Zaim Topčić
Yugoslav and Bosnian writer
Zaim Topčić (28 February 1920 – 15 July 1990) was a Bosnian writer of novels. He twice won the Annual Award of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the novels Lump of Sun and Black Snows (his son Zlatko Topčić is also a double winner of this award).
Early life and family
Topčić was born in Glamoč to a Bosniak family on 28 February 1920 and lived most of his life in Sarajevo. His wife Naila was a member of the Selimić family (her grandfather was a municipal councilor, landowner, benefactor and philanthropist Zaim-beg Selimić, who was the owner of the Kravica waterfall).
He graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.
Career
Topčić actively participated in World War II in Yugoslavia from the beginning of 1941, on the Partisans side. After liberation he was the editor of Sarajevo radio station. Topčić was the secretary general of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (then Udruženje književnika Bosne i Hercegovine, now Društvo pisaca Bosne i Hercegovine, whose founder, secretary general, from 1993 to 2001, and a board member, from 2006 to 2010, was his son Zlatko).
He is the author of the important historical novel Country of Heretics. Professor Enes Duraković has included it in the edition of the 100 books of Bosniak literature.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Zaim Topčić” as yugoslav and Bosnian writer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as yugoslav and Bosnian writer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q20747724. VIAF identifies the subject as 19695882. The Library of Congress control number is n85312634. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1920, 1990, 1941 and 1993.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Zaim Topčić”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Zaim Topčić primary sources, Zaim Topčić archive and Zaim research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Zaim Topčić”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Zaim Topčić” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.