BB: Migrant Heritage and the Reception of Diaspora Literature in Croatia

Migrant literature (i.e. literature that has been written by authors whose first language is not German) has enjoyed increased success over the last two decades, serving as a testimony to the growing demographic diversity of German-speaking lands. Writers from Southeastern Europe have received particular attention. In 2020, the Bosnian-German author Saša Stanišić received the German Book Prize, while the Slovenian author Ana Marwan was awarded the Ingeborg-Bachmann Prize in 2022. Many of these authors claim a hybrid or transcultural identity despite admitting to a complicated relationship with their countries of origin. But how are their works received and circulated in the erstwhile ‘homelands’? This talk discusses the reception of two German-Croatian authors, Jagoda Marinić and Marica Bodrožić, in Croatia, by taking into account literary criticism, interviews and institutional support.