Mirko Kovač
Mirko Kovač (26 December 1938 – 19 August 2013) was a Montenegrin writer. In his rich career he wrote novels, short stories, essays, film scripts, TV and radio plays. Among his best known works are the novella Životopis Malvine Trifković, the novels Vrata od utrobe, Grad u zrcalu, the short story collection Ruže za Nives Koen, the book of essays Europska trulež and the scripts for some of the most successful films of Yugoslav cinema like Handcuffs, Playing Soldiers and Occupation in 26 Pictures among others.
Mirko Kovač
- Name
- Mirko Kovač
- Born
- 26 December 1938
- Birthplace
- Petrovići near Nikšić, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- Died
- 19 August 2013
- Place of death
- Rovinj, Croatia
- Occupation
- Novelist, short story writer, essayist, screenwriter, political activist
- Awards
- NIN award (1978), Herder Prize (1995), Vilenica International Literary Prize (2003)
- Nationality
- Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Croatia.
- Education
- University of Arts in Belgrade.
- Honours
- NIN Prize, Andrić Prize, Herder Prize, Vilenica Prize, Kurt Tucholsky Prize and Vladimir Nazor Award.
- Languages
- Serbian and Croatian.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Mirko Kovač (26 December 1938 – 19 August 2013) was a Montenegrin writer. In his rich career he wrote novels, short stories, essays, film scripts, TV and radio plays. Among his best known works are the novella Životopis Malvine Trifković, the novels Vrata od utrobe, Grad u zrcalu, the short story collection Ruže za Nives Koen, the book of essays Europska trulež and the scripts for some of the most successful films of Yugoslav cinema like Handcuffs, Playing Soldiers and Occupation in 26 Pictures among others.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Mirko Kovač (1938–2013) was a screenwriter and writer and a national of Croatia and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Born in Petrovići, the screenwriter died in Rovinj.
Mirko Kovač studied at University of Arts in Belgrade. Mirko Kovač was a member of Doclean Academy of Sciences and Arts. Awards and honours include Andrić Prize, Herder Prize and Kurt Tucholsky Prize, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 06 October 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Mirko Kovač. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1278078
In this article
Biography
Biography
He was one quarter of the infamous Belgrade quartet, the other three being Danilo Kiš, Borislav Pekić and Filip David.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Mirko Kovač • Born — 26 December 1938 • Birthplace — Petrovići near Nikšić, Kingdom of Yugoslavia • Died — 19 August 2013 • Place of death — Rovinj, Croatia • Genre — Postmodernism • Occupation — Novelist, short story writer, essayist, screenwriter, political activist • Awards — NIN award (1978), Herder Prize (1995), Vilenica International Literary Prize (2003)
Biography
Biography
Kovač was born to a Croat father and a Serb mother in the village of Petrovići in Banjani region near Nikšić, Montenegro. He went to elementary school in Trebinje but after leaving his family at the age of 16 he went to Vojvodina where he finished high school in Novi Sad. During that time he discovered the works of poet Tin Ujević and became interested in literature. He went on to study the works of other notable Croatian authors like Ranko Marinković, Vladan Desnica, Antun Branko Šimić and Vjekoslav Kaleb. After finishing school he published his first essay called Tri pesnika (Three Poets) about the works of Tin Ujević, Branko Miljković and Oskar Davičo. His first book Gubilište was published in 1962 and caused a big bang on the Yugoslav literature scene. The communist authorities declared the book inappropriate because of its dark portrayal of life and started a campaign against Kovač which resulted in a year long polemic. Many authors including Predrag Matvejević and Danilo Kiš wrote in Kovač's defence. He received: the Serbian NIN Prize in 1978 and the Andrić Prize in 1979, Swedish PEN Tucholsky Award (1993), German Herder Prize (1995), Montenegrin Njegoš Award (2009) and 13th July award (2004), Slovenian Vilenica Award (2003), Croatian Vladimir Nazor Award (2008) etc. He lived in Belgrade, but moved to Rovinj, Croatia, his wife's hometown, after Slobodan Milošević came to power. An annual award in his name is given to authors from the Balkans in four categories.
Identity
Identity
Mirko Kovač is recorded as a citizen of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Recorded with the occupation screenwriter.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1938
Mirko Kovač was born on 26 December 1938.
2013
Mirko Kovač died on 19 August 2013.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Petrovići.
Birth place
Rovinj.
Death place
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.tportal.hr. Umro Mirko Kovač. 20 August 2013.
- 2.Đilas i Kovač zaključili su da je Andrić volio djevojčice. Jutarnji list. 2008-12-27.
- 3.Dobitnici nagrade Mirko Kovač. seecult.org. 16 September 2015.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 31
- Gubilište (1962), novel
- Moja sestra Elida (1965), novel
- Malvina (1970), novella
- Rane Luke Meštrevića (1971), short story collection
- Ruganje sa dušom (1976), novel
- Vrata od utrobe (1978), novel (NIN award)
- Uvod u drugi život (1983), novel
- Evropska trulež (1986), essays
- Nebeski zaručnici (1987), short story collection
- Okupacija u 26 slika i drugi scenariji (1990), film scripts
- Evropska trulež i drugi eseji (1994), essays
- Bodež u srcu (1995), publicist texts
- Kristalne rešetke (1995), novel
- Na odru (1996), short stories
- Rastresen život (1996), novel fragments
- Cvjetanje mase (1997), publicist texts
- Knjiga pisama 1992-1995 (1998), correspondence with Filip David
- Isus na koži (2003), plays
- Grad u zrcalu (2007), novel
- Pisanje ili nostalgija (2008), essays
- Ruže za Nives Koen (2009), short story collection
- Vrijeme koje se udaljava (2013), memoir
- Playing Soldiers
- Lisice
- Passion According to Matthew
- Occupation in 26 Pictures
- The Fall of Italy
- Evening Bells
- Tetoviranje
- Libertas
- Nina Ožegović. Mirko Kovač - istarsko utočište majstora kazališne provokacije. Nacional. 12 August 2008.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Recognition and collections. Kovač received NIN Prize, Andrić Prize, Herder Prize, Vilenica Prize, Kurt Tucholsky Prize and Vladimir Nazor Award.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Mirjaqip DulatulyAuthor
- Mirkka RekolaAuthor
- Mirko BogovićAuthor
- Mirko GashiAuthor
- Mirko Petrović-NjegošAuthor
- Miro GavranAuthor
- Miron BiałoszewskiAuthor
- Miron CostinAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Mirko Kovač?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.