Vladimir Pištalo was born in Sarajevo in 1960. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Sarajevo University and earned his doctorate at the University of New Hampshire, USA (thesis about the manifold identity of Serbian immigrants – Serbian, American and Yugoslav). He taught World and American history at Becker College in Worcester, Massachusetts.

He is one of the most eminent contemporary Serbian writers. His most important works include the following novels: Tesla: A Portrait with Masks, which brought him the 2008 NIN Award (award for the best book in the Serbian public library network), Millennium in Belgrade, Venice („Moma Dimić” and „Kočićevo pero” awards), The Sun of This Day: A Letter to Ivo Andrić, The Meaning of the Joker („Meša Selimović” award). His books have been translated into many languages (English, German, French, Slovak, Russian and Italian).