The Mili Dueli are online poetry contests originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in which authors are judged by an international jury. Over the course of 12 years, they have included authors from 104 countries.
In the Balkan region, the Mili Dueli have gained significant popularity for promoting the beauty of language, connecting both established and emerging authors, while fostering dialogue, and promoting peace.
Nermin Delić from Bugojno (BiH) was seventeen years old when he initiated the Mili Dueli. His objective, he claims, was to establish stronger intercultural dialogue among writers and increase the popularity of poetry. He ignored the opinions of those around him who believed that poetry and digital technology would not go together nor lead to serious work.
Delić founded the Mili Dueli in 2012. The name came together, as he described it, almost spontaneously. He chose the word “mili” (“dear”) with the aim of promoting the written word and intercultural dialogue, while “dueli” (“duels”) was intended to bring an element of excitement to the gathering.
Guided by the belief that a nation without writers is a disappearing nation, Delić encouraged writers of different ethnicities and nationalities to socialize, read, and better understand one another. “Understanding of a nation’s cultural richness reduces the chances of hate speech directed towards that nation”, says Delić.
He believes that Mili Dueli has achieved remarkable success. He highlights that, among all poetry competitions in Southeast Europe, it stands out as the largest in terms of participants and the most diverse in the number of countries represented. According to Forbes, the Mili Dueli is the most popular poetry competition in the region of the former Yugoslavia.
The 2023/2024 season lasted 14 months, during which authors went through five traditional elimination rounds. Members of the international jury continuously monitored the authors through mentorship, preparing them for each round. Through public literary critiques and evaluations, they contributed to the authors’ literary growth.
Božana Slavkova from Bulgaria won the 2023-2024 Mili Dueli. She competed against 711 authors from 104 countries and scored 986 points. She considers her win a significant event in the Bulgarian literary sphere.
She describes the Mili Dueli with the word diversity. Speaking about her participation in the 2023/2024 season, Slavkova recalls fondly the opportunity she had to read works from a wide range of authors from different parts of the world, with varied backgrounds and artistic abilities. She is proud of Bulgaria’s involvement, as well as the fact that she was able to meet many participants from Bulgaria, as it made her feel “valued and seen”.
Lukas Nikolić from Bosnia and Herzegovina secured third place in 2023-2024 Mili Dueli. He describes the Mili Dueli as an event with the power to bring together people of different interests, experiences, and backgrounds around a common goal: self-expression through poetry. Through the competition, Nikolić said he was given the opportunity to make his words meaningful and share them with others who also believe in the power of poetry.
Delić explained that the members of the Mili Dueli jury write public critiques of the submitted poems, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses they have identified in the works. “By going through this entire process, authors gain connections, online contacts, and even friendships with other writers,” said Delić.
As for the next steps for Mili Dueli and the upcoming competition season, Delić leaves a message for all literature enthusiasts: „Thank you for being here. “
