The Final Word (novel)
2011 Bosnian novel by Zlatko Topčić

The Final Word (Bosnian: Završna riječ) is a bestseller novel by Bosnian writer Zlatko Topčić. It was published in 2011 by Europapress Holding & Novi Liber (Hanza Media in 2016).
Recognition
It received the Hasan Kaimija Award for best book published in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011 and 2012, and the Skender Kulenović Award for best book published in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011.
The novel was labeled "the decisive work of post-Yugoslav engagement prose". Critics wrote that it is "a great world literature" from "a great world writer".
Translations
The French translation (Le mot de la fin, M.E.O. Edition, Brussels) was published in 2016 and was ranked first on the list of international bestsellers of BookDaily in 2017, became the first novel from Southeast Europe to appear on that list.
“The Final Word (novel)” enters the record as 2011 Bosnian novel by Zlatko Topčić. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Final, Word and novel can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q31364901. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2016, 2012 and 2017.
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