Dubravka Ugrešic was born in the former Yugoslavia (Croatia). She is a novelist, essayist, and literary scholar. Her publications in English include the novels The Museum of Unconditional Surrender; Fording the Stream of Consciousness; The Ministry of Pain; and Baba Yaga Laid an Egg; the short story collection In the Jaws of Life and Other Stories; and the essay collections Thank You For Not Reading; Nobody’s Home; The Culture of Lies; Have A Nice Day; Karaoke Culture; Europe in Sepia; Fox; and The Age of Skin. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. She has received several international awards, including the Italian Premio Feronia 2004 (previously awarded to Saramago, Coetzee, Grass, Kadare, and Gordimer); the German Heinrich Mann Award and the SWF-Bestenliste Literaturpreis; the Austrian Osterreichischen Staatspreis fur Europaische Literatur; the Dutch Verzetsprijs; and the Swiss Prix Europeen de l’Essai “Charles Veillon.” She lives in Amsterdam and often teaches at American universities.