Bio note

Azem Deliu, born 1996 in Skënderaj, Kosovo, graduated Albanian Literature at the University of Prishtina where he was honoured with the prestigious Distinguished Student Award for his first poetry volume 'The Funeral of Rain' (2013). His first novel 'The Illegal Kisser' (2016) became a national bestseller and has already been translated into English.

His second novel 'Notes of the Worm Smolinski' has been shortlisted for the European Union Prize for Literature 2020 and is translated into several languages, as well as into Bulgarian. The book deals with the context in which the Polish bisexual writer Piotr Smolinski had to live in the nineties, where the author has been on a residency in Poland.

Interest in the author is also growing in other countries. The French press have called him ‘a great author from a small country’ and ‘the new star of European literature’.

Residency goals

During his residency stay at Sofia Literature and Translation House Azem Deliu will be working on his new novel. The book tackles the question of deconstructing narratives and its consequences. 


Public events
 

• July 4, 17:00, Sofia University - Launch of the book 'Notes of the Worm Smolinski' („Записките на Червея Смолински“, 2022, Perseus), organized by the Bulgarian publisher and with the participation of the translator Ekaterina Tarpomanova; 
• July 28, 18:30, FOX book café - On new Kosovar literature: А conversation between Azem Deliu and Peter Dentchev.

Photos from the event On new Kosovar literature: