Pajtim Statovci
Finnish novelist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pajtim Statovci (born 1990) is a Finnish novelist. His debut novel, Kissani Jugoslavia, was published in 2014, winning the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for best debut novel in Finnish for that year,[1] and was published in 2017 as My Cat Yugoslavia in the UK and US.[2] It was made into a play and staged at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki in 2018.[3] His second novel, Tiranan sydän, won the Toisinkoinen Literature Prize for 2016,[4] and was published as Crossing in the UK and the US in 2019.[5] Following the 2019 release of his third novel, Bolla, his publisher announced in February 2024 the upcoming September release of his fourth, Lehmä Synnyttää Yöllä[6] (English title: A Cow Gives Birth At Night[7]).
Early life
Statovci was born in Kosovo in 1990 to Albanian parents.[8] In 1992, after the outbreak of war in Yugoslavia, of which Kosovo was a part and where Albanians were persecuted, his family fled to Finland.[9] He studied comparative literature at the University of Helsinki and screenwriting at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.[4]
Awards
- 2014: Shortlisted for the Young Aleksis Literature Prize
- 2014: Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize (Best Debut)
- 2015: Shortlisted for the Flame Bearer Prize
- 2016: Toisinkoinen Literature Prize
- 2017: Shortlisted for the Future of Finnish Culture Award
- 2018: Helsinki Writer of the Year Award [10]
- 2019: Finlandia Award winner for his third novel, Bolla[11]
- 2019: Finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature for Crossing (translated by David Hackston)[12]
- 2021: Nominated for the Kirkus Prize for Bolla
- 2024: Finlandia Award winner for his fourth novel, Lehmä synnyttää yöllä[13]
Bibliography
Novels
- Kissani Jugoslavia, Otava, 2014 (My Cat Yugoslavia, Pantheon Books, 2017; trans. David Hackston). ISBN 9789511269786 (Finnish); ISBN 9781782273608 (English).
- Tiranan Sydän, Otava, 2016 (Crossing, Pantheon Books, 2019; trans. David Hackston). ISBN 9789511305781 (Finnish); ISBN 9781524747497 (English).
- Bolla, Otava, 2019 (Bolla, Pantheon Books, 2021; trans. David Hackston). ISBN 9789511316824.[a]
- Lehmä synnyttää yöllä, Otava, 2024. ISBN 9789511357759 (Finnish).
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- Notes
- Briefly reviewed in the September 13, 2021 issue of The New Yorker.
