Ilija Matusko

Ilija Matusko, born in 1980, studied sociology and political sciences. He lives and works in Berlin and writes for publications such as taz. die tageszeitung. He was selected for artists’ residency programmes at the Herrenhaus Edenkoben and the Künstlerdorf Schöppingen as well as for the Alfred Döblin Scholarship in Berlin. Verdunstung in der Randzone is his debut, for which he was awarded a fellowship by the Fritz-Hüser-Institut before its publication.

PUBLICATIONS

Year of Publication: 2026

Ilija MatuskoYear of Publication: 2026

Jugo

They only see each other once a year, and each time, they end up in an argument. The father who came to Germany as a young man, started a family, worked in hospitality, and left the country thirty years later for Croatia. And his son, who lives in Berlin and has become a writer and is now holidaying in his father’s guest house on the Adriatic Coast. In their arguments, they free themselves from...

Year of Publication: 2023

Ilija MatuskoYear of Publication: 2023

Evaporation in the Boundary Zone

»Open seven days«, reads the blackboard at the entrance. Ilija’s parents run a restaurant in Bavaria. As a child, he helps out in the kitchen, growing up on French fries and deep-fried food. When the restaurant stops turning enough of a profit, his parents simply open up a new one somewhere else.

Since his father likes to play tennis, he encourages his son to take tennis lessons. Ilija...