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Maša Kolanović

マーシャ・コラノヴィッチ

Masa Kolanovic

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1979-11-16 （Zagreb）
Nationality
Croatian
Languages
Croatian, English
Residence History
Zagreb

Career

Occupations
writer, university lecturer
Active Years
2001-

Education

University of Zagreb
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences / Croatian language and comparative literature
Country: Croatia

Awards

EU Prize for Literature
Work: Dear Insects and Other Scary Stories
Organization: European Union Prize for Literature
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sloboština Barbie

2008 Fiction

A satirical novel addressing consumer culture and urban life in the postsocialist era.

consumer societypostsocialismurban life
Adaptations
  • [translation (book)] Underground Barbie (German translation) (2012)
Translations
  • German: Underground Barbie

Dear Insects and Other Scary Stories

2019 Short story collection

A collection of short stories that captures everyday absurdities and social fears. Known as a winner of the EU Prize for Literature.

absurditysocial critiqueloneliness

Leeches for the Lonely

2001 Short fiction/poetry

An early collection focusing on loneliness and intimacy.

lonelinessintimacy

Jamerika

2013 Novel / social satire

A work addressing immigration, cultural mixing, and social marginalization.

immigrationcultural mixingmarginalization

Striker! Rebel? Consumer...

2011 Essays / criticism

A collection of fragmented reflections on labor, rebellion, and consumption.

laborrebellionconsumerism

Comparative Postsocialism: Slavic Experiences (editor)

2013 Edited academic volume

An edited volume compiling comparative studies on postsocialism.

postsocialismcomparative studies

The Cultural Life of Capitalism in Yugoslavia (co-editor)

2017 Edited academic volume

A co-edited volume addressing the cultural aspects of capitalism in Yugoslavia.

cultural capitalismYugoslav studies

Bibliography

  • Pijavice za usamljene (Leeches for the Lonely), 2001
  • Sloboština Barbie, 2008
  • Udarnik! Buntovnik? Potrošač..., 2011
  • Jamerika, 2013
  • Comparative Postsocialism: Slavic Experiences (editor), 2013
  • The Cultural Life of Capitalism in Yugoslavia (co-editor), 2017
  • Poštovani kukci i druge jezive priče (Dear Insects and Other Scary Stories), 2019

Adaptations

  • German translation of Sloboština Barbie (Underground Barbie, 2012)

Translations of Works

  • Sloboština Barbie → German: Underground Barbie (2012)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
satirical styleblack humorsocial-observational realism
Recurring Motifs
critique of consumerismeveryday urban absurdityloneliness and alienation

Legacy

Considered a significant contemporary Croatian writer, noted for social satire and depictions of everyday absurdity. She teaches at the university level and has gained international recognition, including an EU Prize for Literature.

Trivia

  • Signed the Declaration on the Common Language in 2017.
  • Teaches in the Department of Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb.
  • Has a work that won the EU Prize for Literature.