Ilija Trojanow

Ilija Trojanow was born in Sofia in 1965. His parents fled with him in 1971 via Yugoslavia and Italy to Germany, where they were granted political asylum. In 1972, the family moved to Kenya. Ilija Trojanow lived in Nairobi until 1984. This was followed by a stay in Paris. From 1984 to 1989 he studied law and ethnology in Munich. There he founded the book publishing houses Kyrill & Method, and Marino. In 1998 Trojanow moved to Mumbai, in 2003 to Cape Town, and today, when he is not travelling, he lives mainly in Vienna. His novels The Collector of Worlds and Power and Defiance have become bestsellers in several countries. His literary and travel reports have also been acclaimed. His works have been translated into many languages. He also writes political essays and is committed to freedom of speech.