Jančar, Ugrešić and Albahari are finalists of the Njegoš award

Drago Jančar, Dubravka Ugrešić i David Albahari were shortlisted for this year's Njegoš Award, the highest literary award that Montenegro awards to authors from the South Slavic speaking region.

This was decided by an international jury consisting of: Nedžad Ibrahimović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Amelia Ličeva (Bulgaria), Kalina Maleska (North Macedonia), Andrej Blatnik (Slovenia), Saša Cirić (Serbia), Olja Savičević-Ivančević (Croatia) and Balša Brković (Montenegro).

Until now, Njegoš's prize has never been awarded posthumously, but, as this possibility (exceptionally) exists in the rules of procedure - this year there are even two writers present in the final whose award would be posthumous. The name of the winner will be known at the end of next week.

Dubravka Ugrešić (1949-2023) was a respected and awarded writer at the European level. She is the author of numerous works, and her books have been translated into several languages. She taught at several American and European universities. She is the recipient of significant literary awards.

Writer and translator David Albahari (1948-2023) published a large number of works for which he received numerous awards and recognitions. He translated a large number of books, stories, poems and essays by many American, British, Australian and Canadian writers. He was a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Serbian PEN Center and the Serbian Literary Society.

Drago Jančar (1948) is a novelist, storyteller, playwright, essayist, studied law, worked as a journalist and film dramaturg. He published a large number of books, won significant awards and is the most translated contemporary Slovenian writer. He is a regular member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.