While the quality of our national literary scene has long been apparent to us, it is always nice to see Croatian writers gain international acclaim. At the beginning of February in 2025, Damir Karakaš was announced as one of the winners of PEN Translates, an award given to outstanding translated literature. The novel in question? That will be “Blue Moon,” expertly translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać and published by Selkies House. Among the 19 winners were books from Japan, Denmark, Argentina, Somaliland and Singapore, further confirming the wide scope of the organisation.
So what of “Blue Moon,” the book that brought Karakaš this prestigious honour? The short novel dives fearlessly into the world of Zagreb at a time of tumult, a love story told with passion as the inevitability of conflict lurks on the horizon. Originally published in 2014, the award-winning translation will hit the shelves in May of this year. To say we are excited is an understatement, but we’re going to say it anyway. We are excited about this one.
As joyful as the acclaim is, we would be excited about the book regardless of the award. Born in 1967 in the Lika countryside (20 miles or so inland from Senj), Karakaš initially made his name as a journalist on the frontlines during the war, reporting from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. A stint as a street musician in France followed, but it was his growing literary reputation that made his name. His novels and short story collections are imbued with a spirit and character that cannot be manufactured, a sense of adventure and fragility that can only be conjured up by a writer swimming in life experience.
Karakaš is no stranger to acclaim. His short story collection “Kino Lika” was given the movie adaptation treatment by Dalibor Matanić in 2008, opening up a new world of fans to the engaging storytelling of the man from Plašćica. The novel “Remembering Forest” picked up a Fric Award in 2017, and Karakaš has also been the recipient of other awards including the Meša Selimović Prize and Italy’s Premio ITAS del Libro di montagna. You can now add the PEN Translates to this ever-growing collection.
Awards come and awards go, but good stories are eternal. At the heart of everything Damir Karakaš writes is an indelible commitment to what it means to be human, no matter the context of circumstance. Whether writing about urban confusion or the perilous existence of immigrants in Paris, Karakaš writes with the confidence of a veteran, the accuracy of a journalist, and the playfulness of an artist. It all comes together in a wild explosion of life, making Damir Karakaš one of the most important and exciting Croatian artists of the 21st century.
His work has been translated into various languages, from Arabic to French via Italian, Slovenian, Czech and more, and you can add the forthcoming English version of “Blue Moon” to the long list of literary triumphs. We’ll be buying a copy, and we dare say it won’t take too many cups of coffee to get through “Blue Moon.”
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