Ismail Kadare was born on January 28, 1936 in Gjirokastėr, Albania. He is probably the most well known Albanian writer. Kadare has studied at the Faculty of History and Philology at the University of Tirana and at the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow. After feeling threatened by the communist regime in Albania, he moved to France in October 1990, just before the collapse of the regime. In 1999, Kadare returned to Albania. He has has received many literature awards, is a member of the French Association of Writers, and has been nominated for the Nobel Prize. Some of his greatest works (some published in France) include:

  • My Century (Shekulli Im) 1961
  • The General of the Dead Army (Gjenerali i Ushtrisė sė Vdekur) 1963
  • What Are These Mountains Thinking About (Pėrse Mendohen Kėto Male) 1964
  • The Wedding (Dasma) 1968
  • The Castle (Kėshtjella) 1970
  • Chronicle in Stone (Kronikė nė gurė) 1971
  • The Great Winter (Dimri i Madh) 1977
  • The Three-Arched Bridge (Ura Me Tri Harqe) 1978
  • Broken April (Pėrilli i Thyer) 1980
  • Gjakftohtėsia 1980
  • Literary Works (Vepra Letrare) 1981-1989
  • The Concert at the End of the Winter (Koncert nė Fund tė Dimrit) 1988
  • The Pyramid (La Pyramide) 1992
  • Albanie 1995
  • Počmes 1997
  • Froides Fleurs D'Avril (Spring Flower, Spring Frost)2000
  • Elegy for Kosovo 2000