Vesna Main (born Zagreb, Croatia) is a UK-based novelist, short-story writer, and Goldsmiths Prize nominee (shortlist).
Biography
Vesna Main was born in Zagreb, Croatia, and later moved to Britain, where she has lived for much of her life.[1][2] She holds a BA in Comparative Literature, an MA in Shakespeare Studies and a PhD in Elizabethan Drama from the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham.[3][1] Before turning to full-time fiction writing, she taught literature at universities in the UK and Nigeria and worked for the BBC.[4] As of recent years she divides her time between London (UK) and a small village in Poitou-Charentes, France.[1][2]
Career
Her short story collection Temptation: A User’s Guide (Salt, 2018) followed earlier publications and cemented her reputation for sharp, unconventional writing.[5] Her novel Good Day? (Salt, 2019) is told entirely in dialogue and was shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize in 2019.[6] Her most recent novel Waiting for a Party (Salt, 2024) was published to positive critical reception.[7][8]
Awards and honours
- Shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize (2019) for Good Day?[9]
Selected works
- Temptation: A User’s Guide (Salt Publishing, 2018)
- Good Day? (Salt Publishing, 2019) — shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize.[10]
- Only A Lodger… And Hardly That (Seagull Books, 2020)[11]
- Waiting for a Party (Salt Publishing, 2024)
Reception and critical commentary
Her most recent novel Waiting for a Party has been described as “surprising and refreshing … a vivid exploration of late female longing and desire” in The Irish Times.[12] A review in The TLS commented that the novel invites reconsideration of what constitutes a life-well-lived, as the ninety-two-year-old protagonist re-evaluates marriage, friendship and sexuality.[8]
References
- ^ a b c "Vesna Main". The Society of Authors. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ a b Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (2019-10-31). "Vesna Main: "Literature is art, not a commodity"". New Statesman. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ "Zip - The Bombay Literary Magazine | TBLM". Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ "Vesna Main". Seagull Books. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ Books, Women Writers Women (2024-11-16). "Authors Interviewing Characters: Vesna Main". Women Writers, Women's Books. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ "Good Day?". Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (2019-10-31). "Vesna Main: "Literature is art, not a commodity"". New Statesman. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ a b "Unacknowledged longing". TLS. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ "2019 Prize". Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ "Good Day?, Vesna Main". Salt. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ "Only a Lodger . . . And Hardly That by Vesna Main". Seagull Books. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
- ^ Kelly, Julia. "Waiting for a Party by Vesna Main review: surprising and refreshing". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
