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Saša Stanišić

b. 1978

Bosnian-German writer

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About Saša Stanišić

Born 1978. Saša Stanišić is a German and Bosnian writer, novelist, screenwriter and children's writer.

Saša Stanišić (; born 7 March 1978) is a Bosnian-German writer.

Biography He was born in Višegrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina as the son of a Bosniak mother and a Serb father. In the spring of 1992, he fled alongside his family to Germany as a refugee of the Bosnian War. Stanišić spent the remainder of his youth in Heidelberg, where his teachers encouraged his passion for writing. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the University of Heidelberg, graduating with degrees in Slavic studies and German as a second language.

In 2006, Stanišić released his debut novel, published in English as How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone. The book won multiple awards both in Germany and abroad and has been translated into 31 languages as of 2019. The English translation by Anthea Bell was awarded the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize. It was also adapted for the stage by the Stadtschauspielhaus Graz, where Stanišić was the city's writer-in-residence in 2006–2007.

In 2019 he won the German Book Prize for his novel Herkunft (English title: Where You Come From).

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Important facts

Birth century
Education
Heidelberg University, German Institute for Literature, Internationale Gesamtschule Heidelberg
Awards
Alfred Döblin Prize; Adelbert von Chamisso Prize; Förderpreis zum Literaturpreis der Stadt Bremen; Graz resident writer; Feuergriffel; Leipzig Book Fair Prize/Fiction; Schubart-Literaturpreis; German Book Prize; Usedom Literature Prize; Nelly Sachs Prize; Wilhelm Raabe Literature Prize; Europese Literatuurprijs

People in Saša Stanišić's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Saša Stanišić's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Saša Stanišić?

Bosnian-German writer

When was Saša Stanišić born?

Saša Stanišić was born on 17 March 1978 in Višegrad.

What is Saša Stanišić's occupation?

Saša Stanišić is a writer, novelist, screenwriter and children's writer.

What nationality is Saša Stanišić?

Saša Stanišić is German and Bosnian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Saša Stanišić

· Wikidata: Q77319

· DBpedia: Saša Stanišić

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Saša Stanišić. https://biography.guide/sasa-stanisic/

MLA: "Saša Stanišić." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/sasa-stanisic/.

Chicago: "Saša Stanišić." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/sasa-stanisic/.

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