Miljenko Jergović accuses Croatian Culture Minister of removing book from grant list

Writer and journalist Miljenko Jergović has accused the Croatian Minister of Culture and Media, Nina Obuljen Koržinek, of removing his book, ‘Rat’, from a list of works eligible for state stimulation.

Jergović claims that an expert commission had originally selected his book as one of 30 works published in the last two years to receive a 2,000 euro grant for its significance to Croatian culture. He alleges that the Minister subsequently used her discretionary power to strike his name from the list and replace it with another author.

Jergović stated that he learned of this through a reliable source and suggested the decision was a form of punishment related to his previous public opposition to threatening graffiti written on his building. He expressed his intention to continue applying for all available Ministry of Culture competitions and state awards.