{"id":12192,"date":"2026-07-09T13:05:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/izvestaj\/izdavaci-iz-srbije-uz-podrsku-eu-donose-evropske-knjizevne-hitove-domacim-citaocima\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T13:11:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:11:43","slug":"izdavaci-iz-srbije-uz-podrsku-eu-donose-evropske-knjizevne-hitove-domacim-citaocima","status":"publish","type":"izvestaj","link":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/izvestaj\/izdavaci-iz-srbije-uz-podrsku-eu-donose-evropske-knjizevne-hitove-domacim-citaocima\/","title":{"rendered":"Serbian Publishers Bring European Literary Bestsellers to Domestic Readers with EU Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

Through the Creative Europe<\/strong> programme, nearly 50 literary translation projects<\/strong> have been supported to date. Thanks to the current funding cycle, around 200 new works of contemporary European literature<\/strong> will be published in Serbia.<\/p>\n

What do a novel about a young woman fighting to preserve reindeer herding in northern Sweden, a story about the disappearance of bees, contemporary German and Spanish literary bestsellers, and children’s books that help young readers understand growing up, diversity, and the world around them have in common? The answer is Creative Europe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

At Europe House<\/strong>, representatives presented the achievements of one of the European Union’s most successful programmes supporting the publishing sector, alongside new projects by Serbian publishers who, thanks to EU funding, are translating and publishing contemporary European literature for readers in Serbia.<\/p>\n

The results show that Serbian publishing houses are now among the programme’s most successful participants in the European Literary Translation (LIT)<\/strong> call. During the current 2021\u20132027<\/strong> programming period, the first five calls have supported 25 projects<\/strong> by Serbian publishers, worth approximately \u20ac2 million<\/strong>, enabling the translation of around 200 contemporary European titles<\/strong>. Since Serbia joined the Creative Europe<\/strong> programme, nearly 50 literary translation projects<\/strong> have received support.<\/p>\n

Presenting these results, Bojan Milosavljevi\u0107<\/strong>, Project Manager of the Creative Europe Desk Serbia<\/strong>, stressed that European support contributes not only to publishing new books but also to developing new generations of readers. He particularly highlighted the importance of bringing contemporary European literature closer to children and young people, as well as ensuring that high-quality translated editions are available in school and public libraries across Serbia.<\/p>\n

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“The idea behind this conference was to increase the visibility of these projects and the publishers behind them, so that books published through the Creative Europe programme can reach an even wider audience. Thanks to these projects, we are discovering literatures, languages, and cultures that we previously had far fewer opportunities to encounter,”<\/em> said Milosavljevi\u0107.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Literature That Speaks to the World We Live In<\/h3>\n

The publishing houses presenting their projects demonstrated how contemporary European literature increasingly addresses issues that resonate with readers of all generations\u2014from climate change and women’s rights to identity, migration, growing up, and social transformation.<\/p>\n

Katarina Je\u0161i\u0107<\/strong>, editor at Heliks Publishing House<\/strong>, introduced the project European Literary Canvas: Portraits of Our Time<\/strong>, which brings together authors writing in Hungarian, Bulgarian, Norwegian, Finnish, and several other European languages. Among the selected titles is The Stolen<\/strong>, the acclaimed novel by Swedish author Ann-Hel\u00e9n Laestadius<\/strong>, which follows a young S\u00e1mi woman and explores themes of cultural identity, humanity’s relationship with nature, and social injustice. Other selected works tackle environmental challenges, disinformation, gender equality, and the profound changes shaping contemporary Europe.<\/p>\n

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“Through literature we explore ecology, climate change, identity, and the position of women and minorities. We believe that stories have the power to make these issues more accessible to readers and encourage a deeper understanding of today’s social challenges,”<\/em> said Je\u0161i\u0107.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She also emphasised that the projects do not end with the publication of books. With European support, Heliks organises festivals, public discussions, and meetings with readers throughout Serbia. A significant part of its activities is dedicated to grammar schools and smaller communities, giving young people the opportunity to discover contemporary European authors and develop a lifelong reading habit.<\/p>\n

European Support Creates Opportunities for New Authors<\/h3>\n

Speaking about the project New Literature for New Generations<\/strong>, Aleksandar \u0160urbatovi\u0107<\/strong>, editor at Blum Publishing House<\/strong>, highlighted the importance of EU support for publishing works that would otherwise struggle to reach Serbian readers because of the complexity of translation and high publishing costs.<\/p>\n

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“For small and medium-sized publishers, this is much more than additional financial support. Thanks to the Creative Europe programme, we are able to publish books that would hardly be commercially viable. These are works representing the very best of contemporary European literature, and without programmes like this they would rarely find their way to readers,”<\/em> said \u0160urbatovi\u0107.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Alongside this project, Blum is currently implementing Book Plant<\/strong>, a new initiative that will see 14 works of contemporary European literature<\/strong> translated over the next two years. As highlighted during the conference, the aim is not only to introduce new literary voices but also to encourage discussion on topics such as environmental protection, social responsibility, and contemporary European challenges through literature.<\/p>\n

Children’s Books as Bridges Between European Cultures<\/h3>\n

A dedicated session of the conference focused on children’s and young adult literature.<\/p>\n

Sandra Baki\u0107 Topalovi\u0107<\/strong>, Director of Odiseja Publishing House<\/strong>, presented an international project bringing together publishers from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Germany<\/strong>. The initiative aims not only to translate contemporary children’s and young adult literature but also to introduce Serbian authors to readers across Europe.<\/p>\n

As she explained, the selected books address themes that young people share regardless of where they grow up: friendship, embracing diversity, the influence of social media, a sense of belonging, and the challenges of growing up. The project is particularly significant because it promotes literature written in so-called “small languages,” creating new opportunities for contemporary Serbian authors to be translated and presented to European audiences.<\/p>\n

Beyond publishing, Odiseja uses European funding to organise free educational programmes for children in schools, libraries, and local communities, particularly in areas with fewer cultural opportunities. One of the books included in the current project will also be donated to Ukrainian children currently living in Serbia.<\/p>\n

More Than Literary Translation<\/h3>\n

The conference demonstrated that Creative Europe<\/strong> supports much more than the translation of books. Through European projects, publishers build international partnerships, organise literary festivals and public discussions, promote contemporary European authors, and help make quality literature more accessible to readers throughout Serbia.<\/p>\n

For readers, this means greater opportunities to discover new authors, explore different European cultures, and engage with books that address some of the most important issues facing contemporary society\u2014whether those stories come from major European literary traditions or from less widely spoken languages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through the Creative Europe programme, nearly 50 literary translation projects have been supported to date. Thanks to the current funding cycle, around 200 new works of contemporary European literature will be published in Serbia. What do a novel about a young woman fighting to preserve reindeer herding in northern Sweden, a story about the disappearance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":12190,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12192","izvestaj","type-izvestaj","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"Grad":"Beograd","Vreme":"20260708","vreme_zavrsetka":"20260708","test_ripiter":null,"Kategorija":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/izvestaj\/12192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/izvestaj"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/izvestaj"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/izvestaj\/12192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12194,"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/izvestaj\/12192\/revisions\/12194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/evropskakuca.rs\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}