Lejla Kalamujić


Lejla Kalamujić is a queer writer from Bosnia and Herzegovina. She writes prose, essays and reviews with central topics of sexuality, madness, and death. Her Call me Esteban short stories collection received the “Edo Budisa” literary award of Istria region in 2016 and it was the Bosnian-Herzegovinian nominee for the European Union Prize for Literature in the same year.

Biography

Kalamujić was born in Sarajevo in 1980. She graduated from the Department of Philosophy and Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo.
In 2008 she published her first collection of stories Anatomija osmijeha. In 2015 she published her second short stories collection Zovite me Esteban. Zovite me Esteban was later published in three more countries: by Red Box, Belgrade, 2016, Sandorf, Zagreb, 2017 and by Blesok, Skopje, 2017 -Викајте mе Естебан translated by Goko Zdraveski. Kalamujic is inspired by the combination of her personal experience, social environment, and women authors throughout the history of literature:

The Anatomy of a Smile ("Anatomija Osmijeha")

The Anatomy of a Smile is a short story collection where Kalamujic writes about human suffering and human happiness. “The Anatomy of a Smile” is Naklada Zoro first prize winner for collection of unpublished stories in 2008. Vladimir Arsenic describes the collection:

Call me Esteban ("Zovite me Esteban''"'')

Call me Esteban is a short stories collection that won “Edo Budisa” literary award of Istria region – Regione Istriana in 2016 and it was Bosnian-Herzegovinian nominee for European Union Prize for Literature in 2016. With her story collection “Zovite me Esteban”, Kalamujic won the literary scene in the country and in the region. The collection was first published in 2015 by Dobra knjiga in Sarajevo, BiH and was later published in three more countries: by Red Box, Belgrade, 2016, Sandorf, Zagreb, 2017 and by Blesok, Skopje, 2017 -Викајте mе Естебан translated by Goko Zdraveski. The book is said to be "by any means, the most brutal, if not the bravest, coming out of the representatives of new generation of writers in the region so far." Sandorf publisher describes the book :
Short story Call me Esteban was translated into English language by Jennifer H. Zoble:

Awards and scholarships

Kalamujic received the following scholarships and fellowships:
Kalamujic won the following awards:
  • Best short story Regional “Write Queer” contest by Queer Montenegro award – short story Nesretni život Sofije R / The miserable life of Sofija R
  • Nominated for European Union Prize for Literature in 2016 award – collection of short stories Zovite me Esteban / Call me Esteban
  • Edo Budisa literary award of Istria region / Regione Istriana – collection of short stories Zovite me Esteban / Call me Esteban
  • First prize Susreti Zija Dizdarević award – short story Dolce Vita
  • First prize Vox Feminae award – short story Žena zvana čežnja / Woman called Desire
  • Second prize Susreti Zija Dizdarević award – short story Povratak među zvijezde / The return to the Stars
  • First prize Naklada Zoro award – collection of short stories Anatomija osmijeha / The Anatomy of a Smile
  • Second prize Susreti Zija Dizdarević award – short story Oči smrti / The eyes of the Death
  • Super Cyber Story Pincom award – short story ''Sanduq el dunya''

Selected works

Short stories :
  • From the collection "Call me Esteban"