Daina Tabūna (1985) is a prose writer and her short stories have been published in numerous Latvian publications since 2000. Daina Tabūna's short story collection Pirmā reize [The First Time] was shortlisted for the Annual Latvian Literature Award in 2015 as best debut of the year. The First Time instantly won over many readers and critics and has become a cult book of its time. It is a brilliant contemporary coming-of-age book addressing sensitive issues of acquiring experience and forming as a personality. In 2010, Daina Tabūna completed her studies with a BA in Theatre, cinema and TV drama at the Latvian Academy of Culture. In 2016 Tabūna received the Prose Reading festival Award. Tabūna's stories have been published in the UK by The Emma Press, bearing the title, The Secret Box. The illustrated collection features three stories from her debut The First Time. Her works have also been translated in Lithuanian, Slovenian, German, and Chinese, she has participated in Leipzig Book Fair, Slovenian Book Days, Birmingham Literature Festival, and Cork International Short Story Festival. In 2024 Daina Tabūna with her novel Raganas [Witches] was nominated for European Union Prize for Literature.
Novels
Raganas [Witches]. Riga: Ascendum, 2023.
Children's literature
Lasis Stasis un Atlasijas okeāns [Salmon Sammy and the Ocean]. Riga: Liels un mazs, 2022.
Short stories
Pirmā reize [The First Time]. Riga: Mansards, 2014. Also available as an e-book.
Books to fall for

The First Time
The First Time (Pirmā reize)
On the cusp of womanhood, Daina Tabūna’s heroines are constantly confronting the unexpected. Adult life seems just around the corner, but so are the kinds of surprise encounters that might change everything. Two siblings realize they’re too old to be playing with paper dolls and begin to re-examine their close relationship. A girl who dreads visiting her religious grandmother develops her own fixation with Jesus, and a disaffected young woman, listlessly wandering the streets, stumbles into an awkward relationship with an office worker. The narrators of these stories each try, in their own way, to make sense of how to behave in a world that doesn’t offer any clear answers. Life, however, always has some sort of surprise in store, and suddenly nothing is as it was before.
Contacts: Jānis Oga, janis@apgadsmansards.lv
TheFirstTime_by_D.Tabuna.pdf

Title
:The First Time
Title*
:Pirmā reize
Authors
:Genre
:Short-stories
Publisher
:Mansards
Pages
:152
Year
:2014
Foreign rights
:All languages available, except English
Daina Tabūna. Witches, radio reading // Vikerraadio.ee, November 2024 [EE]
Daina Tabūna. Witches // Eu prize literature, May 2024 [EN]
Porter Anderson. European Union Prize for Literature Names Its 2024 Nominees // Publishing Perspectives, February 2024 [EN]
Video conversation with Daina Tabūna // Online magazine Punctum, 2021 [LV]
Prose excerpt by Daina Tabūna // Online magazine Satori, 2020 [LV]
Interview with Daina Tabūna // Latvijas Sabiedriskie Mediji, 2017 [EN]
Conversation with Daina Tabūna // Online magazine Punctum, 2015 [LV]
About The First Time // Online magazine Satori, 2015 [LV]
Daina Tabūna Satori profile // Online magazine Satori [LV]
In celebration of Women In Translation Month, Culture Writer Joi Foote reviews The Secret Box by Daina Tabūna (translated from Latvian by Jayde Will) // Redbrick, August 2023 [ENG]
Bārbala Simsone, Pirmo kā pēdējoreiz, review of The First Time // Online magazine Satori, 2015 [LV]
Anna Auziņa, Bez Zīda Pūkas & co, review of The First Time // Online magazine Punctum, 2015 [LV]
2016, the Prose Reading Award for the story "The Last Bench"
2015, shortlisted for the Annual Latvian Literature Award Best Debut for The First Time

The Secret Box
The Secret Box (Slepenā kaste)

Title
: The Secret BoxTitle*
: Slepenā kasteAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Short Stories
Language
:English
Publisher
:The Emma Press, United Kingdom
Pages
:97
Year
:2017
Copyrights
:The author, publishing house "Mansards";
Synopsis
:Three stories from the story collection "Pirmā reize". On the cusp of womanhood, Daina Tabūna's heroines are constantly confronted with the unexpected. Adult life seems just around the corner,but so are the kinds of encounter which might change everything

Nõiad
Nõiad (Raganas)

Title
: NõiadTitle*
: RaganasAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Estonian
Publisher
:Hea Lugu
Pages
:224
Year
:2024
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:The Witches focuses on a young woman Alma's search for identity, which becomes especially acute after a painful breakup. While trying to cope with her experiences, she turns to esotericism. Gradually, Alma becomes aware of herself and discovers her voice.

Veštice
Veštice (Raganas)

Title
: VešticeTitle*
: RaganasAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Serbian
Publisher
:Partizanska knjiga
Pages
:274
Year
:2024
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:The Witches focuses on a young woman Alma's search for identity, which becomes especially acute after a painful breakup. While trying to cope with her experiences, she turns to esotericism. Gradually, Alma becomes aware of herself and discovers her voice.

Foreign Literature and Art
Foreign Literature and Art (Ārzemju literatūra un māksla)

Title
: Foreign Literature and ArtTitle*
: Ārzemju literatūra un mākslaAuthors
: , , , , , , ,Translated by
:Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Chinese
Publisher
:Shanghai Translation Publishing house
Pages
:164
Year
:2018