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Croatian writer Miljenko Jergović has been awarded the prestigious Leipziger Buchpreis zur Europäischen Verständigung for 2026, for his book "Three for Kartal. Sarajevo Marlboro Remastered".

The prize is being awarded to Jergović for his short story collection "Three for Kartal. Sarajevo Marlboro Remastered", published in 2022 by the Croatian publishing house Bodoni. The book received the Fric Award and has already been translated, or is currently being translated, into a dozen European languages.

In Germany, the collection was published in 2024 under the title "Das verrückte Herz" by the renowned publishing house Suhrkamp, in a translation from Croatian by Brigitte Döbert.

In its statement, the jury notes that the award is being given to Jergović, “who, with great and unwavering clarity, examines the fracture lines of the Western Balkans’ history. Whether in sweeping family panoramas spanning generations, off-beat road narratives, or reflective portraits of fathers and sons, wartime experience always forms the core of these stories.”

The jury further emphasizes that the Siege of Sarajevo, the city in which the author was born in 1966, is the central theme of his latest collection – a work that simultaneously converses with and reinterprets his early, now cult book "Sarajevo Marlboro".

The Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding, one of the most significant literary awards in Germany and Europe, has been presented since 1994 to writers whose work fosters dialogue, exchange, and mutual understanding among European cultures. Past laureates include Ryszard Kapuściński, Imre Kertész, Svetlana Alexievich, Claudio Magris, Timothy Snyder, Mircea Cărtărescu, among many others.

The award ceremony will take place on 18 March 2026, at the opening of the Leipzig Book Fair.