The Zagreb Book Festival was founded in 2014 by Mediart International with the aim of promoting literature, reading and multimedia creativity in Croatia and beyond. The Zagreb Book Festival is designed as a regular annual literary and cultural event in May in the city of Zagreb and brings together dozens of domestic and foreign authors. One of the festival’s goals is to empower all segments in the literary sector, from the authors themselves, through publishers and translators, to readers as end-users of books.
The Sa(n)jam knjige u Istri (Book Fair(y) in Istria) is the largest fair in Croatia. Established in 1995, it gathers about 250 publishers as well as authors, editors, translators and literary critics in Pula in winter. The basis of the fair is interculturalism and the aim is to support literary exchange. The event consists of about a hundred different programs intended for audiences of all ages, and the fair continues to hold program formats that are not necessarily literary, but have, such as exhibitions, performances and concerts, become an indispensable part of the programme.
Lit Link Festival is a unique festival in July, whose participants are writers, editors and publishers. The festival has been held annually in Croatia since 2013. The purpose of the festival is to connect the local literary scene with other literary scenes across the world and to work long-term on enhancing the potential for two-way translations. At each of the bilingual programs, held in Zagreb, Labin and Rijeka, authors read excerpts from their work, translated for the occasion and projected on screen in both English and Croatian.
The Festival of World Literature was founded by Fraktura Publishing House in 2013. Over seven days at the beginning of September, the Croatian cities of Zagreb and Split become centres of world literature, and places to present new titles where authors discuss their novels and many other topics in panels and round tables. The program of the festival incorporates more events every year, embodying a highly significant cultural platform on a national and international level. The events are moderated by leading literary editors, writers and critics.
Croatia rediviva ča-kaj-što is a Croatian poetry event held since 1991 in July that gathers poets of all Croatian dialects. The event is based on the idea of trinitarianism of the Croatian language, and on the idea of merging all three Croatian dialects as an expression of Croatian linguistic unity. The highlight of the event is the choice of the most successful poet, who is crowned with a wreath of olive leaves.
The Fric Award is awarded annually for a work of prose written in the Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian or Montenegrin languages that is first published in Croatia. The prize is endowed with 10,000 EUR and organized by the weekly Express, a Croatian newspaper. Books for the Fric Prize can be nominated by publishers or authors by sending seven copies.
The Award was founded in 2008 by the internet portal Tportal with the intention of promoting Croation authors and publishers. It is awarded to the author of the best novel written in Croatian and published by a publisher registered in the Republic of Croatia. The laureate receives a cash prize in the amount of about 950 EUR and a statue in the form of a keyboard.
The Croatia rediviva Ča, Kaj, Što – baštinski dani festival selects the most successful poet, who is crowned with a wreath of olive leaves. The decision is made by a three-member jury composed of the founder and earlier oliveati (wreath holders). The crowned poet and the founder then choose verses to be engraved into a marble plate.
The Zvane Črnja Award is a Croatian literary award given for the best Croatian book of essays. It is awarded once a year in memory of the Croatian writer, culturologist and publicist Zvane Črnja. The award, consisting of a plaque and a monetary amount, was established in 2007. The competition is announced and the award bestowed by the Croatian Writers’ Association in conjunction with the Istrian branch of the DHK (Croatian Writers’ Association).
The Tin Ujević Award is given for contributions to Croatian poetry. It is considered the most prestigious award in Croatia and is named after the poet Tin Ujević. Established in 1980 by the Croatian Writers’ Society, the prize is usually awarded to a collection of poems written in Croatian and published in a specific period.
The Iso Velikanović Award is given by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia. The award, established in 2005 and named after the great Croatian translator Isidor Isa Velikanović, honors the best achievements in the field of translation of literary works both as an annual award and as a lifetime achievement award. The prize consists of a plaque, a certificate and a monetary amount.
In order to improve the quality of Croatian literary translation, DHKP (Association of Croatian Literary Translators) annually awards prizes for the best literary translations of the previous year. The award, named after the great Croatian literary translator Josip Tabak, consists of a charter and a monetary amount, and is awarded exclusively to members of the DHKP.
Funded by the Creative Europe Program of the European Union, the Ulysses Shelter aims to build a network of exchange with literary residencies across Europe. It is designed for young writers of prose and poetry as well as literary translators. The writers will stay on the island Mljet in Croatia. The residency focuses on audience development and transnational mobility for emerging authors.
The city of Rijeka established the Kamov Residency program to enable contemporary European and international creators to better understand the artistic, cultural and social situation in Croatia, especially in Rijeka. At the same time, citizens of Rijeka have access to the European and global artistic scene. Creators of all kinds of arts will be given the opportunity to address current issues and to promote art and culture as an important part of social and public life.
Since 2007, the Split association KURS has been organizing the Writers in Residence Marko Marulić program, which allows foreign artists, primarily writers but also translators and visual artists, a one-month residency in Split. At the same time, each resident guest is presented to the local audience in a traditional program of literary discussions. In addition to foreign authors, domestic authors are also introduced to form international cultural connections.
The DHKP (Association of Croatian Literary Translators) is an artistic association promoting the interests of literary translators. DHKP’s residence is a space that allows translators and writers from all over the world to stay in Zagreb and to connect with the Croatian cultural milieu, peers, publishers and festivals. DHKP’s residency is intended primarily for translators who translate from Croatian into foreign languages and authors whose works are translated into Croatian.
The poetry residency in Vesna Parun is the first residency in šibenik-knin county. Launched in honor of the Croatian poet Vesna Parun, the aim of the residence is strengthen the public’s attitude towards poetry, an important element in the creative thought process. The residence offers space and time for undisturbed literary work for a period of two weeks and is held every year on the island of Zlarin.
