Garden, Ashes

Danilo Kis was one of Serbia's most influential writers and the author of several novels and short-story collections, including A Tomb for Boris Davidovich, The Encyclopedia of the Dead and Hourglass. In 1980 Kis was awarded the Grand Aigle d'Or from the city of Nice. He died in 1989 at the age of 54.

Aleksandar Hemon is the author of "The Lazarus Project, "which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and three books of short stories: "The Question of Bruno"; "Nowhere Man", which was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; and "Love and Obstacles". He was the recipient of a 2003 Guggenheim Fellowship and a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation. He lives in Chicago.