detail from: KRK Art dizajn

PROMETEJ LITERARY PUBLISHER

SIMO JELAČA

The Prometej publishing house in Novi Sad was founded by Zoran and Borka Kolundžija in January 1990. They decided to publish books in the field of national and cultural history, anthropology, psychology, ethnology and linguistics. Zoran and Borka collaborated with Sterijino pozorje, Yugoslav Kinetek, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU), and Matica srpska. Zoran worked at the Institute for Culture of Vojvodina from 1980 to 1990, where he managed the publishing business (meaning he learned the trade). They got off to a pretty good start. When they look back over the past 35 years, how long they have been in existence, they conclude that on average they published around 100 books a year for 25 years, and now that number has even increased to around 150. During all those years, they have received numerous awards and recognitions for their achievements. Among these awards are: the October Award of the City of Novi Sad, the Iskra Kulture Vojvodina, the Vuk Karadžić Award, and the awards for the best publisher at the Belgrade Book Fair for the years 2018, 2022, and 2025. Prometej has thus made a very great contribution to the culture of Novi Sad, Vojvodina, and all of Serbia. Their publishing work is of the highest quality. For the 25th anniversary of its existence, Prometej received a special award for the Edition ‘’Serbia 1914-1918’’. Prometej also affirms publishing in the field of science. It achieves its publishing recognition through representative monographs, works dedicated to the Serbian cultural and political heritage, with an emphasis on those dealing with the past and present of Novi Sad and Vojvodina. Prometej is particularly distinguished by publishing works that treat forgotten, and/or intentionally omitted history. In this field, the author, Academician Dejan Medaković, has particularly distinguished himself, who has treated these topics with extraordinary precision, demonstrating a long memory. For such creativity, Prometej has also established its own award, the ‘’Dejan Medaković’’, which has been received by the following laureates: Moma Kapor, Miodrag Protić, Mirko Demić. Vasilije Krestić, Radivoj Stokanov and Aleksandar Gatalica. In terms of the number of books published, Prometej is ranked among the largest publishers in Serbia.

Prometej formed its own taste among readers, and students of the University of Novi Sad remembered it for its professional literature, given that Prometej also became the largest publisher of university textbooks. Prometej became a cultural treasure of Novi Sad, crowned with fame for the quality of its publications. It also has its own bookstore, ‘’Most’’, which the people of Novi Sad remember well. It was successfully run by Zoran’s daughter Korana, who is now the director of Prometej. The linguistics publications for schools are also unforgettable, and a major undertaking of Prometej’s publication is ‘’Pravopisni rečnik’’. Later came books by Dejan Medaković, Momo Kapor, and the Novi Sad giant Mika Antic.

Like the book ‘’Serbia 1914-1918’’, Prometej now has around 50 titles, which treat events in Serbian history, crimes committed against the Serbian people, about which it was not dared to write. In addition to the aforementioned, Zoran has also published works by Jaša Tomić, Laza Kostić, Svetozar Pribičević, Jovan Subotić, Vasa Stajić, Joca Lalošević and Tihomir Ostojić (all from Vojvodina). One of Prometej’s publications, ‘’Tragom istorije’’ by Milan Blagojević, is a work about forgotten heroes from our past. There are quite a few Prometej publications that treat topics such as how people live in Vojvodina and Novi Sad now. Prometej has so far published dozens of editions on these topics about Novi Sad, including the ‘’Monograph of Novi Sad’’. He published the monograph ‘‘Bridges of Novi Sad’’ only six years after the bombing, and the ‘‘Most’’ bookstore displays numerous pictures of the bombing.

In the book by Jovan Dejanović, the former mayor of Novi Sad, ‘‘My Novi Sad Years’’, the most important features of the construction of many buildings that gave the city a new look are highlighted. Books by Rista Prentović and Vladimir Vrgović also belong to this field. In addition to the book fair in Belgrade, Prometej was the best publisher at the fairs in Novi Sad and Niš.

In addition to books about Serbia, Prometej also publishes books of foreign prose and poetry, and is best known for its exceptional monographs. Silenced Topics and Forbidden Events, as well as Some People, are works of great Prometej publications. In this field, the following are highlighted: ‘’The History of Peter the Great’’ by Zaharije Orfelin, as well as the works of Dejan Medaković in 15 books and ‘’The Origin of European Languages’’.

Prometej also became known for nurturing the culture of memory, linguistic culture and titles of the overall national culture of Serbia. The 2025 Enterprise of the Year Award was awarded to the book ‘’Knez Mihajlo Obrenović’’ (Orthodox Word), a work that combines scientific precision, aesthetic value and cultural contribution to the history of Serbia. This year, Prometej also marked the 150th anniversary of the Herzegovina Uprising and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mileva Marić - Einstein. With works like this, Prometej helps us return to ourselves and not forget ourselves. In all its works, Prometheus affirms creators in science, literature and journalism, and thus contributes to improving the overall cultural level of the country.

Among the major publications of Prometheus are two books by Dinko Davidov, “Sentandreja srpske povesnice” and “Serbian stematography”, and the monograph by Bogdan Janjušević, “Architecture of Vojvodina towns”. Of the prose works, “Hammerstein or Unwaveringness” by Harris Magnus, a German history, is valuable. Then, the work of two authors Yves Bore and Aleksandar Radović, “The Black Horseman”, the work of Miodrag Maticki, “Delta”, as well as “Intimate Guide to Portugal, Catalonia and Amsterdam” and the book by Ljiljana Maletin, “Guide to Exile”.

Тhe third volume of ‘‘Standard Language Reconsiderations’’ by Milan Šipka, ‘‘Surnames are the Guardians of Our Language’’ by Zagorka Vavić Gross. ‘‘Dictionary of Enchanted Words’’ by Danko Šipka and the first ‘‘Serbian-Roma Dictionary’’ by Bajram Haliti.

Prometheus has become a national publisher, it is possible that he will become the world’s number one publisher. Zoran deserves it and may live to see it. Good luck Zoran.

And finally, who is Prometheus, a mythical name?

In Greek mythology, Prometheus is the son of Japetus and Clinene, brother. Epimetheus and Deucalion, the inventor of many truths. In Greek mythology, Prometheus is also the god of fire, he stole fire from the gods and gave it to the mortals. He is considered the author of human art and science, as the inspirer of life.

Zoran Kolundžija, born in 1952 in Niš, spent his childhood in Bosnia, and part of his youth in Mladenovo. He has lived in Novi Sad since 1966. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Yugoslav Literature. Before founding Prometej, he worked at the Institute for Culture of Vojvodina. Zoran's heroes were, in his youth, Tom Sawyer, a character from Mark Twain's work, in his youth, the heroes from Branko Ćopić's book ''Early Eagles Fly'' and Alexander the Great and Marko Kraljević.

Zoran Kolundžija founder and owner of the Prometej Publishing House, Novi Sad

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