Bosnian Edition

The first Bosnian translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in April 2011 by Buybook and debuted at the Sarajevo Book Fair. By the time the Bosnian edition appeared, local readers were already well-acquainted with the series through the Serbian and Croatian editions—languages that are mutually intelligible with Bosnian. As a result, the initial reception was somewhat subdued, and sales were slower than expected. At one point, Buybook even discounted the books to encourage wider readership.

The first print run consisted of 2,000 paperback copies. A second print run of 1,000 copies was released in 2020 following a renewal of the publishing agreement. The text remained the same between both editions, aside from the correction of a few minor spelling errors—confirmed to me by the publisher.

The cover artwork was created by Aleksandra Nina Knežević, an acclaimed Bosnian designer known for her experimental use of composition, vibrant color palettes, and expressive characters. At the time, she was the lead designer at Buybook and was invited to illustrate the covers for the Bosnian editions of the series. While the publisher provided general guidance on which elements to include on the covers, the artwork itself was entirely original, drawing from Knežević’s imagination. She created multiple preliminary concepts, all of which were submitted to the U.K. publisher Bloomsbury for approval. Bloomsbury ultimately selected the final version used on the first book. Knežević initially illustrated the artwork by hand, which was then digitally colored and processed to produce the final design.

The Bosnian book market has been shaped by the region’s complex political history. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was divided into two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republika Srpska. While Republika Srpska primarily imports books from Serbia, the Federation supports its own local publishing industry. As a result, print runs for Bosnian-language books are typically conservative, due to the limited target audience and market uncertainty.

Buybook also published The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling in Bosnian. To help promote this and other titles, Rowling sent over signed bookplates with a golden frame. Some of these were later inserted into Bosnian editions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a promotional gesture—making those particular copies especially appealing to collectors.