Lidija is a Literary Fiction writer and a certified book coach based in Croatia.

After over ten years of trying cases before Croatian courts, she traded in her legal briefcase for a sharpened pencil, and has been writing and working professionally with writers ever since. She appeared as a guest on several podcasts for writers, including The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing. She runs a book club for writers with a membership of close to 100, and is an active member of the WFWA.

SLANTING TOWARDS THE SEA

Simon & Schuster, July 2025

Spanning across twenty years and one life-altering summer in Croatia, Slanting Towards the Sea is at once an unforgettable love story and a powerful exploration of what it means to come of age in a country younger than oneself.

It is a cinematic, emotionally searing literary debut about the fragile nature of potential and the transcendence of love.

"With illuminating prose and gripping storytelling, Hilje asserts her place among the very few exciting new voices in world's literature who can bridge across languages and cultures. Slanting Towards the Sea is a love letter to Croatia and to anyone who dares to dream."

— Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing and Dust Child