Zoran Živković
Zoran Živković graduated from the Department of Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade in 1973 with a degree in literary theory. In 1979, he obtained his master's degree with the thesis "Anthropomorphism and the Motif of First Contact in the Works of Arthur C. Clarke," and in 1982, he earned his doctorate from the same university. His doctoral dissertation was titled "The Appearance of Science Fiction as an Artistic Prose Genre." From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, Živković was deeply involved in science fiction. In addition to his two theses, he worked as a publisher, translator, essayist, researcher, and TV presenter.
Since the mid-1990s, Živković has shifted away from science fiction and focused on writing general fiction. Between 1993 and early 2016, he wrote 21 fiction books published in 81 foreign editions, in 20 languages across 23 countries. Živković has won numerous literary awards for his fiction works. In 1994, his novel "The Fourth Circle" won the "Miloš Crnjanski" award. In 2003, his mosaic novel "The Library" received the "World Fantasy Award" for Best Novella. In 2007, his novel "The Bridge" won the "Isidora Sekulić" award, and that same year he received the "Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša" award for lifetime achievement in literature. In 2014 and 2015, Živković received three awards for his contributions to speculative fiction: "Art-Anima," "Stanislav Lem," and "The Golden Dragon." In 2005, the Belgrade TV station Studio B produced a TV series titled "The Collector" (Sakupljač) based on Živković's mosaic novel "Twelve Collections." In 2007, renowned Serbian screenwriter Puriša Đorđević directed the film "Two" (Dva), based on Živković's fictional themes. By 2020, his works had been translated into 20 languages.