Biography

Jergović was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was part of Yugoslavia. His parents were from Croatia. He earned a master's degree in literature from Sarajevo University. During high school, he worked as a journalist for print and electronic media. He also wrote for literary and youth magazines. Soon, he became known as Croatia's media representative in Sarajevo.

Writing

Jergović's novels focus on his family members and their histories. He is also a journalist and wrote a collection of his articles, which was published in a book called Historijska čitanka (A Reader in History, 1996).

Jergović writes a column in the Serbian newspaper Politika, for the magazine Vreme, and a regular column in the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list. The column in Jutarnji list is titled Sumnjivo lice, which translates to "suspicious character" (literally "suspicious face").

Works

His novel Buick Riviera was made into a movie in 2008 by filmmaker Goran Rušinović. The movie and book won the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay. The author describes the book as a "novella" set in the North American countryside. It tells the story of a Serbian refugee from Bosnia, who may have committed war crimes, and a Muslim refugee who lived in the United States for 20 years. The characters carry their cultural traditions, religion, and beliefs. However, they struggle to overcome their national differences and old conflicts.

Miljenko Jergović wrote another book called Volga, Volga, which is both a novel and a diary. It tells the story of a car and its driver. The book is a complex story about guilt, death, the Yugoslav war, and personal conflicts. Jergović begins the story by describing the car as glossy black, like a piano. The story shows that war destroys lives, but stories help people continue living. Themes in the book include desire, strangeness, sadness, and anger. The car is a mix of real events and imaginative storytelling. The story explores a generation that lives in a way that hides the truth.

Jergović’s Yugoslavia is shown as a place where people lost their way in dreams and illusions. The desire for truth is challenged by false beliefs. Driving becomes a journey back to the past, bringing back memories of friends and times of sadness and loneliness. The main character is Jalal Pljevljak, an experienced driver and Muslim who cannot drink alcohol. His religious beliefs prevent him from drinking, which puts him at risk.

While the reader learns about a mysterious accident, the story leaves them unsure where the line is between real events and made-up stories. The book shows different viewpoints, not just about personal honesty and identity. The author gives a short look at the history of the former Yugoslavia. The relationships between different religions, ethnic groups, and political beliefs influence the events in the story. Pljevljak is both a Croat and a Muslim, and is accused of crimes.

After the wars in the 1990s, many people tried to forget about past crimes. The story of Pljevljak represents the struggles of the entire country.

Literary circles

Private disagreements among famous writers in literary groups became widely known. Problems within the Croatian Writers' Society led to divisions and claims that some writers were unfairly excluded for political reasons. Throughout his career, Jergović took part in these disputes, as did other well-known writers. In October 2002, Jergović was chosen to serve on the board of directors of the Croatian Writers' Society. In 2003, criticism arose about Velimir Visković, a founder of the society, judging members based on political beliefs. This was uncovered when Drago Štambuk mentioned Visković’s past connection to the HDZ government. In April 2006, Jergović became involved in a disagreement with Dražen Katunarić over Jergović’s writing about Houellebecq, which Jergović claimed was based on the Qur’an. Katunarić stated that writings with Islamic or Sarajevan themes were not accepted in Zagreb. Jergović responded by saying Katunarić should "put a gun to his head." This argument led Zdravko Zima to leave the Croatian Writers' Society, as he believed the leadership did not take a stand against the attacks on Katunarić. In April 2007, Jergović himself left the society, stating it did not support his views on Croatian and global literature. Other writers, including Ivan Lovrenović, also left the group. Lovrenović resigned because he believed Visković’s actions against Jergović in 2011 were unfair. In 2009, Visković claimed Jergović supported Chetniks in Serbia and aimed to sell books in Serbia. These claims followed an interview Jergović gave. Some questioned if Visković’s long-term project, the Encyclopedia of Croatian Literature, influenced the conflict. When members asked Visković to apologize, he refused, citing years of insults directed at him, his family, and other writers.

Personal life

Jergović was born in Sarajevo in 1966 and lived in his hometown for half of his life. He was in Sarajevo during the first year of the Bosnian War, specifically during the Siege of Sarajevo, before moving to Zagreb in 1993.

Jergović has been a big fan of the Sarajevo football club FK Željezničar since childhood. He has held a membership card for the club and renewed it in July 2019.

Awards

In 2012, he received the Angelus Central European Literature Award for his book Srda pjeva, u sumrak, na Duhove ("Srda Sings at Dusk On Pentecost"). In 2018, he won the Georg Dehio Book Prize. In 2024, he received the Vilenica Prize. For 2026, he is awarded the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding for his book Trojica za Kartal. Sarajevski Marlboro remastered.

In 2023, his work Kin won the Best Prose Translation into English prize by AATSEEL, with translator Russell Scott Valentino.