"Tomić was the one who brought it to the attention of the public that Balint Vujkov, along with Danilo Kiš and Dezsô Kosztolányi, is one of the biggest literary names in the history of Subotica," an observation that led to the launching of Balint Vujkov Days, reads the statement explaining the reasons for the award.
The event dedicated to Balint Vujkov, the best-known collector of folk tales and other ethnic Croat linguistic heritage in Vojvodina and neighbouring countries, has been organised by the Croatian Library since 2001.
"The Croats in Vojvodina have a rich cultural heritage. We often share similar or the same customs with other ethnic groups but if there is anything that is unique to us, that's our vernacular, the Ikavian dialect of the Bunjevci and Šokci, the Srijem and Banat vernacular. This event is a way to preserve them," said the president of the organising committee, Katarina Čeliković.
Apart from Romić, another award, the Emerik Pavić Award, for the best book in Croatian in Vojvodina in 2023, was conferred on Slaven Bačić, editor of the Lexicon of the Danube Bunjevci and Šokci Croats.
Subotica poet Mirko Kopunović was honoured with the Iso Velikanović Award as the author of the best prose book in Croatian.
The three-day Subotica event, which closed on Saturday, also included a round table on the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of Serbia's minority ethnic communities.