14/11/2024
The jury for the regional Biber Short Story Contest, comprising Almin Kaplan, Jasna Dimitrijević and Tanja Stupar Trifunović, selected 24 stories to be included in the multilingual collection and decided on the prizes. One story was selected for the collection by the Biber organisation team.
The following stories will be included in the collection:
- „Amerika hito” [America Hito] by Simon Marić from Belgrade
- „Cijanid” [Cyanide] by Miloš Perišić from Aranđelovac
- „Cipele” [Shoes] by Nives Madunić Barišić from Zagreb
- „Dječak koji je volio zvona” [The Boy Who Liked Bells] by Vladimira Becić from Dugo Selo
- „Erzähle mir etwas über dich” [Tell Me About Yourself] by Danijela Repman from Sombor
- „Haljina” [The Dress] by Marijana Čanak from Novi Žednik
- „Kako ubiti čovjeka” [How to Kill a Man] by Tena Lončarević from Županja
- „Kolekcionar” [The Collector] by Ivana Dilber from Tomislavgrad
- „Konia e zezë” [Black Pup] by Mehmet Elezi from Tirana
- „Konkurs” [Competition] by Mihail Marković from Cetinje
- „Kora smreke” [Spruce Bark] by Marija Krtinić Veckov, Stord/Norway
- „Kredenac” [The Cupboard] by Tatjana Sikima from Belgrade
- „Leto koje smo čekali” [The Summer We’ve Been Waiting For] by Jelena Vukotić from Valjevo
- „Makthi” [Nightmare] by Jeton Musliu from Pristina
- „Matanë” [Beyond] by Mevlude Skuroshi from Mitrovicë
- „Meštar” [Master] by Slobodanka Đuderija from Okrug Gornji
- „Nikad nisam rekao tata” [I Never Said Dad] by Srđan Miljević from Belgrade
- „Petrović” by Emina Đelilović-Kevrić from Vitez
- „Ptice” [Birds] by Irena Skopljak Barić from Vrbovac
- „Raspust” [School Holiday] by Milica Lukić from Belgrade
- „Snegot” by Dragan Simonovski from Skopje
- „Tijela od vode” [Bodies of Water] by Monika Herceg from Zagreb
- „Treba nešto da uradim sa cipelama” [I Should Do Something about the Shoes] by Marija Starčević from Belgrade
- „Univerzalno sredstvo” [All-purpose] by Tamara Kovačević from Ljubljana
- „Ustani da stojiš” [Get Up to Stand Up] by Bojana Savić from Novi Beograd
The 6th Biber Contest was open from 8 December 2023 to 26 May 2024. A total of 490 stories were submitted.
The Biber 06 multilingual Short Story Collection will be published by early March 2025.
We would like to thank all the participants for their stories, we thank the jury for their deliberations and the team working on pre-selection for their help. Congratulations to the authors whose stories were short-listed.
Below is the jury statement.
Biber Team
Jury Statement
The jury of the 6th regional Biber Contest, comprising Almin Kaplan, Jasna Dimitrijević and Tanja Stupar Trifunović, decided on the winning stories:
- Dječak koji je volio zvona [The Boy Who Liked Bells] by Vladimira Becić
- Tijela od vode [Bodies of Water] by Monika Herceg
- 3. Erzähle mir etwas über dich [Tell Me About Yourself] by Danijela Repman
The Boy Who Liked Bells won first prize and impressed us with its authentic language and outstanding story-telling skills that guided the plot and its characters through turbulent times of war. The narrator is a boy going through life guided by questions and not by the presumptions imposed on him by the adult world. Following his questions, readers will be taken through a maze of events and emotions, skilfully varied from comical vignettes to the tragic epilogue.
Bodies of Water won second prize and stood out by its succinctly lyrical narration and the way it addressed an important and unfortunately ever current issue permeating our everyday – domestic violence. In a keenly framed story, we learn about the fears and traumas of a girl growing up with an abusive father and a mother unable to stand up to his bursts of rage.
Erzähle mir etwas über dich won third prize and is notable for its composition and atmosphere where settings, people and their everyday lives tell a story about belonging. In a slightly nostalgic narrative tone, the author shares with us her awareness about how memories of a lost world are difficult to convey to someone else.
The following stories received special commendation of the jury: Amerika hito by Simon Marić, Ustani da stojiš by Bojana Savić, Haljina by Marijana Čanak, Kora smreke by Marija Krtinić Veckov, Meštar by Slobodanka Đuderija. The following stories will also be included in the collection: Leto koje smo čekali by Jelena Vukotić, Ptice by Irena Skopljak Barić, Cijanid by Miloš Perišić, Cipele by Nives Madunić Barišić, Treba nešto da uradim sa cipelama by Marija Starčević, Kolekcionar by Ivana Dilber, Konkurs by Mihailo Marković, Kredenac by Tatjana Sikima, Nikad nisam rekao tata by Srđan Miljević, Petrović by Emina Đelilović-Kevrić, Raspust by Milica Lukić, Univerzalno sredstvo by Tamara Kovačević, Snijeg by Dragan Simonovki, S druge strane by Mevlude Skuroshi, Košmar by Jeton Musliu, Crno štene by Mehmet Elezi.
As its general impression, the jury would like to highlight the ability of the authors to convincingly vary the theme of reconciliation, deconstruct the image of the “enemy” and present anti-war perspectives in a literary relevant way.
Almin Kaplan, Jasna Dimitrijević and Tanja Stupar
