About the Author

Alija Mrkonjić was born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on October 20, 1980. Since 2005, he has worked as a psychology teacher and school counselor in Tuzla’s secondary schools.

Besides his educational career, Mrkonjić has maintained a long-standing involvement in music and the arts. As a teenager, he drew comics and pursued painting, even joining the cultural society “Hasan Kaimija.” From 1999 to 2011, he was a member of the Tuzla-based rap-core band Urban Instinkt, then performed solo under the alias “Pedagog X.” In 2020, he launched the musical project F 91, releasing the EP Welcome to Salt City!

He also develops board games with the goal of reviving traditional, in-person games among youth—promoting social skills and counteracting the isolating effects of excessive digital use and the COVID-19 pandemic.

His literary debut is the novel Veteran, officially released and promoted on June 20, 2022, at the “Derviš Sušić” Library in Tuzla. The novel blends drama, mystery, horror, and sci-fi, and spans the period from 1991 to 2022 across former Yugoslav territories. It portrays the traumatic experiences of a middle-aged conscripted soldier and his struggle to heal with the help of family and friends. The work is dedicated to young individuals sacrificed by political ideologies and critiques nationalist indoctrination and war profiteering.