Pajtim Statovci

Pajtim Statovci (born 1990) is a Finnish novelist. His debut novel, Kissani Jugoslavia, was published in 2014, winning the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for best debut novel in Finnish for that year,^[1] and was published in 2017 as My Cat Yugoslavia in the UK and US.^[2] It was made into a play and staged at the Finnish National Theatre in Helsinki in 2018.^[3] His second novel, Tiranan sydän, won the Toisinkoinen Literature Prize for 2016,^[4] and was published as Crossing in the UK and the US in 2019.^[5] Following the 2019 release of his third novel, Bolla, his publisher announced in February 2024 the upcoming September release of his fourth, Lehmä Synnyttää Yöllä^[6] (English title: A Cow Gives Birth At Night^[7]).

Early life

Statovci was born in Kosovo in 1990 to Albanian parents.^[8] In 1992, after the outbreak of war in Yugoslavia, of which Kosovo was a part and where Albanians were persecuted, his family fled to Finland.^[9] He studied comparative literature at the University of Helsinki and screenwriting at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.^[4]

Awards

• 2014: Shortlisted for the Young Aleksis Literature Prize
• 2014: Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize (Best Debut)
• 2015: Shortlisted for the Flame Bearer Prize
• 2016: Toisinkoinen Literature Prize
• 2017: Shortlisted for the Future of Finnish Culture Award
• 2018: Helsinki Writer of the Year Award ^[10]
• 2019: Finlandia Award winner for his third novel, Bolla^[11]
• 2019: Finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature for Crossing (translated by David Hackston)^[12]
• 2021: Nominated for the Kirkus Prize for Bolla
• 2024: Finlandia Award winner for his fourth novel, Lehmä synnyttää yöllä^[13]

Bibliography

Novels

• Kissani Jugoslavia, Otava, 2014 (My Cat Yugoslavia, Pantheon Books, 2017; trans. David Hackston). ISBN 9789511269786 (Finnish); ISBN 9781782273608 (English).
• Tiranan Sydän, Otava, 2016 (Crossing, Pantheon Books, 2019; trans. David Hackston). ISBN 9789511305781 (Finnish); ISBN 9781524747497 (English).
• Bolla, Otava, 2019 (Bolla, Pantheon Books, 2021; trans. David Hackston). ISBN 9789511316824.^[a]

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Notes

1. Briefly reviewed in the September 13, 2021 issue of The New Yorker.