Curriculum vitae
Born in Split in 1965 where he completed primary and secondary education. He graduated in history and world literature from the University of Zagreb. Since 1990 he has lived permanently in Split, working as a film critic and a columnist for different papers and magazines (”Vijenac”, ”Zarez”, ”Nedjeljna Dalmacija”, ”Jutarnji list”, …). In 1992 he received the national award ”Vladimir Vuković” for film criticism. Since 1994 he has been writing a regular weekly column entitled ”Vijesti iz Liliputa” (”News from Liliput”) in which he dissects the society, politics, and culture of the war and post-war Croatia. For the texts from this series he was awarded by the national journalists’ association ”Marija Jurić-Zagorka” in 1996; he received a special award for his contribution to journalism ”Veselko Tenžera” in 2002, and ”Miljenko Smoje” award by ”Slobodna Dalmacija” in 2007.
He made his literary debut in 1997 by a social thriller entitled Ovce od gipsa (Plaster Sheep) in which he deals with the problem of war crime in war-time Split in 1992. The following year the novel was to be nominated for the ”Gjalski” national fiction award. His second novel, Nedjeljni prijatelj (A Sunday Friend), a crime story dealing with social controversies of Croatia in the 1990-ies was published in 2000. His short stories were published in various literary journals. In 2000 his play entitled Trovačica (The Poisoner) was produced by the Croatian National Theatre in Split, having won the national drama award ”Držić” in the previous year. He published his collected texts from the series ”Vijesti iz Liliputa” in book form. The same year saw the publication of a monograph on Croatian post-modernist fantasy literature. His third novel Minuta 88, set in the world of football and fan sub-culture, was published in 2002. The novel was shortlisted for the ”Jutarnji list” award for the best fiction work of the year. His fourth novel Kuća njene majke (Her Mother’s House) was published in 2005 in ”Jutarnji list”. His fifth novel Crvenkapica (The Little Red Riding Hood) appeared in 2006. It’s a contemporary version of Charles Perrault fable, taking place in contemporary Zagreb. Pavičić latest book is a story collection Patrola na cesti (Highway Patrol), and it includes 10 family stories.
His short stories and essays have been translated into English, German, Italian and Bulgarian. The novel Ovce od gipsa has been translated into German and published by Nummer 8 from Wetzlar. The book was subsequently proclaimed the third best book of the year in the German speaking countries in the category of crime stories and thrillers by the Swiss magazine Facts. The same novel was made into a film under the title Svjedoci (Witnesses), directed by Vinko Brešan and included into the official programme of the Berlin film festival, where it received the Ecumenical Award. For the screenplay of this film Pavičić won the major award ”Velika zlatna arena” at the Pula film festival in 2003.
Bibliography:
- — Ovce od gipsa (Plaster Sheep), novel, A.B. Gigantic, Solin-Split 1998.
- — Nedjeljni prijatelj, novel, Znanje, Zagreb, 2000.
- — Hrvatski fantastičari – jedna književna generacija (Croatain Fantasy Writers -A Literary Generation) Zavod za znanost o književnosti FF u Zagrebu, Zagreb 2000.
- — Vijesti iz Liliputa, (News from Liliput) essays and columns, VBZ Zagreb, 2001.
- — Nachtbus nach Triest, Kriminalroman, Verlaghaus No.8, Wetzlar 2001.
- — Minuta 88, novel, v.b.z., Zagreb, 2002.
- — Split by Night, essays and columns, Split 2003.
- — Kuća njene majke (Her Mother’s House), novel, Jutarnji list, Zagreb 2005
- — Crvenkapica (The Little Red Riding Hood) novel, v.b.z. Zagreb 2006.
- — Patrola na cesti (Highway Patrol), collection of short stories, V.B.Z. 2008.