Lana Bastašić
Lana Bastašić | |
|---|---|
 Bastašić (2023) | |
| Native name | Лана Басташић |
| Born | 27 August 1986 Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Occupation | Novelist, translator |
| Nationality | Bosnian |
| Alma mater | University of Banja Luka, University of Belgrade |
| Notable awards | 2020 European Union Prize for Literature |
Lana Bastašić (Serbian Cyrillic: Лана Басташић; born 27 August 1986) is a Bosnian and Serbian writer, novelist and translator. She was born in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia (today Croatia).
Early life and education
She was born in Zagreb to a Serbian family in 1986 and moved to Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina as a young child. She studied English at the University of Banja Luka and received an MA in Cultural Studies from the University of Belgrade.
Career
Bastašić's debut novel Catch the Rabbit (Serbian: Uhvati zeca) was published in Belgrade in 2018, and then reprinted in Sarajevo. The structure of the book draws inspiration from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with themes of exile, identity, and is divided into twelve chapters, as is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It won the 2020 EU Prize for Literature and was shortlisted for the NIN Award. It was translated into English by Bastašić herself and published by Picador in the UK and Restless Books in the US. In 2017, Bastašić has signed the Declaration on the Common Language of the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins.
In addition to novels, Bastašić has written in many different genres: short stories, children’s stories, poetry, and stage plays.
In January 2024, Bastašić terminated her contract with German publisher S Fischer, accusing it of silence on the Gaza crisis and censoring pro-Palestinian voices in Germany. Later that month, she revealed on Instagram that she has been disinvited from an Austrian literature festival, the Literature Festival Salzburg. The festival organizers cited the ongoing discussion around her publisher departure, stating that her participation would imply a stance they wished to avoid.
Personal life
She currently resides in Switzerland.
Bibliography
Short story collections
- Permanent Pigments (Trajni pigmenti), 2010. ISBN 9788673980522
- Fireworks (Vatrometi), 2013
- Milk Teeth (Mliječni zubi), 2020. ISBN 9789533582986
Novels
- Catch the Rabbit (Uhvati zeca), 2021. ISBN 9781529039610