Born in Belgrade, Serbia, where she worked as a radio broadcasting journalist and was an award-winning published poet. After moving to Vancouver, she completed a master’s degree in education and started her career in post-secondary education. Currently works in postsecondary leadership and program development. Published and was awarded for her individual poems in Vancouver. 

LITERARY WORK AND CREDENTIALS:

King Has Goat Ears

Series: Picture Books

Publisher: Tradewind Books

Publication Year: September 2008

Illustrator: Phillippe Beha

ASIN: 189658022X

ISBN: 978189658022

Translated into Mandarin and French.

Awards:

Winner of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Book 2009 by BC Book Prizes

A Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Book of 2009

Finalist for the Blue Spruce Award 2010

Finalist for the Chocolate Lily Award 2010

The Blue Vase

Series: Chapter Books

Publisher: Tradewind Books
Publication Year: May 2015
Length: 96 pages
Illustrator: Josée Bisaillon
ISBN: 9781896580913

Awards: 

Winner of the Chocolate Lily Award 2017

Cardboard City

Series: Young Adult Novel

Publisher: Tradewind Books

Publication Year: July 2023

Format: 5.5” x 8.25”
Length: 128
ISBN: 9781990598104

Praise for Cardboard City (taken from Tradewind Books website https://tradewindbooks.com/books/cardboard-city/):

“This short book offers a fascinating view into the world of Romani people, a world likely unknown to YA readers. A historical note and four recipes round out this important book.” – Omni Libros, Published June 2024

“Cardboard City is more than a book that allows readers to enter a world likely unknown to them, it’s also a resource to teach young readers about the consequences of objectifying marginalized people.”
— Starred Review, Quill & Quire Published: July 2023

“A ‘deeply heartwarming’ YA novel . . . (that) offers a view into the lives and dreams of two Romani teens.”
— The British Columbia Review Published: July 2023

“This slender novel by Jovanovic (Cardboard City) highlights the displacement and oppression of Romani peoples as experienced by two teens living in an improvised Romani settlement of cardboard dwellings…an admirable if ambitious tale about two teens yearning for more and journeying toward a hopeful future.”
— Publishers Weekly Published: June 29, 2023

“The experiences of the characters [in Cardboard City] are stated simply and evocatively, without overtones of judgment or lamentation. Each character is allowed their own voice and story, the third-person perspective shifting effortlessly between individuals and driving home the dignity of each one … A clear-eyed and artful view into the lives and dreams of two Romani teens.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Published: June 15, 2023

Kartonac

Language: Serbian

Series: Adult Novel

Publication Year: Belgrade, 2019

Length: 171

Publisher: Factum