The Serbian Literary Society is an independent association of writers, established on a professional basis in order to preserve the artistic and ethical values and material interests of the profession.

Along with the political change on October the 5 th, 2000, awoke an urgent need for a revival of these institutions. In cases where such a revival was not possible, new institutions had to be created. A group of about one hundred Yugoslav writers didn`t find the reconstruction of the existing writer`s association possible, and founded the Serbian Literary Society in the beginning of 2001 (3 rd of March).

This new Society arose from a common belief that Serbian culture and Serbian literature needed a real professional association of established writers who make a living on their writing in a country without a proper law on copyright, but, on the contrary with a chaotic, wild literary market. To this end, The Serbian Literary Society attempts to formulate a public responsibnility and to defend the rights of the literary profession. Its efforts to enrich the Serbian culture consist in publishing activity, international cooperation, organizing meetings and public readings, and influencing other cultural and administrative institutions.

The Serbian Literary Society finds that the period of social, political and moral disintegration of our culture can be overcome only by a systematic affirmation of traditional as well as new values in the Serbian literature and by regaining the esteem of the literary profession which has lost its artistic basis and its prestige due to a strong political influence on the literary life and the enforcement of nonestetic criteria on literature. The Serbian Literary Society expresses its intention to re-establish and restore the inetrrupted connections with the cultures and literatures of its neighbouring countries and the rest of Europe.

The Europian Framework

The basis objective of the Serbian Literary Society is to harmonize the life and work of our writers with European criteria. As far as aesthetic and poetics are concerned, the Serbian literature is Europian in the true meaning of this word, but the literary life has suffered, for decades, under the consequences of an undemocratic society. This influence must be minimized.

The Serbian Literary Society represents the contemporary Serbian literature and rejects intolerance in any form. It is first and foremost a professional association of established writers. It supports differences and the right to dissimilarity. Strictly speaking, the only decisive factor which unites the members of the Society is the language in which they are writing, and the culture to which they belong (although this shouldn`t be taken too literally). Its members are writers from different generations, of different poetics, with different political views. They have a common wish to defend their professional interests and an intention to improve the culture to which they belong.

Activities

The basic activity of the Serbian Literary Society is the care of the social position of its members: social security, copyright, the change of the public treatment of their work and, finally, the influence on State institutions to procure instruments for protecting the book and literature. In order to achieve its declared values, the Serbian Literary Society has, up to now, concentrated its activities on the publication of its periodical and in international co-operation.

Literary Magazine

Literary Magazine is the monthly of the Serbian Literary Society which first appeared in July 2001. It publishes literary texts in a narrower sense, by Yugoslav and foreign authors, and gives information about the literary life, here and abroad as well as about events in other artisitic fields.

International Co-operation

Among the basic objectives of The Serbian Literary Society are the revival of literary relations with our neighbours, establishment and expansion of a network of contacts with foreign writers and their associations, the promotion of Serbian literature abroad and, finally, introduction of contemporary foreign writers to the Yugoslav readers.

International Writers` Colony

Čortanovci

As a part of its international programme, the Serbian Literary Society has established an annual writers`colony in Čortanovci . To realize this project, the Government of Vojvodina has provided its mansion in Čortanovci and the means for the stay. During one week, in September, the writers have at their disposal nine bungalows with full board and lodging on the premises on the banks of the Danube. In a relaxed atmosphere they can get acquainted with each other, visit the neighbouring towns and receive their fellow writers from Novi Sad, Belgrade and from else-where. Several literary programmes are arranged during the week: readings, talks and literary evenings. The first colony took place from the 15th to 25th of September 2001, and its participants were: Georgi Gospodinov and Biliana Kourtasheva from Bulgaria, Aleksandar Prokopiev from Macedonia, Nenad Veličković from Bosnia and Hercegovina, Fiona Sampson from Great Britain, Csordas Gabor from Hungarz, Juan Octavio Prenz from Argentina, Stevan Tontić, Bosnian writer who lives in Germany, and Vojislav Karanović and Gordana Ćirjanić from Yugoslavia.

By 2010. colony Čortanovci visited around 100 foreign and domestic writers.

Members of the Serbian Literary Society  

Serbian Literary Society has more than 200 members which are most regarded writers of Serbia. Many of them are well known Europian and world wide names and their books are translated in many foreign languages.

ADDRESS

Serbian Literary Society

Serbian Literary Society, Francuska 7 st. 11000 Belgrade,
Republic of Serbia
Phone: +3810112628-892,
e-mail: s.k.d@sezampro.rs
web site: www.skd.rs

President of Serbian Literary Society: Mr. Milovan Marcetic
Secretary of Serbian Literary Society: Mr. Dusko Novakovic
Administrative secretary: Mr. Dejan Simonovic

Literary Magazine

Literary Magazine, Francuska 7 st. 11000 Belgrade,
Republic of Serbia
Phone: +3810113288-535
e-mail: kmagazin@beotel.rs

Editor in chief: Mileta Acimovic Ivkov