Olivera Nikolova is one of the most well-known Macedonian female prose writers. She is born in 1936 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. She graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy and worked as an editor and playwright at the Macedonian National Radio and Television.

Her opus consists of numerous works for children and adults.

Her first book Zoki Poki, published in 1963, remains the most popular Macedonian children’s book and a classic piece in the Macedonian literature, published in several foreign languages. Nikolova is a multiple winner of significant literary awards in Macedonia and former Yugoslavia. She won the prestigious Yugoslav Zmaj Award in 1983, for “special accomplishments in the contemporary expression of children’s literature”. Nikolova has collected almost all the important national awards for her novels: the Macedonian Writers’ Association Award “Stale Popov” for Narrow Door (in 1983) and for The Velvet Shroud (for 2015), the 2000 Racin Award for Adam’s Rib and the 2004 Annual Award “Novel of the Year” for Rositsa’s Dolls and in 2019 for The Dog with Sad Look. The Thrombus was the winner of the 1998 Annual Prize of the Macedonian Writers’ Association. The author, however, rejected it as a protest against the malfeasance around the prize and the awarding system in general. She also rejected the alternative solution to preserve the award and pay back the cash award. Nikolova’s works are translated in many languages.