Winner of the 2016 Neustadt International Prize for Literature
“I know of no other writer who has been so adept at translating an experience of war and exile to the observation of the foibles and shortcomings of humankind, to leave the reader feeling, if occasionally somewhat despondent, nevertheless bemused and comforted by her humor and often vicious attacks on the very same things we have all suffered from or protested against as we try to go about our daily lives.” – Alison Anderson, Ugrešić’s nominating juror
Over the past three decades, Dubravka Ugrešić (b. 1949) has established herself as one of Europe’s most distinctive novelists and essayists. From her early postmodernist excursions, to her elegiac reckonings in fiction and the essay with the disintegration of her Yugoslav homeland and the fall of the Berlin Wall, to her more recent writings on popular and literary culture, Ugrešić’s work is marked by a rare combination of irony, polemic, and compassion. Following degrees in comparative and Russian literature, Ugrešić worked for many years at the University of Zagreb’s Institute for Theory of Literature, successfully pursuing parallel careers as both a writer and as a scholar. In 1991, when war broke out in the former Yugoslavia, Ugrešić took a firm antiwar stance and became a target for nationalist journalists, politicians, and fellow writers. Subjected to ostracism and persistent media harassment, she left Croatia in 1993. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. She has taught at a number of American and European universities and is the winner of several major literary prizes. Her recent books include the novel Fox and the book of essays American Fictionary, both published in 2018. Her latest book, The Age of Skin, is forthcoming in November 2020. She lives in Amsterdam.
| Jurors | Finalist |
| Alison Anderson (US/Switzerland) | Dubravka Ugrešić (Croatia/The Netherlands) |
| Porochista Khakpour (Iran/US) | Can Xue (China) |
| Valeria Luiselli (Mexico/US) | Guadalupe Nettel (Mexico) |
| Amit Majmudar (India/US) | Don Paterson (Scotland) |
| Valzhyna Mort (Belarus/US) | Carolyn Forché (US) |
| Mukoma Wa Ngugi (Kenya/US) | Aminatta Forna (Scotland/Sierra Leone) |
| Jordan Tannahill (Canada) | Caryl Churchill (England) |
| Padma Viswanathan (Canada/US) | Ann-Marie MacDonald (Canada) |
| Wang Ping (China/US) | Ghassan Zaqtan (Palestine) |
