Spring Highlights from the Slovenian Book Agency

Here’s What’s New:

• Slovenia at Leipzig Book Fair 2026
• Slovenian Book Agency at Bologna Children's Book Fair 2026
• Grants for Foreign Publishers
• Other Grant Opportunities
• 16th Translation Seminar for Translators from Slovenian
• Directory of Slovenian Publishers
• 10 Books from Slovenia 2026
• Ana Pepelnik Awarded the 2026 Prešeren Fund Award for Literature

Slovenia at Leipzig Book Fair 2026

The week, the Leipzig Book Fair, the second largest book fair in Germany and one of the largest in Europe, opens its doors. The fair's hallmark is its focus on Central Europe as well as putting authors centre stage with numerous events at the fair and throughout the city as part of the largest European reading festival Leipzig liest (Leipzig Reads). This year, the fair will take place from 19 to 22 March.

The Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) will once again be present at the fair at stand D317 in Hall 4, showcasing the latest titles by Slovenian publishers alongside recent German translations of works by Slovenian authors. The Slovenian programme at the fair and at events across the city will feature Marta Bartolj, Miljana Cunta, Aljaž Koprivnikar, Erwin Köstler, Mojca Kumerdej, Amalija Maček, Ana Svetel and Masayah, among others.

The programme has been prepared in cooperation with the TRADUKI network, the Slovenian Cultural Centre SKICA Berlin, and Literaturhaus Leipzig.
The full programme is available in German and Slovenian.


Slovenian Book Agency at Bologna Children's Book Fair 2026

JAK will also attend Bologna Children's Book Fair, the world's leading children's publishing event, where Slovenia was the Guest of Honour in 2024. The fair will run from 13 until 16 April and the Slovenian national stand will be located in Hall 29 (stand C32/ D31). Also present at workstations at the national stand will be Slovenian publishers Malinc, Miš, Pivec, Sanje and Sodobnost. The publishers Mladinska knjiga and Morfem will be present at the fair with their own stands.

If you want to schedule a meeting with us, we still have some slots free. Please get in touch with Katja Urbanija at katja.urbanija@jakrs.si or Petra Kavčič at petra.kavcic@jakrs.si – we would love to meet with you.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Carlo Collodi, the author of Pinocchio, this year’s fair will feature a special exhibition of illustrations of the famous literary character. The fair launched an international competition for new illustrations, and among the 25 selected works from 17 countries is an illustration by Slovenian illustrator Marta Bartolj. The exhibition will first be presented at the fairgrounds, and after the fair concludes, it will tour Italian cultural institutes around the world.

Marta Bartolj is an illustrator and author of silent books. Last year, she was included for the third time in the prestigious BRAW Amazing Bookshelf exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work, and her books have been translated into more than ten languages.


Grants for Foreign Publishers

Two public calls, for translations into foreign languages and for printing costs of translations from Slovenian, will open on Friday, 20 March.

The subject of the public call JR4-P-2026 will be first-time translations of works originally written in Slovenian. JAK will also co-finance translations of works written in other languages when the author is part of the Slovenian cultural environment.
Eligible works include fiction, children’s and young adult literature (including graphic novels and comics), as well as essays and works of literary criticism in the fields of culture and the humanities, provided they are published in book form or performed by a theatre company abroad. The call does not support the publication of textbooks, scientific monographs, exhibition catalogues, cookbooks, or self-help manuals.
Translations funded under this call must be published by 31 August 2028 at the latest.

The subject of the public call JR5–TRUBAR–2026 will be printing costs of translations of original Slovenian works in foreign languages. JAK will also co-finance printing costs of translations originally written in other languages when the author is part of the Slovenian cultural environment.
Eligible works include fiction, children’s and young adult literature, including silent books, graphic novels and comics, as well as essayistic and works of literary criticism in the field of culture and humanities. The call specifically excludes support for the publication of textbooks, scientific monographs, exhibition catalogues, cookbooks, and self-help manuals.
Translations funded under this call must be published by 15 November 2026 at the latest.

Both calls will remain open until 24 April 2026.

In 2025, JAK supported 94 translations into 28 languages and covered the printing costs of 94 translated titles in 25 languages. Here’s to even more translations from Slovenian this year!

Other Grant Opportunities

Travel grants for Slovenian Authors and Translators from Slovenian

The JP1-MOBILITY-2026 call is open to Slovenian authors and translators from Slovenian, as well as Slovenian publishers, editors and literary agents. Authors and translators can apply for support for book launches and book tours organised by their publisher abroad, and applications must be submitted by the authors or translators themselves.
The call will remain open until 15 September or until funds are exhausted.

Bursaries for translators from Slovenian

The JR –DŠ-TRANSLATORS-2026 call for bursaries is scheduled to open in May 2026 and will remain open for a month. Bursaries will be available to established and emerging translators from Slovenian.

For up-to-date information on our calls, please visit our website and follow us on social media.

16th Translation Seminar for Translators from Slovenian

We are pleased to announce the 16th International Translation Seminar on Slovenian Literature, which will take place from 16 until 21 August in Ljubljana and Maribor.

The translation seminar will once again offer an insight into contemporary Slovenian literature and provide opportunities to connect and network with Slovenian authors, critics, publishers, lecturers and other experts in the field of books.

This year, translators will work on selected excerpts from Simona Hamer's novel Cimra / Roommate (Cankarjeva založba, 2025), YA novel Lahko bi umrl na tem kavču z mano / You Could Die On This Couch with Me by Andrej E. Skubic (Mladinska knjiga, 2024), and Ana Svetel's short story collection Steklene stene / Glass Walls (Beletrina, 2024).

12 established and promising translators will be selected for the seminar. Registration is expected to open on 26 March, with the deadline for applications on 24 April.

Please follow our website and social media channels for any updates or changes.

If you’re curious about which translators took part in last year’s seminar, follow our series 12 months, 12 translators, where we introduce one of them each month on our Facebook and Instagram.

Directory of Slovenian Publishers

Just a quick reminder to explore the Directory of Slovenian Publishers. This comprehensive resource provides detailed information about publishing houses across Slovenia and in neighbouring Austria and Italy. Designed to support international cooperation and facilitate connections, the directory is a valuable tool for editors, translators, literary agents, and publishers seeking to learn more about Slovenian publishing and literature. Visit our website to explore the directory and discover more about the dynamic Slovenian publishing landscape.

10 Books from Slovenia 2026

The highly anticipated 10 Books from Slovenia 2026 has now officially been published. Released annually by the Centre for Slovenian Literature, this selection presents ten outstanding Slovenian literary works published over the past year, chosen by a panel of 20 leading literary critics. This year’s edition features works by Ajda Bračič, Nina Dragičević, Aljoša Harlamov, Blaž Iršič, Vesna Lemaić, Natalija Milovanovič, Primož Mlačnik, Ana Pepelnik, Ana Svetel in Agata Tomažič: five novels, three poetry collections, a short story collection and a book of essays.

Discover the latest edition and read English excerpts from all featured titles.

Selections from previous years are available here.

Ana Pepelnik Awarded the 2026 Prešeren Fund Award for Literature

The Prešeren Awards and Prešeren Fund Awards are the highest national recognitions in of Slovenia for achievements in the field of artistic creation. Named after France Prešeren (1800–1849), Slovenia’s national poet and the first to elevate Slovene to the level of an artistic language, the awards are presented each year on 8 February, Prešeren Day – the Slovenian Cultural Holiday, and honour outstanding achievements across all fields of the arts.

This year, the Prešeren Fund Award for Literature has been awarded to the poet Ana Pepelnik. Pepelnik has established herself as one of the most distinctive voices of her generation, using her unique poetic language to explore and push the boundaries of literary expression. She has published eight poetry collections and received the award for her two most recent books, to se ne pove / you can’t say that (LUD Literatura, 2023) and V drevo / Into the Tree (LUD Šerpa, 2025).

In its citation, the award committee wrote:

Ana Pepelnik’s poetics does not merely address the questions of what poetry is, who writes it, and whom it addresses; above all, it explores what it means to be human in relation to the poem, within it, and beyond it, as well as in the context the poem itself creates.

Her poems have been translated into several languages and published both in anthologies and in book-length translations.