ABOUT ME
Karlo Ilić (b. 1990) is a musician and writer from Rijeka. In 2025, he made his literary debut with the critically acclaimed, genre-defying title Taksim bop, described as “on the border between magical realism and musicology,” published by the acclaimed publishing house Ex libris. Since 2017, as an editor and translator, he has stood its “Jazz Beat” series, with the Croatian editions of titles such as “the most important African American novel of the 20th century” (Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man), “the explosive autobiography of one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century” (Charles Mingus’ Beneath the Underdog), “a novel about the childhood of a Beat Generation icon” (Jack Kerouac’s Dr Sax), and even a collection of invaluable interviews with musicians (Davor Hrvoj’s Suspended Music). He has translated and edited titles ranging from fiction to academic works, including Autophysiopsychic Writings (cro. Autofiziopsihički spisi) by the musical giant Yusef Lateef and The Jazz Scene (cro. Jazz scena) by Eric Hobsbawm, “the most significant historian of the 20th century.” In 2026, he founded the publishing house Barbar.