Ivana Bodrožić (born 5 July 1982) is a Croatian writer and poet.

Biography

Ivana Bodrožić was born on 5 July 1982 in a Croatian town of

Vukovar Vukovar (; sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, , ) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern Regions of Croatia, regions of Syrmia and Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka (river), Vuka and the Danube. Vukova ...

. She finished elementary school in her hometown and high school 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 ...

. Bodrožić graduated philosophy and

Croatian studies Croatian studies or Croatistics (; ; ; ) is an academic discipline within Slavic studies which is concerned with the study of Croatian language, literature, history and culture. Within Slavic studies it belongs to the South Slavic subgroup. Besid ...

at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

, her father Ante Bodrožić was killed in Vukovar massacre (he is officially still recognized as 'disappeared'), while she and her mother and brother fled occupied Vukovar and settled in Zagreb and Kumrovec as refugees. She was awarded a distinguished literary prize ''Goran for Young Poets'' and ''Kvirin Award'' of

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska () 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 Illyrian movement during ...

for her poetry collection ''Prvi korak u tamu'' (First Step Into the Darkness), released in 2005. She published her poetry in various literary journals (''Vijenac, Quorum, Poezija''), and was also included in the anthology of contemporary Croatian poetry ''Utjeha kaosa'' (The Consolation of Chaos) by Miroslav Mićanović, as the youngest author. She was also included in the anthology of Damir Šodan, ''Drugom stranom'' (Walk on the Other Side). Her songs were translated into various European languages, while the translation of the complete collection of her poetry collection ''Prvi korak u tamu'' was published in Spanish. Her novel ''Hotel Zagorje'' (published in 2010) was awarded the following awards: Josip and Ivan Kozarac (Charter of Success); Kočić's pen, Banja Luka – Belgrade (for outstanding achievements in contemporary literature); Cyclops – for the best screening work. In 2012, the German translation of the novel was published by Hanser publishing house Hanser, and in the French by Acte Sud. Noval was also published in Serbia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Turkey and the Netherlands. The novel was published in English for the first time by

Seven Stories Press Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpor ...

as ''The Hotel Tito: A Novel'' in November, 2017. Bodrožić, together with award-winning Bosnian director

Jasmila Žbanić Jasmila Žbanić (; born 19 December 1974) is a Bosnian film director, screenwriter and producer. She has received numerous accolades, including nominations for the Academy Awards, Academy Award and two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Awards. ...

, wrote a screenplay for the feature film. She also won Večernjak's "Ranko Marinković" (2nd place) for the best short story in 2011. In 2017, Ivana Bodrožić 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 ...

. In 2025 her novel ''Sons, daughters'' was longlisted for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

Works

*Prvi korak u tamu, zbirka poezije, SKUD Ivan Goran Kovačić, Zagreb, 2005. (Spanish edition: Primer paso a la oscuridad, Baile del Sol, Tenerife, 2011.) *Hotel Zagorje, poluautobiografski roman, Profil multimedija, 2010 (Slovene: Hotel Zagorje, Modrijan, Ljubljana, 2011.; Serbian: Hotel Zagorje, Rende, Beograd, 2011.; French: Hôtel Z, Actes Sud, Arles, 2012.; German: Hotel Nirgendwo, Zsolnay Verlag, Vienna, 2012.; Macedonian: Hotel Zagorje, Magor, Skopje, 2012.; Czech: Hotel Zagorje, Paseka, Prague-Litomyšl, 2012.; Turkish: Hiçbir yer oteli, Aylak Adam, Istanbul, 2015.; Danish: Hotel Intetsteds, Tiderne Skifter, Kopenhagen, 2015.; Hungarian: Hotel Zagorje, Park Könyvkiadó, Budapest, 2019) *Pričaj mi o tome ''(Tell Me About It)'', short story (published in

Jutarnji list () is a Croatian daily newspaper based in Zagreb. It was published on 6 April 1998 by EPH (Europapress holding, owned by Ninoslav Pavić), which eventually changed its name in Hanza Media after being bought by Marijan Hanžeković. The newspap ...

) *Prijelaz za divlje životinje ''(Overpass for Wild Animals)'', VBZ, Zagreb, 2012. *Za što sam se spremna potući ''(For What Am I Ready To Fight)'', Profil knjiga, Zagreb, 2013. *100 % pamuk ''(100% cotton)'', VBZ, Zagreb, 2014. *Rupa ''(Hole)'', Naklada Ljevak-24sata, Zagreb, 2016. *The Hotel Tito: A Novel (English translation of Hotel Zagorje)

, New York, 2017. *Sinovi, kćeri, Hermes naklada, Zagreb, 2020. *Fikcija ''(Fiction)'', Fraktura, Zaprešić, 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodrozic, Ivana 1982 births Living people People from Vukovar 21st-century Croatian poets 21st-century Croatian women writers Croatian women poets Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language