The "Dragan Radulović" literary award will be awarded to a writer Ozana Ramljak for the book "How Bluno Searched for Love", published by the Croatian Association of Writers for Children and Youth from Zagreb. The award will be presented at a ceremony on Friday as part of the program of the "Days of Dragan Radulović" event, which is being held for the fourth year in a row, on April 26 and 27, organized by the Secretariat for Culture of the Capital City of Podgorica.
Ramljak is the winner of this year's competition for the awarding of valuable recognition, to which 33 books were submitted, and the decision was made by a jury composed of: president Dragana Kršenković Brković and members Šimo Ešić, Svetlana Kalezić Radonjić, Dušanka Popović, Ana Vitanova Ringačeva.
"The book 'How Bluno Searched for Love' is a contemporary allegorical story about the lonely teddy bear Bluno, who still cannot pronounce the 'r' sound. This gentle and cheerful reading talks about big and serious topics - about loneliness, longing and fear, about alienation and shifted values in modern society. It seems as if we no longer know what is important and what is superficial, nor are we aware of the serious consequences of insufficient communication. The author of the book expressed it in a bright and attractive way, close to both the youngest and adults. Illustrations Ivan Crnošija Galović they complement the story, making it even more inspiring," the announcement states.
In addition to the award-winning one, the jury also singled out the book "Petra is really gone" Aleksandre Jovanovic (Creative Center from Belgrade) and "The Lost Generation" Rosie Balls (Kugli & Kugli from Zagreb).
"The great interest of male and female writers in children and young people testifies to the rich production of literature for children and young people in the region, but also the huge interest in the recognition that bears the name of the great Montenegrin creator Dragan Radulović", the jury points out in the statement.
Ozana Ramljak is a writer, Croatian scholar and professor at "Vern" University, at the department of film, television and multimedia design and transmedia dramaturgy, direction and production. She was born in Split and studied in Zagreb at the Faculty of Philosophy, where she earned the title of professor of Croatian studies and South Slavic philology and where she earned her doctorate on the radio drama work of Ivan Slamnig. She has published numerous scientific and professional works in Croatian and international journals, edited books and anthologies, and is the author of six children's books. She is the winner of the literary award of the Croatian Society of Writers for the best picture book in 2017 and the second prize at the Competition for the best dramatic text for the puppet theater and children's theater "Mali Marulić" (2020).
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