Ilija Matusko studied sociology and political science. He currently lives and works in Berlin. He has been a fellow at Herrenhaus Edenkoben, the Alfred Döblin House, and the Künstlerdorf Schöppingen. His debut work, Verdunstung in der Randzone (Evaporation in the Boundary Zone), which received a scholarship from the Fritz Hüser Institute before its publication, was published in 2023 by Suhrkamp Verlag.

During his stay, Ilija Matusko will work on a book project that takes his own family past as its starting point and focuses on questions relating to migration, transformation and identity. Distances will be explored - between origin and arrival, Croatia and Germany, capitalism and socialism, father and son.

Selected Publications
2023 | Verdunstung in der Randzone, essay, Suhrkamp
2023 | “Evaporation in the Boundary Zone,” essay excerpt, Granta
2023 | “Get Rich or Die Frying,” essay, Suhrkamp Logbook
2023 | “Wo ich glaube hinzugehören,” essay, Burg Hülshoff – Center for Literature
2020 | “Tiefengrund,” novel excerpt, Konzepte – Zeitschrift für Literatur
2016 | „Taub,” short story, Karussell: Bergische Zeitschrift für Literatur

Awards/Scholarships
2024 | Residency Scholarship, Writers’ House Pazin
2023 | Residency Scholarship, Künstlerhof Schreyahn
2022 | Residency Scholarship, Künstlerdorf Schöppingen
2020 | Irseer Pegasus Literary Prize
2019 | Residency Scholarship, Alfred Döblin House
2015 | Residency Scholarship, Herrenhaus Edenkoben