biography – English

Elvira Dones was born in Durres (Albania) and raised in Tirana, the state capital. At the age of sixteen she starts hosting television shows. In 1984 Elvira graduates in English and Albanian literature from the State University in Tirana. In ‘88 she leaves her country – at the time a Stalinist dictatorship – and settles in Switzerland. She publishes her first novel, Dashuri e huaj (No baggage) in 1997. From 2004 to 2015 Elvira lives and works in the USA, first in Washington, DC, then in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the end of 2015 she moves back to Southern Switzerland.
Elvira Dones is a bilingual novelist and writer (Albanian and Italian); she’s published seven novels, two collections of short stories, she’s written a few screenplays, and she has directed a series of documentaries for the Swiss Public Broadcasting Corp. Her novels are translated in several languages.

Books:

PICCOLA GUERRA PERFETTA,
novel (original: Italian),
Einaudi Publisher, Turin, 2011

in German:
KLEINER SAUBERER KRIEG, 
translated by Adrian Giacomelli,
Ink Press Verlag, Zurich, 2018

 

in French:
UNE PETITE GUERRE PARFAITE,
translated by Leila Pailhès
Éditions Métailié, Paris, 2013
*** Honourable mention “Coup de coeur” at the “Prix Littéraire des Jeunes Européens 2016”, Lyon (France) ***

 

in Albanian:
LUFTË E VOGËL E PËRKORË,
translated by Adrian Beshaj
Dudaj publishing house, Tirana, 2012

 

VERGINE GIURATA,
novel (original: Italian),
Feltrinelli Publisher, Milan, 2007

*** “Fondazione Carical Grinzane Cavour 2008” Award ***

in English:
SWORN VIRGIN,
translated by Clarissa Botsford,
And Other Stories, London & New York, 2014

in German:

HANA,

translated by Adrian Giacomelli.
Ink Press Verlag, Zurich, 2017

in Albanian:
HANA,

translated by Roland Sejko,
Sejko publishing house, Elbasan, 2007

in Polish:
ZAPRZYSIEZONA DZIEWICA,

translated by Anna Gogolin,
DodoEditor Publisher, Krakow, 2010

MË PAS HESHTJA,
novel (original: Albanian),
Sejko Publishing House, Elbasan, 2004

in Italian:
I MARI OVUNQUE,
Interlinea, Novara, 2007

I LOVE TOM HANKS (PËRRALLA MODERNE),
short stories (original: Albanian),
Sejko publishing house, Elbasan, 2002

DITË E BARDHË E FYER,
novel (original: Albanian),
Sejko publishing house, Elbasan, 2001

in Italian:
BIANCO GIORNO OFFESO,
Interlinea, Novara, 2004

 

YJET NUK VISHEN KËSHTU,
novel (original: Albanian),
Sejko publishing house, Elbasan, 2000

in Italian:
SOLE BRUCIATO,
Feltrinelli, Milan, 2001,

*** “Latisana per il Nord-Est 2001” Award ***

in French:
SOLEIL BRÛLÉ,
Editions Anne Carrière, Paris, 2005

in English:
an excerpt has been translated by Robert Elsie and is included in his anthology BALKAN BEAUTY, BALKAN BLOOD)

LULE TË GABUARA,
short stories (original: Albanian),
Onufri publishing house, Tirana, 1999

(one short story, “Frank”, has been translated into German by Joachim Röhm and published in the literary magazine “metaphorá”, Heft 6, München, 2000;

another short story, “Kërkomëni në kazanët”, has been translated into Romanian by Ardian-Christian Kyçyku and published in the literary magazine “Art Panorama”, Bucarest, 1999);

KARDIGAN,
novel (original: Albanian),
Çabej publishing house, Tirana 1998;

DASHURI E HUAJ,
novel (original: Albanian),
Çabej publishing house, Tirana 1997

in Italian:
SENZA BAGAGLI,
Besa publishing house, Lecce 1998

a fragment has been translated into German by Hans-Joachim Lanksch and published in KUESSE UND EILIGE ROSEN, Limmat Verlag, Zürich 1998, a collection of “Swiss prose in non-Swiss languages”).

(the novels YJET NUK VISHEN KËSHTU, DITË E BARDHË E FYER and MË PAS HESHTJA constitute the “Trilogy of Sorrow”)

TV documentaries (a selection):

IN SEARCH OF BRUNILDA
(2003, with Mohammed Soudani) centered on human trafficking between Albania and Italy. Produced and aired by the Italian-speaking branch of Swiss Broadcasting Company. Shortlisted for the italian journalistic award Premio Ilaria Alpi 2004.

I NGUJUAR / NAILED
(2004, with Fulvio Mariani) focuses on blood feud in northern Albania. Produced and aired by Swiss Broadcasting Corp. Winner of FIPA d’argent in the section Grands Reportages et faits de societé at the Festival International des Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA, Biarritz, France, january ’05); winner of the Mediterranean Reporting Award at the International Prize for Mediterranean documentary and reportage (Siracusa, Italy, ’05).

SWORN VIRGIN
(2006, coproduced by Swiss Broadcasting Corp. and Dones Media). Nominated Best Documentary at the 2007 Baltimore Women’s Film Festival. Distributed in North America by the Filmakers Library.

DON’T KILL MY FATHER
(2010, coproduced by Swiss Broadcasting Corp. and Dones Media). Official selection at the San Antonio Film Festival 2011 and at the Prison Reform Film Festival 2011 (Houston, TX).