Sonja Smolec
Sonja Smolec (born 1953) is a Croatian artist, writer, and poet. Biography. Smolec was born in Pula, Croatia. From 1956 to 1985, she lived in Zagreb, and currently resides in Velika Gorica. Smolec was, at one time, a member of the art group '69', but eventually neglected her interest in painting due to family commitments. Since February 2004, Smolec became a member of the Society of Writers for children and youth, Croatia. She is also member of DHK Društvo hrvatskih književnika. Awards. Smolec has won the first prize for short stories in English, an international competition run by  the highly prestigious El Museo de la Palabra, Spain. As part of the ceremonies, the winners have met Princess Letizia, the future Spanish Queen. * Letizia, Princess of Asturias. 19 June 2014 – present: Her Majesty The Queen Awarded story: "Night Howl" * Official site of his majesty, Don Juan Carlos, King of Spain * Museo de la Palabra, Quero, Toledo, Spain * In the Webstilus Association competition, she won the award for the most beautiful poetry collection for 2014 - "Roots". The Webstilus Association has published her an award-winning collection. On 7 June 2018, Smolec has won the first prize named after the Croatian  writer "Mato Lovrak" for the best novel written for children and youth "Marama s Bubamarama", published by "Semafora", Zagreb, Croatia.