Salon with a View: Lana Bastašić

Lana Bastašić
Among her generation of writers, Lana Bastašić is arguably the region’s most internationally prominent novelist. The structure of her debut novel, Uhvati zeca (Catch the Rabbit), draws inspiration from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It won the EU Prize for Literature and widespread international acclaim. Her books examine the themes of contemporary nomadism and identity crises. In 2023, she won the DAAD Berlin residency fellowship. In addition to novels, she has also authored award-winning short stories and poetry.

In December 2023, Bastašić terminated her contract with the German publishing house S. Fischer, accusing it of silence in the face of the genocide in Gaza. She is critical of German censorship of pro-Palestinian views in the public sphere, as well as of all other imperialist and colonialist practices.