Snježana Banović presents debut novel at World Literature Festival

At the World Literature Festival, theatre director and professor Snježana Banović presented her debut novel, ‘Gromova djeca’ (Children of Thunder), published by Fraktura. The novel is set in a fictional acting academy and explores themes of power, institutional silence, and the abuse of authority within pedagogical and theatrical structures.

Banović noted that the inspiration for the book stemmed from real-world observations of power dynamics and scandals involving allegations of abuse at the Academy of Dramatic Art. While the narrative uses elements of Slavic mythology and fictional characters, the author utilized archival records from the Academy to ground the story in the historical realities of institutional life from the post-WWII era through the 1990s.

During the presentation, Banović also held a moment of tribute to her late friend, the prominent Croatian writer Slobodan Šnajder, who was the first reader of the novel.