story writer. He was born in

Bihać Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...

and grew up in

Bosanska Krupa Bosanska Krupa ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крупа) is a city located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 29,659 inhabitants. It is situat ...

. He studied veterinary medicine in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

until the outbreak 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 ...

in which he was an active combatant. After the war, he turned to literature. His first book was a collection of poems ''Pjesme u nastajanju'' (''Acquired Poems'', 2000). His short story collection ''Pod pritiskom'' (''Under Pressure'') was published in 2004 and won the Zoro Verlag Prize. The English translation of ''Under Pressure'' was published in May 2019 by

Istros Books Istros books is a London-based independent publisher of writers from South-East Europe and the Balkans, in English translation. It was set up in 2011 by Susan Curtis. Publications Notable publications include: *''Doppelgänger'' by Daša Drndić ...

. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

''Knjiga o Uni'' (''Quiet Flows the Una'', 2011), was translated into English in 2016 by

and into Italian in 2017 by E. Mujčić (''Il mio fiume'') for Mimesis, and also into Romanian, Bulgarian, Turkish, Spanish, Macedonian, Arabic, Dutch, Polish, Slovenian and Hungarian languages. ''Quiet Flows the Una'' won the Meša Selimović prize for the best novel published in the

former 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 ...

in 2011, and the

EU 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 2013. His most recent poetry book is a collection of poetry entitled ''My Rivers'' (''Moje rijeke'', Buybook, 2014), for which he received the Risto Ratković Award for the best poetry book in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia in 2014, and Annual award from the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also received XXXI Premio Letterario Camaiore Francesco Belluomini (Premio Internazionale 2019) for selected poems "Ritorno alla natura" as a youngest laureate so far. In 2018, he published a collection of short stories, ''Clockwork Stories''. Šehić lives 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 ...

, where he works as a columnist and journalist. He is a member of the Writers’ Association and the PEN Centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His books have been translated into 15 languages and published in 19 countries. In 2017, Šehić has signed the

Declaration on the Common Language The Declaration on the Common Language ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku, Декларација о заједничком језику, separator=" / ") was issued in 2017 by a group of intellectuals and NGOs from Bosnia and He ...

of the

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

Bosniaks 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 ...

and

Montenegrins Montenegrins (, or ) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians; however, the population also includes ...

Published works

* ''Pjesme u Nastajanju'' (Acquired Poems), 2000 * ''Hit depo'' (Hit Depot), 2003 * ''Pod Pritiskom'' (Under Pressure), 2004 * ''Transsarajevo'' 2006 * ''Hit depo, Pod pritiskom, Transsarajevo, Apokalipsa iz Recycle bina/Dodatne scene'' (Hit Depot, Under Pressure, Transsarajevo, Apocalypse from Recycle Bin/Additional Scenes), 2007/2018 * ''Knjiga o Uni'' (Quiet Flows the Una), 2011 * ''Moje rijeke'' (My Rivers), 2014 * ''Priče sa satnim mehanizmom'' (Clockwork Stories), 2018 * ''Greta'' (Greta), 2021.

Works translated into English

*
Quiet Flows the Una
' (Istros Books, London, 2016) *
Under Pressure
' (Istros Books, London, 2019)

References

External links

*
Author's page
at Istros Books' website (UK Publisher) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sehic, Faruk 1970 births Living people Bosnia and Herzegovina poets Bosnia and Herzegovina writers Bosniak poets Bosniak writers Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language Writers from Bihać