canadian author elizabeth wellburn worked with smailović to create the children's book "echoes from the square" (1998). another canadian author, steven galloway, based a character on smailović in his bestselling 2008 novel, "the cellist of sarajevo". in the book, an unnamed cellist plays every day at 4:00 pm for 22 days, always at the same time and location, to honour the 22 people killed by a mortar bomb while they queued for bread on may 26, 1992. the account, including the time of the mortar attack, is fictional. smailović publicly expressed outrage over the book's publication. he said, "they steal my name and identity," and added that he expected damages, an apology and compensation. in 2012, a meeting between smailović and galloway took place during which the latter assured he meant no harm in telling a fictional representation of the events.