{"id":23311,"date":"2025-07-17T11:20:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T11:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/?post_type=cpt_services&#038;p=23311"},"modified":"2026-04-06T08:38:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T08:38:47","slug":"venko-andonovski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/venko-andonovski\/","title":{"rendered":"Venko ANDONOVSKI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-link-2-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1d5fca24db19ccf467df8aae3a2038f7\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><em><em><em><em><em>Andonovski\u2019s books are passionate. In each page we find longing, moments, happiness and quenching of longing. Philosophical debates where he points the questions directly at the reader, examining him, leaving him awake, asking how much does he know about himself\u2026 A real navel of the human soul.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Biography<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Venko Andonovski<\/strong> (born 1964, Kumanovo) is a short story writer, novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, literary critic and theoretician. He is a professor at the Faculty of Philology \u201cBlaze Koneski\u201d in Skopje, as well as a member of the Macedonian PEN Centre and the Macedonian Writers\u2019 Association since 1990. He is the author of the following books: \u201cThe Barbarian\u2019s Tender Heart\u201d (poetry 1986), \u201cThe Lyric Poets\u2019 Quarter\u201d (short stories, 1989), \u201cFrescoes and Grotesques\u201d (short stories, 1993), \u201cAlphabet of the Disobedient\u201d (novel, 1993), \u201cText Processes\u201d (essays, 1996) \u201cMatosh\u2019s Bells\u201d (study, 1996), \u201cStructure of the Macedonian realistic novel\u201d (study, 1997), \u201cThree plays \u2013 Slavic Chest, Mutiny in the Old People\u2019s Home, Hades Machine\u201d (1998), \u201cDecodings\u201d (2000), \u201cNavel of the World\u201d (novel, 2001), \u201cWitch\u201d (novel, 2006), \u201cDaughter of the Mathematician\u201d (2013), \u201cAlphabet\u201d (2020). Awards include: \u201cRacin\u2019s Award\u201d, first prize for best novel by the publishing house \u201cZumpres\u201d, an award for best drama text at the \u201cVojdan Chernodrinski\u201d festival in Prilep, Novel of the Year Award, and \u201cBalkanika\u201d award. He has also published a writing handbook titled &#8220;The Opiates of the breathtaking writing (A Personal Theory of Prose and Drama Without a Footnote&#8221; \u2013 a thought-provoking work that is found useful to all generations of writers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the French edition of the novel &#8220;Witch&#8221;, Milan Kundera, after comparing Andonovski with Hermann Broch and Carlos Fuentes, has named the novel \u201ctoo modern\u201d, a book from the third historical epoch in the development of the novel. According to him, it is a masterful polyphonic work in the surprising variety of narrative techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022 Andonovski has released the sequel to \u201cNavel of the World\u201d titled \u201cNavel of the Light\u201d (that has five Macedonian editions by now) which brought him the award \u201cStale Popov\u201d and The Tolstoy award \u201cJasna Poljana\u201d for the Russian translation made by Olga Pankina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He is currently preparing to publish his first comic novel titled \u2018Alexander Rides West\u2019 in which he tries to give history a comic-satirical character. With this title the author announced a genre rarely explored in our literary tradition, offering a bold new narrative tone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Outstanding title:<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-light-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-f2354a73ab2e35e7c7f0a58e701cb12d\"><strong>THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD (2000)<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"522\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-1.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetot_522x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-1.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetot_522x800.jpg 522w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-1.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetot_522x800-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-1.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetot_522x800-370x567.jpg 370w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-1.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetot_522x800-410x628.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 522px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This novel is a mystification on several levels: the book consists of an introduction, supposedly written by a brother of a certain V., a late circus performer. In his estate, the brother \u2013 a pedantic clerk \u2013 finds a manuscript of a novel and diary entries and he is thinking about publishing them. <br><br>Following this introduction are a novel \u201cThe Navel of the World\u201d, another novel \u201cImpact\u201d, and diaries entitled \u201cLight\u201d. The book concludes with an afterword by a literary scholar Venko Andonovski and photocopies of several poems written by the young V. The book has been published in twelve editions in N. Macedonia only.<br><br><strong>No. of pp<\/strong>: 350<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Awards<\/strong> and honors:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Novel of the Year Award for 2000<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Balkanika Award &nbsp;for 2000<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jugra Award in 2014<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong><strong>Rights sold to<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>France, Russia, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Albania and Bulgaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Latest title:<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-light-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-b17455936e7064739c79924076496102\"><strong>THE NAVEL OF THE LIGHT (2022)<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"520\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-2.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetlinata_520x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-2.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetlinata_520x800.jpg 520w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-2.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetlinata_520x800-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-2.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetlinata_520x800-370x569.jpg 370w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/4.-ANDONOVSKI-Venko-2.-korica-od-Papokot-na-svetlinata_520x800-410x631.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Jan Ludwing in \u201cThe Navel of the World\u201d was an atheist and globalist and believed that man himself could create a political paradise on earth. Twenty years later Jan from \u201cThe Navel of the Light\u201d believes that there is no better world if there is no better man. <br><br>For whether God exists or not, man has one thing that God does not: the ability to become better. God cannot be better, for He is perfect. But man can.<br><br><strong>No. of pp<\/strong>: 315<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Awards<\/strong> and honors:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cStale Popov\u201d Award for best prose book by Society of Macedonian writers for 2023<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cThe Yasnaya Polyana\u201d Literary Award by the Leo Tolstoy Museum Estate in 2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Rights sold to<\/strong>: <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Russia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sample in English available <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/ytcshtdnwh4lio7m744uq\/The-Navel-od-the-Light-Venko-Andonovski.pdf?rlkey=f5ocv32jx9htod94z5w98md9m&amp;st=wm7xhsic&amp;dl=0\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/ytcshtdnwh4lio7m744uq\/The-Navel-od-the-Light-Venko-Andonovski.pdf?rlkey=f5ocv32jx9htod94z5w98md9m&amp;st=wm7xhsic&amp;dl=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Outstanding title for children:<\/strong><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-light-color has-text-color has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-124c9473b4e8db9a02730eba27bd8a7e\">YOU HAVE A BEE ON YOUR NOSE<strong> (2021)<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1294\" height=\"1987\" src=\"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot.jpg 1294w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot-667x1024.jpg 667w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot-768x1179.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot-1000x1536.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot-370x568.jpg 370w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot-840x1290.jpg 840w, https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imas-pcela-na-nosot-410x630.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1294px) 100vw, 1294px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A story about noticing the happiness often overlooked. People always see misfortune but rarely the joy in front of them \u2013 sometimes right on the tip of their nose. A bee, unlike a fly, lands quietly and leaves a drop of honey without being noticed. This young adult novel, humorous and poignant, follows Stella and Sani through absurd situations while inviting readers to reflect, laugh, and perhaps recognize their own \u201cbee on the nose\u201d mo\u00adments before they fly away.<br><br><strong>No of pp:<\/strong> 198<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Illustrator:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/hari-dudeski\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hari Dudeski<\/a><br><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Publisher DOO<br>198 pages, paperback, 14 x 20.5 cm<br><strong>Age:\u00a0<\/strong>13+<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rights: <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>TRI Publishing Centre<br><a href=\"mailto:tri@kniga.mk\">tri@kniga.mk<\/a><br>+389 2 3245 622<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zoran ANCHEVSKI is one of the leading figures in contemporary Macedonian poetry. His poetic world is both intimate and universal: it is deeply thoughtful and erudite, expressed through a personal point of view, but in a dialogue with the global literary tradition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[212,209,211,208,206,218],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-authors","category-childrens-literature","category-drama","category-essay","category-fiction","category-new-wave"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23311"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24921,"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23311\/revisions\/24921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mai.org.mk\/macedonian-literature\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}