Tom Kuka (pen name of Enkel Demi) is an Albanian writer and journalist. In November of 2016, he published his first novel under the pseudonym Tom Kuka: Hide mbi kalldrëm (Jujube on Cobblestone), a crime novel that takes place in Tirana, Albania, during the 1930’s. Two years later, in November 2018, Kuka returned with another novel, Gurët e vetmisë (Stones of Solitude), a family saga that narrates the ordeal of escaping the land of the ancients, of a population that migrates and leaves its former life far behind. For this novel, he won the National Prize for Literature in 2019. In November 2019, he published his third novel, Ora e ligë (Evil Hour), in which a man picking up a sword is punished with an impossible love, and an old man has to challenge his fate and that of an entire village while travelling to the legendary land of the ancients. Kuka won the prize for Artistic Book of the Year in the Cult Academy’s cultural awards in 2020. His fourth novel Flama (Calamity) was published in March 2021 and was awarded The European Union Prize for Literature 2021.
Ora e ligë - The Evil Hour
Set in a time when honor is defended through vengeance and love is considered shameful, the story follows Sali Kamati, a man compelled to avenge his brother’s death. As he prepares for his own demise, he enc …
I rënë nga qielli - Fallen from the Sky
Albania 1997. A strange and mysterious shipment of Americans arrives in an Albania in turmoil. Chaos, fear, explosions, kidnappings, will be the background and everyday life that will accompany them while so …
Gurët e vetmisë - The Stones of Solitude
Published in Germany. Winner of the National Literature Award for 2018. The Stones Of Solitude is a novel set in a land caught between borders, where a small group of people struggles to rebuild their live …
Hide mbi kalldrëm - Jujube on cobblestones
It is an homage to the old Tirana. It is the ’30’s. Albania, finally has a name, a government and a capital. And what a capital! Tirana is revealed to us with the tonalities of a black and white photography. …
Rrethimi - The Siege
It is the First Balkan War, the Montenegrins have surrounded Shkodra, while the Serbs have occupied lands from the Zadrima plain to the Port of Shëngjin. An entire city is trapped in turmoil. Those within th …
Flama
Winner of European Union Literature Prize, 2021 Published in Italy, Serbia. The Plague or Calamity is a wonderful metaphor for contemporary Albania experiencing a pandemic, and perhaps for what the auth …