The short story collection about reconciliation Biber 02 was promoted in Zagreb on 7 June 2018 at the Bogdan Ogrizović Library and Reading Room. The participants in the discussion included Tatjana Gromača, a writer from Pula who was a member of the Biber 02 contest jury; Lejla Kalamujić, a writer from Sarajevo whose story “Sneg je opet, Snežana” [It’s Snowing Again, Snežana] was published in the collection; Qerim Ondozi, a translator from Priština; Milica Vučković from Belgrade whose story “Jedu ljudi i bez nogu” [People Without Legs Eat Too] won first prize; Srđan Sandić, a literary critic from Zagreb, and Davorka Turk representing the Biber team. The discussion was moderated by Aneta Lalić. The Serbian Cultural Society Prosvjeta helped organise the event.
It is important to write about reconciliation, talk about reconciliation, despite the fact that politicians abuse this topic, said Qerim Ondozi.
Talking about the task of being on the jury for the story collection, and about judging literature in general and the anticipated difficulty of making a selection, Tatjana Gromača pointed out the cooperative work of the jury and that the decision was made quickly and unanimously.
There were many stories of literary value. Platforms such as the Biber contest are always needed to provide young, and not-so-young writers with opportunities that are few and far between, she said at the promotion in Zagreb.
The next promotion will be held in Kosovska Mitrovica in the autumn.
The second Biber Contest was launched in January 2017. We received 385 stories in Albanian, Macedonian, Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian. The jury was made up of Faruk Šehić, Kim Mehmeti and Tatjana Gromača. First prize went to the story “Jedu ljudi i bez nogu” [People Without Legs Eat Too] by Milica Vučković from Belgrade, the second prize was awarded to the story “Čiko Zav” [Mr Zav] by Dženeta Rovčanin from Sarajevo and the third prize to “Семејството на чичко Аки” [Uncle Aki’s Family] by Anuška Minovska from Skopje. The collection with 25 selected stories was published in print in March 2018.