Jelena Bačić Alimpić rejects Croatian publishing offer over dialect translation

Writer and journalist Jelena Bačić Alimpić revealed that she previously rejected a publishing offer from a Croatian publishing house to preserve her artistic integrity. The disagreement arose when the publisher requested that her work, written in the ekavica dialect, be translated into ijekavica for the Croatian market.

During an appearance on the program ‘Kulturno’ at Tanjug, Bačić Alimpić explained that she viewed the request as more than a linguistic adjustment, but rather a matter of respect for her original work. She questioned why Croatian readers could not read her books in ekavica, noting that readers in Serbia frequently read authors like Vedrana Rudan, who writes in ijekavica. She ultimately refused to grant the publishing rights under the condition of translation.