Famous Croatian Writers

Ivo Andric was a Yugoslav short story writer, poet, and novelist. Andric won the 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature after the Nobel Committee chose him over writers like Robert Frost, E. M. Forster, John Steinbeck, and J. R. R. Tolkien. After receiving the award, Andric's works were translated into several languages as they found an international audience.

Remembered as Croatia’s most influential author, Miroslav Krleža wrote everything from poems and plays to short stories and novels. He fought in World War I, while his works got banned for a while for his leftist political views. His iconic works, such as Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh, spoke of Croatian peasant life.

Croatian chanson singer Arsen Dedić was also an award-winning poet. Born into a working-class family, he initially studied law, but soon dropped out to study music. He spent his final years in extreme pain due to a number of illnesses. He was against politics and was banned in various phases of his career.

Mile Budak is counted among the main ideologists of the Croatian fascist-ultranationalist organisation called Ustaša that under leadership of Ante Pavelić ruled the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy established during Second World War in parts of occupied Yugoslavia. Hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Roma and Jews were killed by the Ustaše members. 

Author August Šenoa is credited with leading Croatian literature from Romanticism to Realism. Also considered the "father of the Croatian novel," he studied law but later deviated to writing. He introduced the genre of the historical novel in Croatia and penned iconic works such as Pirates of Senj.

Born in the small Croatian town of Krapina, Ljudevit Gaj grew up to be a leading linguist and one of the pillars of the Illyrian movement. He launched the first Croatian newspaper, The Croatian, Slavonian, and Dalmatian Daystar, and also developed Gaj's Latin alphabet. He was also a National Assembly leader.

One of the most influential poets of the Croatian Illyrian movement, Petar Preradovic was a leading figure of romanticism in Croatia. A military officer, too, he participated in the Wars of Italian Unification and was also posted in Austria. His final years were marked with bad health and gambling.

Croatian linguist Snježana Kordić is best-known for her works like Relativna rečenica (1995), Riječi na granici punoznačnosti (2002) and Jezik i nacionalizam (2010). Over the years, she has taught and conducted research at several Croatian and German universities including Osijek University, Zagreb University, and Frankfurt University, mainly on subjects like grammar, language policy, syntax, corpus linguistics and sociolinguistics among others.  

Croatian polymath Pavao Ritter Vitezović donned many hats and was, at the same time, a linguist, poet, historian, author, painter, cartographer, and printer. Remembered for his notable works such as Odiljenje sigetsko and Croatia Rediviva, he is said to have supported expansion of the Habsburg Empire.

Croatian historian, politician, and author Franjo Rački started his career as a teacher in Senj. He launched many magazines, including Književnik and also co-established the Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Most of his writings were on topical issues in Croatia. He also served as the president of Matica hrvatska.

Prominent Croatian sports writer and popularizer Franjo Bučar, who wrote manuals for different types of sports and emerged as a popularizer and initiator of introduction of several sports in his country, is regarded as father of Croatian sport and olympism. He was founder and president of Croatian Sports Federation and Yugoslav Olympic Committee; and a member of International Olympic Committee.