The CEI Fellowship for Writers in Residence is a newly established award presented by the Central European Initiative in collaboration with the Slovene Writers’ Association as part of the Vilenica Festival. The Fellowship seeks to encourage cross-border cooperation and promotion in the field of literature for young writers from Central European Initiative member states that are not members of the European Union. The Fellowship, which is endowed with a cash award of 5,000 EUR, is intended to be used for a three-month residence in any CEI member state of the candidate’s choice. During this period, the author will work on the project he or she indicated in the application form.

The recipient of the CEI Fellowship for Writers in Residence 2006 is
GOCE SMILEVSKI from Macedonia

Goce Smilevski (1975) was educated at the University of Skopje, at Charles University in Prague and at the Central European University in Budapest. He is the author of the novels The Planet of Inexperience (2000), Conversation with Spinoza (2002) and Sigmund Freud’s Sister (2006). For Conversation with Spinoza he received the Macedonian Novel of the Year Award. The novel was translated in Slovenia, USA, Poland and Serbia