Among the exhibitors was Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) at its stand promoted the latest works by Slovenian authors and their translations, especially into German. It was not only the stand that was buzzing, the accompanying events with Slovenian authors were also extremely well attended, both those organised by Slovenian Book Agency in cooperation with SKICA Berlin, TRADUKI network, Leipziger Buchmesse, and national and international publishers as well as events held independently of the Slovenian Book Agency, for example in the programme of Austria, the main guest of the bookfair. The comprehensive programe offered an excellent preview of the events taking place throughout Germany this year, which will culminate in October 2023 at Frankfurter Buchmesse. The literary fair programe featured more than 30 Slovenian authors, translators, illustrators and editors at 26 events. Esad Babačić, Andrej Blatnik, Miljana Cunta, Stanka Hrastelj, Manica K. Musil, Boris Kolar, Jela Krečič, Cvetka Lipuš, Ana Marwan, Jernej Mlekuž, Gregor Podlogar, Uroš Prah, Anja Štefan, Agata Tomažič, Anja Zag Golob and Slavoj Žižek, while special attention was also paid to Slavko Grum, Alma M. Karlin, Srečko Kosovel and Tomaž Šalamun. Samira Kentrić was one of the illustrators featured in the programme, and her exhibition Torn from Concept, organised by SKICA Berlin in cooperation with Slovenian Book Agency, opened on  May 10 2023 at Literaturhaus Leipzig/Haus des Buches.

The Slovenian programme opened in the days before the fair with a poetry and music event to mark the end of the project of three poetry vending machines in Leipzig. Slovenian poets Miljana Cunta, Stanka Hrastelj and Gregor Podlogar presented their work alongside poets from Austria and Leipzig at a reading in the Leipzig Literary House. The evening was moderated by Matthias Göritz, the mastermind behind the Poetry Vending Machine project and co-curator of Slovenia's Guest of Honour in Frankfurt. A special issue of Graz-based literary magazine manuskripte, dedicated to the project and presented by editor Andreas Unterweger, was also published on the occasion.

Several events were also dedicated to Slovenian poetry during the fair, ranging from classics to contemporary poetry and punk. Slovenian poet Anja Zag Golob performed at the traditional Balkan Night, organised by Traduki network, and received a strong applause from the crowd of several hundreds.

Among Slovenian events, the most interesting was, as expected, the conversation with Slavoj Žižek and his wife Jela Krečič, who discussed philosophy in pop culture in front of a packed hall. The interest was so great that one of Germany's oldest cinemas was unable to accommodate all the audience, with a queue of several hundred metres at its entrance.

A Press Conference was also held at the bookfair, which attracted a large number of journalists and other interested members of the public, in spite of the lively eventfulness of the fair. In addition to the Director of Slovenian Book Agency Katja Stergar, the curators Matthias Göritz and Miha Kovač with programme advisor Amalia Maček, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse, Jüergen Boos, also took part in the conference. They presented the literary programe of Leipzigiger Buchmesse and announced a number of other activities related to Slovenia being a Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023. The Press Conference was followed by a reception at Slovenian national stand, hosted by Slovenian Ambassador in Berlin, Ana Polak Petrič, and Head of the SKICA Berlin Cultural Centre, Saša Šavel Burkart.

The well-attended events show that there is a great deal of interest in both Slovenia and Slovenian authors in Germany. Or as Katja Stergar, Director of Slovenian Book Agency, pointed out at the Press Conferenthe ce: 'When we were appointed Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse, we made a commitment to represent Slovenia as well as we can', she said. 'Our literature, our authors, our beautiful illustrations, to introduce you to our stories, to take you into our worlds, to show you our beautiful nature, to give you a taste of Slovenian food and wine. And what better way to do that than with books?"

--

Nach dreijähriger Pause öffnet die Leipziger Buchmesse, die zweitgrößte Buchmesse in Deutschland, vom 27. bis 30. April 2023 wieder ihre Tore.

Frankfurter Buchesse brachte 2.082 Aussteller und Verlage aus 40 Ländern und mehr als 3.200 Teilnehmer aus aller Welt zusammen. Gleichzeitig mit der Messe fand das traditionelle Lesefest Leipzig Liest statt. Zu den verschiedenen Veranstaltungen auf dem Messegelände kamen 274 000 Literaturliebhaber, die Zahl der Besucher bei den Veranstaltungen in den städtischen Einrichtungen ist nicht zu zählen.

Zu den Ausstellern gehörte auch die Slowenische Buchagentur (JAK), die an ihrem Stand die neuesten Werke slowenischer Autoren und deren Übersetzungen, insbesondere ins Deutsche, vorstellte.

Nicht nur der Stand der Slowenischen Buchagentur war sehr gut besucht; auch die begleitenden Veranstaltungen mit slowenischen Autoren, sowohl die von der Slowenischen Buchagentur in Zusammenarbeit mit SKICA Berlin, dem TRADUKI-Netzwerk, der Leipziger Buchmesse und nationalen und internationalen Verlagen organisierten als auch die unabhängig von der Slowenischen Buchagentur durchgeführten, wie das Programm des Hauptgastes Österreich, waren gut besucht.

Das vielfältige Programm bot einen hervorragenden Vorgeschmack auf die Veranstaltungen, die in diesem Jahr in ganz Deutschland stattfinden und im Oktober auf der Frankfurter Buchmesse ihren Höhepunkt finden werden.

Im Programm der Literaturmesse präsentierten sich mehr als 30 slowenische Autoren, Übersetzer, Illustratoren und Lektoren in 26 Veranstaltungen. Esad Babačić, Andrej Blatnik, Miljana Cunta, Stanka Hrastelj, Manica K. Musil, Boris Kolar, Jela Krečič, Cvetka Lipuš, Ana Marwan, Jernej Mlekuž, Gregor Podlogar, Uroš Prah, Anja Štefan, Agata Tomažič, Anja Zag Golob und Slavoj Žižek, während besondere Aufmerksamkeit auch Slavko Grum, Alma M. Karlin, Srečko Kosovel und Tomaž Šalamun galt.

Samira Kentrič war eine der im Programm vorgestellten Illustratorinnen. Ihre Ausstellung Torn from Concept, organisiert von SKICA Berlin in Zusammenarbeit mit dem JAK, wird am 10. Mai im Literaturhaus Leipzig/Haus des Buches eröffnet.

Samira Kentrić war eine der im Programm vorgestellten Illustratorinnen. Ihre von SKICA Berlin in Zusammenarbeit mit der Slowenische Buchagentur organisierte Ausstellung »Torn from Concept« wird am 10. Mai im Literaturhaus Leipzig/Haus des Buches eröffnet.

Das slowenische Programm wurde in den Tagen vor der Messe mit einer Poesie und Musikveranstaltung eröffnet, die das Ende des Projekts der drei Poesieautomaten in Leipzig markierte.

Bei einer Lesung im Leipziger Literaturhaus stellten die slowenischen Dichter Miljana Cunta, Stanka Hrastelj und Gregor Podlogar ihre Werke neben Dichtern aus Österreich und Leipzig vor.

Foto: JAK RS

More at / Mehr unter: 

https://www.facebook.com/sloveniafrankfurt2023

https://www.instagram.com/sloveniafrankfurt2023/

The programme of the bookfair will be launched on 25 April 2023, with a poetry and music evening, Closing for three poetry machines in Leipzig, at the Leipzig Literary House, and will continue with a condensed programme from April 27 to April 30 2023.

More than 30 Slovenian authors, translators, illustrators and editors will take part in the Leipzig Book Fair programme. Slovenian authors Esad Babačić, Andrej Blatnik, Miljana Cunta, Stanka Hrastelj, Manica K. Musil, Boris Kolar, Jela Krečič, Cvetka Lipuš, Ana Marwan, Jernej Mlekuž, Gregor Podlogar, Uroš Prah, Anja Štefan, Agata Tomažič, Anja Zag Golob and Slavoj Žižek, with a special focus on Slavko Grum, Alma M. Karlin, Srečko Kosovel and Tomaž Šalamun.

PROGRAM

TUESDAY, 25 April 2023

19.30 | Literaturhaus Leipzig, Literaturcafé, Gerichtsweg 28

CLOSING FOR THE THREE POETRY VENDING MACHINES IN LEIPZIG

A reading festival to mark the end of the project.
Guests.

Moderator: Matthias Göritz

Reading event is followed by a musical event with DJ, Gregor Podlogar
In cooperation with SKICA Berlin - Slovenian Cultural Information Centre Berlin and Literaturhaus Leipzig.

***
THURSDAY, 27 April 2023

10.30-11.00 | Forum Weltweit, Hall 4, Stand E406        

MY POEM IS MY FACE

About the Slovenian poet Srečko Kosovel (1904-1926).
Ludwig Hartinger (translator), Christian Thanhäuser (illustrator)
Moderator: Marie Louise Knott

11.30-12.00 | Stand Gastland Österreich, Hall 4, Stand D201/E200    

AT HOME IN A FOREIGN LAND

Discussion with Bachmann Prize winner 2022 and presentation of her new novel "Lost".

Guest: Ana Marwan (author)

Moderator: Katja Gasser

Organisers: Hauptverband des Österreichischen Buchhandels / Literatur-Contentmarketing, Otto Müller Verlag Salzburg.

11.30-12.00 | Traduki-Kafana, Hall 4, Stand D407

BETWEEN THE LINES - BETWEEN THE TIMES / Invitation 

Opening of the TRADUKI programme at Leipziger Buchmesse 2023

Guests: Oliver Zille (Director of Leipziger Buchmesse 2023), representatives of the TRADUKI network, Katja Stergar (Slovenian Book Agency)

12.30-13.00 | Lesebude, Hall 3, Stand A515

RABBIT'S HOUSE

Presentation of picture book by an award-winning Slovenian author.

Guest: Anja Štefan (author)

Moderator: Katja Stergar

13.00-14.00 | Café Europa, Hall 4, Stand E303

TRADUKI - IN THE DESIRE TO OVERCOME BORDERS

Germany and Austria are promoting cultural cooperation and translation through the Traduki network.

Moderator: Jörg Plath

Organised by Traduki, Federal Foreign Office, Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs.

15.00-16.00 | Traduki-Kafana, Hall 4, Stand D407

NEW SLOVENIAN POETRY

Reading and discussion with Slovenian poets - new translations into German.

Guests. Erwin Köstler

In cooperation with the Traduki network.

***
FRIDAY, 28 April 2023

11.00-12.00 | Traduki-Kafana, Hall 4, Stand D407

GUEST OF HONOUR AT FRANKFURTER BUCHMESSE 2023: SLOVENIA - A HONEYCOMB OF WORDS

Press Conference

Guests: Katja Stergar (Slovenian Book Agency), Juergen Boos (Frankfurt Book Fair), Miha Kovač (Slovenian curator), Matthias Göritz (German curator)

11.00-11-30 | Forum die Unabhängigen, Hall 5, Stand D313

LIBERATION SQUARE

Between love, rebellion and punk rock: a close-up on the making of contemporary Slovenia.

Guest: Andrej Blatnik (author)

Moderator: Doris Akrap

Organiser: Folio Verlag.

12.00-23.59 | Lindenfels Westflügel, Hähnelstr. 27        

BOOKS AND BEER

Presentation of the latest releases from Luftschacht Verlag and parasitenpresse.

Music by Guiseppe Sciaratta

Organisers: Luftschacht Verlag, parasitenpresse.

12.30-13.00 | Traduki-Kafana, Hall 4, Stand D407

TOMAŽ ŠALAMUN IN TRANSLATION

A discussion on the collective translation of Tomaž Šalamun's poetry.
In cooperation with the Traduki network.

13.00-14.00 | Café Europa, Hall 4, Stand E303

PUBLISHED

The history of storytelling.

Guest: Ana Marwan (author)

Moderator: Vivian Perkovic

Organised by Traduki, guest country Austria Leipzig Book Fair 2023.

15.30-16.00 | Messestand IG Autorinnen Autoren, Hall 4, Stand E209

LEAVING FOR BEGINNERS

How to cope with departures and farewells.

Guest: Cvetka Lipuš (poet)

Organiser: LiteRadio.

18.00-19.00 | UT Connewitz, Wolfgang-Heinze-Str. 12a

PHILOSOPHY IN POP CULTURE

Crime novels, popular films and TV series from Hitchcock to The Matrix, from The Secret Affair to The Advertisers.
In cooperation with the Traduki network.

Guests: Slavoj Žižek (Philosopher), Jela Krečič (Author and Philosopher)

In cooperation with Traduki network.

19.30-22.00 | Stritz-Galerie, Breslauer Str. 14

READING WITH THE INGEBORG BACHMANN PRIZE WINNER ANNA MARWAN AND POETRY BY CVETKA LIPUŠ

Austrian-Slovenian evening.

Moderator: Michael Reiche

21.00-23.00 | naTo, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 46

STONES FROM HEAVEN

About the Slovenian poet Tomaž Šalamun (1941-2014).

Pumpkin on the Hot Roof of the World (Nejc Saje, Jeffrey Young / Slovenia, Czech Republic / 2019 / 75 min)

Followed by a discussion with Matthias Göritz (translator) and Liza Linde (translator)

15.00-16.00 | Traduki-Kafana, Hall 4, D407

ANTHOLOGY OF SLOVENIAN PUNK POETRY

Punk lyrics of the 80s and 90s in Slovenia.

Contributors: Esad Babačić (poet and editor of the anthology), Marko Pogačar (poet).

Moderation: Miha Kovač

Event in cooperation with TRADUKI, SKICA Berlin - the Slovenian Cultural Information Center Berlin and 
Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.

15.00-16.00 | Forum Weltweit, Hall 4, E406

NOVELS FROM SLOVENIA

With Slovenian writers about the publication of new translations into German. 
German.

Contributors: Jela Krečič (author), Stanka Hrastelj (author), Andrej Blatnik (author).

Moderation: Tilman Spreckelsen

20.00-23.00 | UT Connewitz, Wolfgang-Heinze-Straße 12 a

BALKANNACHT

Traditional literary revue Tradukis.

Performers: Anja Zag Golob (Slovenia), Olja Knežević (Montenegro), Ivana Sajko (Croatia), 
Shpëtim Selmani (Kosovo), Adrian Schiop (Romania) - Moderation: Hana Stojić, Marko Dinić.
Music: Jelena Popržan

Organisers: TRADUKI, the Ministry of Culture of Romania, UT Connewit

***
SATURDAY, 29 April 2023

11.00 | Literaturhaus Leipzig, Gerichtsweg 28

ROBBIE THE LION

Creative workshop for children from 3 years old.

Manica K. Manica Musil (author and visual artist)

In cooperation with Literaturhaus Leipzig.

11.00-12.00 | Traduki-Kafana, Hall 4, Stand D407

HOW CARNIOLAN SAUSAGE SHAPED THE SLOVENIAN NATION

How much truth is there in stereotypes about Slovenians?

Guest: Jernej Mlekuž (author)

Moderator: Thomas Podhostnik

In cooperation with the Traduki network.

12.30-13.00 | Forum Literatur Halle 4, Hall 4, Stand B500

DEPARTURE FOR BEGINNERS

Observations on leaving and saying goodbye.

Guest: Cvetka Lipuš (poet)

Organiser: Otto Müller Verlag

12.30-13.00 | Forum Worldwide, Hall 4, E406

A SPECIAL CASE OF SLAVKO GRUM

Fundamental works of Slovenian literature of the 20th century.

Guests: Erwin Köstler (translator), Achim Zechner (publisher)

In cooperation with the publishing house Johannes Heyn.

13.00-14.00 | Café Europa, Hall 4, Stand E303

THE PARADOXES OF MEHRLUST: A GUIDE FOR THE UNCONFUSED

On the paradoxes and challenges of today's world.

Guest: Slavoj Žižek (philosopher)

Moderator: Alexander Roesler

In cooperation with S. Fischer Verlag.

**

SUNDAY, 30 April 2023

10.30-11.30 | Café Europa, Hall 4, Stand E303      

SHORT AND SWEET

Current Slovenian authors of short fiction present themselves.                

Erwin Köstler

In cooperation with the publishing house Goga.

11.00-11.30 | Traduki-Kafana, Hall 4, Stand D407

THE EXPERIENTIAL WORLD           

Around the World in three volumes: Alma Karlin's daring journey in the 1920s.

In cooperation with the Traduki network and AvivA Verlag.

13.00-13.30 | Kinder-Jugend-Bildung, Hall 3, Stand A307

ROBBIE THE LION

Creative workshop for children from 3 years old.

Manica K. Manica Musil (author and visual artist)

__

FB: Slovenian Book Agency

(www.facebook.com/JavnaagencijazaknjigoRS)

IG: @javna_agencija_za_knjigo_rs

FB: Ehrengast der Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023

(www.facebook.com/sloveniafrankfurt2023)

IG: @sloveniafrankfurt2023

www.sloveniafrankfurt2023.com

***

Programme partners:

TRADUKI

SKICA Berlin - Slowenisches Kulturzentrum Berlin

Literaturhaus Leipzig

AvivA Verlag

Goga Publishing House

S. Fischer Verlag

Verlag Johannes Heyn

As part of the accompanying program in Planica, a panel of Slovenian athletes was presented: Sara Isaković, a retired professional swimmer and a successful "performance" psychologist helping athletes achieving top results, also a silver medalist at the OI (Beijing, 2008); Tadej Golob, a writer, alpinist, with published book Z Everesta, about his skiing experience on Everest, writer of biographies about athletes (among them Petr Vilfan and Goran Dragić), writer of sport novels (the youth novel Zlati zob, Ali boma ye!) and author of the bestselling crime series about Inspector Taras Birsa; Klemen Bauer, biathlete, silver medalist  from World Championship in the mixed relay (Ruhpolding, 2012),  after retirement seeking his "second career"; Katja Stergar, Acting Director of Slovenian Book Agency, fencer, comparativist, Project manager of Slovenia: Guest of Honour ar Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023 and Bologna 2024 and Ana Tavčar, a journalist from RTV Slovenia.

All the participants agreed that sports and books are closely related. Those who read books find it easier to focus, visualise and achieve sport or other personal goals with a higher level of concentration. A person who writes books needs a great deal of patience, just like any athlete. The primary family and its support, is fundamental in development of reading skills as well as in the encouragement to engage in sports. Childhood surrounded by books and encouragement of the family to participate in sports, are a great basis for the development of a good reader and athlete.

In their talks, Sara Isaković emphasised the power of concentration, Tadej Golob emphasised endurance in writing and Klemen Bauer explained that he could not imagine his free time, between trainings and competitions, without a book. They all agreed that what the supporting team of coaches, repairmen and masseurs mean to athletes are what editors, designers and proofreaders also mean for the success of an author. Further, Katja Stergar emphasised the importance of hosting Slovenia as Guest of Honor at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023 and next year at Children's and Young people's Book fair at Bologna 2024. According to her, events like these, at the level of World Book Championship, are both an honour and an obligation, where a book from Slovenia with everybody involved, from authors to readers, deserves a chance for a medal.

During the event, an exhibition of a selection of fiction and "documentative" books by Slovenian authors on the topic of sports (in Slovenian, English and German) was also on display. Books presentedy were contributed by Slovenian publishing houses (Beletrina, Celjska Mohorjeva družba, DZS, d.d., Miš založba, Založba Mladinska knjiga, Založba Pivec in Umco d.d., Aktivni mediji d.o.o.), from Kranj City Library and books in foreign languages by Slovenian Book Agency.

Reading is a value and a foundation for knowledge, it is an exercise for the brain, reading reveals secrets and discovers new worlds, banishes boredom and relaxes; hand in hand with sports, it is an inspiration and the right path to success.

Foto: Archive JAK RS

In addition to the presentation of the latest book production, the stand will feature four workstations of Slovenian publishers (Malinc Publishing House, Miš Publishing House, Pivec Publishing House, Sodobnost International). Mladinska knjiga Publishing House and Morfem Publishing House will have their own stands at the fair.

On Tuesday, March 7, at 11:30 a.m., the Slovenian Book Agency will host a B2B meeting of Slovenian and foreign publishers, which will be attended by 25 Slovenian and foreign publishers, editors and agents.

Several events will be held at the fair, presenting Slovenian authors and experts in the field of books.

On Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at 12:45 p.m., in a broadcast from Stockholm, the recipient of the ALMA award will be announced. Four Slovenian authors and illustrators are nominated for the prize: Ana Zavadlav, Miroslav Košuta, Huiqin Wang and Andrej Rozman Roza.

On the same day at 2:00 p.m., Tina Bilban, president of IBBY Slovenia, will give a presentation on best practices in the distribution of books and literature as part of Leggimondo 2023.

The event Let’s Talk About Slovenia: Guest of Honour at BCBF 2024 will take place on Wednesday, March 8, at 6 p.m. The event will highlight some of the topics that will be presented during next year's Slovenia Guest of Honour a presentation. It will be moderated by the acting director of the Slovenian Book Agency, Katja Stergar. She will be joined by author, editor and translator Jana Bauer (Sodobnost International), editor-in-chief Alenka Kepic Mohar PhD (Mladinska knjiga) and the exhibition manager of the Bologna Children's Book Fair, Elena Pasoli.

On Thursday, March 9, at 11:45 a.m., as part of the IBBY Regional Conference, Nika Kovač will present the Etc. (Itn.)Festival of Engaged Writing.

For illustrators, the most important event at the fair is the annual curated Illustrators exhibition, for which there are always thousands of proposals and from which only about 70 illustrators from around the world are selected. This year, none of the Slovenian illustrators participated in the exhibition. In previous years, Ana Zavadlav (2019), Andreja Peklar (2018), Maja Kastelic (2015) and before that Peter Škerl, Alenka Sottler and Lila Prap were featured in the exhibition.

However, the fair will not be without an exhibition of Slovenian illustrators. This year marks the 100^th anniversary of the birth of the Italian writer Italo Calvino, to whom several events will be dedicated at the fair. Ana Zavadlav is one of the 30 illustrators selected for the Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino exhibition as part of the international competition for illustrations of Italo Calvino's works. She illustrated the Italian fairy tales collected by Italo Calvino and published last year in the books Italijanske pravljice 1 (Italian Fairy Tales 1) and Italijanske pravljice 2 (Italian Fairy Tales 2) by the publishing house Mladinska knjiga. Gašper Malej, the translator of the fairy tales, will participate in a discussion with other translators of Calvino's works.

Power in the sport, knowledge from the book is the topic of the centre stage programme accompanying the PLANICA World Nordic Championships 2023. 

Featured on stage will include Slovenian's top athletes and a bestselling author:
·    Sara Isaković, an Olympic swimmer who achieved a life goal with a silver medal at the Olympic games in Beijing (2008); as a successful "performance" psychologist now helps other athletes achieve their goals;
·    Tadej Golob, a writer, alpine mountaineer who described skiing on Everest in his book From Everest, represents fellow athletes (among them Peter Vilfan and Goran Dragić) in his biographies, wrotes about the sport in his bestselling adult and youth novels (Golden Tooth, Ali boma ye!) and is an author of internationally translated crime series about Inspector Taras Birsi;
·    Klemen Bauer, biathlon competitor and a silver medalist at the World Championship in the mixed relay (Ruhpolding, 2012), he is now developing his "second career" after retiring from the sport
·    Katja Stergar, Acting Director of Slovenian Book Agency, also a fencer, comparativist, Project Manager of Slovenia: Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023 and Slovenia: Guest of Honour at Bologna 2024

The guests of the panel will discuss different topics, touching upon the most important one: Why do books and sports belong together and not apart? Individuals who reads books are known to have a better concentration, visualise more easily and can develop a better understanding of complex situations. These are all the important  attributes of a great athlete, who uses for his or her success. Yet, good books also require good stories – and there are plenty of them in sports. Featured guests will present their stories from different angles, emphasising the importance of projection and implementation of Slovenian literature with sports storytelling into the world; also in the light of the project "Slovenia, guest of honor at the International Book Fair in Frankfurt 2023". Reading is very important for the motivation and development of athletes, as it focuses on the psychology of sports and the athlete's path to success.

During the event, you will be able to see an exhibition of selected fiction and "documentative" books written by Slovenian authors, all on the topic of sports, available in Slovenian, English and German. The books were contributed by Slovenian publishing houses (Beletrina, Celjska Mohorjeva družba, DZS, d.d., Miš založba, Založba Mladinska knjiga, Založba Pivec and Umco d.d.); some of them also borrowed from Kranj City Library, selected books in foreign languages are from the archives of Slovenian Book Agency. The event will take place at the media center of PLANICA 2023, organised as co-operation of Government Office for Communication of the Republic of Slovenia and Slovenian Book Agency.

Within Slovenian Book Agency, the event is coordinated by Tjaša Urankar, Undersecretary, responsible for Reading Culture and Literary Events (For more information contact her at: tjasa.urankar@jakrs.si).

More about the Programme: Government Communications Office events in Planica | Slovenia.si

Planica 2023: Nordic World Ski Championships | I feel Slovenia

Slovenia: Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023 | Facebook

Images:

Sara Isaković (Foto: Osebni arhiv)

Tadej Golob (Foto: Borut Kranjc)

Klemen Bauer (Foto: Nordic Focus)

Katja Stergar (Foto: Holger Menzel) 

Planica (Foto: OIC)

1. Call for the selection of cultural projects in the field of translation into foreign languages for 2023 (JR1–P–2023)
2. Call for proposals for funding of cultural projects to co-finance the printing costs of translations of original Slovene works in foreign languages for the year 2023 (JR2–TRUBAR–2023)
3. Call for Proposals for the translation and publication of books by Slovenian authors in the German language for the year 2023 (JR4–INJ–2023)

The calls will be opened until 17 April 2023.

1. The public call for the selection of cultural projects in the field of translation into foreign languages for 2023 (JR1–P–2023)

The subject of the public call JR1-P-2023 is selection of contractors and subsidizing their cultural projects in the field of translation into foreign languages in 2023.

The Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) will support the proposed projects of publications in accordance with the following long-term priorities and objectives:

• support of the first translation of works, originally written in Slovene language, into foreign languages;

• long-term support for the translation and promotion of Slovene literature abroad, also in the perspective of the cultural projects Slovenia – Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and/or Slovenia –Guest of Honour at Bologna Children's Book Fair;

• support to promotion of Slovene authors and their works abroad;

• support for translators from Slovene into foreign languages.

The goal and purpose of the public call is support for the first translation of works, originally written in Slovene language into foreign languages. JAK will also co-finance translation of works, written in other languages, when author is a part of Slovenian cultural environment, into foreign languages.

Eligible texts include adult fiction, children’s and young adult fiction, essayistic and critical works from the field of culture and humanities that are to be published in a book form abroad or performed by a theatre company abroad. This call is going to subsidize translations, which are going to be published no later than 31 August 2024. Eligible applicants are legal persons (publishers, theatres), registered abroad who intend to ensure the publication or performance of the first translation of works, originally written in Slovenian language, or work, written in other languages, when author is a part of Slovenian cultural environment. 

Within the framework of this call, the same applicant may submit no more than two (2) applications.

Contact persons for the call:

- Katja Urbanija, e-mail: katja.urbanija@jakrs.si 

2. Call for proposals for funding of cultural projects to co-finance the printing costs of translations of original Slovene works in foreign languages for the year 2023 (JR2–TRUBAR–2023)

The subject of the public call JR2–TRUBAR–2023 is the selection of contractors and the co-financing the printing costs of translations of original Slovene works in foreign languages in year 2023. JAK will also co-finance translation of works, written in other languages, when author is a part of Slovenian cultural environment.

In the framework of this call JAK will co-finance the printing costs of first editions in foreign languages of authors whose original work is created in Slovene or works, written in other languages, when author is a part of Slovenian cultural environment, in the fields of literarture and human science for adults, young adults and children (including silent books, graphic novels and comics) as well as essays and reviews from the field of culture and art (specifically excluding support for publication of text books, scientific monographs, exhibition catalogues, cookbooks and self-help manuals).

Eligible applicants are legal entities (publishers) registered abroad, who intend to ensure the publication of the first translation of a literary work, originally written in Slovene language, or work, written in other languages, when author is a part of Slovenian cultural environment.

An individual applicant may submit a maximum of three (3) individual book projects within the framework of this call.

Contact persons for the call:

- Katja Urbanija, e-mail: katja.urbanija@jakrs.si

3. Call for Proposals for the translation and publication of books by Slovenian authors in the German language for the year 2023 (JR4–INJ–2023)

The objective of the Call is the selection of applicants for the co-financing of cultural projects in two areas:

1. support for first publications of original Slovenian works in German language;

2. support for reprints of original Slovenian works in German language.

The Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) will support the proposed projects of publications in accordance with the following long-term priorities and objectives:

• support for the first publications of original Slovenian works in the German language;

• support for reprints of original Slovenian works in German language;

• support for translators from Slovenian into German;

• support the promotion and enforcement of Slovenian authors and their works abroad, also in the view of the project “Slovenia, Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2023”;

• encourage the translation and promotion of Slovenian literature in the long term.

The call refers to two areas:

1. the field of the first publications of original Slovenian works in German language (short: first publications); An individual applicant can apply with a maximum of one (1) book publication per call.

2. reprints of original Slovenian works in German language (short: reprints); An individual applicant can apply with a maximum of two (2) book publications per call.

Contact persons for the call:

- Mateja Humar Jelnikar, e-mail: mateja.humar-jelnikar@jakrs.si 

The Slovenian Book Agency is organizing a B2B Event at Bologna Book Fair for publishers (children's and youth) interested in networking.

The aim is to connect them and facilitate individual meetings between the participating publishers. We would like to invite you to join us and meet new people from the world of children’s and YA publishing.

You can apply by filling out this form.

Applications are open to all publishers/agents interested in selling or buying rights for children's and youth literature. Up to 25 participants will be able to attend the event.

INVITATION

You can contact us with any questions at katja.urbanija@jakrs.si.

Slovenia – Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023 Slovenia - Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2024

Join us at #FBM23 as Slovenia: Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023 / Slowenien: Ehrengast der Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023

/ 18 - 22 October 2023 /

sloveniafrankfurt2023.com

Slovenian Book Agency / Slowenische Buchagentur

Foto: Holger Menzel / JAK

The project’s objective is to improve the reputation and visibility of young people’s, children’s and other literary creativity of the last thirty years, the recognisability of Slovenian creativity and economy, and tourism in Slovenia and internationally. With regard to literary translation, Slovenia has become a particular success story in recent years. By presenting selected authors and the programme, we wish to enhance this reputation even further. Special attention will also be dedicated to educational publishing services; key international study and publishing meetings in Frankfurt and curatorial meetings in Ljubljana have already been organised this year. Several key calls for Slovenian and foreign publishers were published, which were financed from the EU Cohesion Fund. The aim is also to present Slovenia as a country that understands the key cultural, technical and developmental challenges of today and the significance of deep reading in the screen era of the publishing industry.

The Slovenian Book Agency programme at FRANKFURTER BUCHMESSE 2022 has been created by Dimitrij Rupel, Director of Slovenian Book agency, Slovenian curator Miha Kovač and German curator Mathias Göritz. 

PROGRAMME 14. 10. 2022 – 23. 10. 2022

MARBACH

14.10.2022 at 17.00

Poetry vending machine – opening

Schiller Nationalmuseum / Literaturarchiv Marbach, Schillerhöhe 8-10, 71672 Marbach am Neckar

An event with Matthias Göritz and Miljana Cunta

--

FRANKFURTER BUCHMESSE and other locations

20.10.2022 at 10.00

PRESS CONFERENCE

FBM - Frankfurt Pavilion, Agora

Speech by Asta Vrečko, Minister of Culture

Speeches by Dimitrij Rupel, Director of the Slovenian Book Agency and Miha Kovač, Slovene curator

Debate with Peter Svetina, Ana Marwan, Nataša Kramberger and Erwin Köstler Moderator: Katja Gasser

Interpreter: Zdenka Hafner Čelan

20.10.2022 at 10.00

Every story matters project presentation and closing event with B2B event;

FBM - Conference Room Illusion, Congress Centre, Third Floor

Speakers: Katja Stergar, Staša Guček

20.10.2022 at 14.00

Innovation in publishing in small markets;

FBM - Publishing Perspectives Forum, Conference Room Spectrum, Congress Centre, Second Floor

A debate with experts Benas Berantas, Lawrence Schimel, Urpu Strellman and Senja Požar on how authors build brands in export markets and how publishers and agents of those markets help open doors to translations of their authors.

Moderator: Rüdiger Wischenbart

20.10.2022 at 17.30

Für mich sind sie alle lebendig – Why translating dead, yet literarily living authors matters

FBM - International Translator's Stage, Hall 4.0

A debate with Erwin Köstler (translator and literary scientist), Hans Jürgen Balmes (translator and publisher) and Sebastian Guggolz (publisher and moderator).

20.10.2022 at 18.30

Slovenian reception

FBM - Translator's stage, Hall 4.0

21.10.2022 at 17.00

Land-Wirtschaft – Debate on Environmental Issues;

FBM - Slovenian national stand - Slovenian Book Agency, Hall 4.0 B56.

A debate on environmental issues with Nataša Kramberger and Luisa Neubauer; Moderator: Doris Akrap

21.10.2022 at 17.30

Keine wie sie

FBM - Reading Zone of Independent Publishers, Hall 3.1

A conversation with Jela Krečič about her new novel

Moderator: Katharina Strauß (Book blog Lesendes Federvieh)
Interpreter: Liza Linde

Organised by Mitteldeutscher Verlag and Beletrina

22.10.2022 at 10.30

Gebrauchsanweisungen für Slowenien

FBM - Slovenian national stand Slovenian Book Agency, Hall 4.0 B56.

Presentation of a personal report on Slovenia, by Aleš Šteger

Moderator: Bettina Feldweg

Catering with typical Slovenian pastries

22.10.2022 at 16.00

Die Schnittmenge der Schönheit - poetry event

Literary Festival Literaturbahnhof, Haus des Buches, Braubachstrasse 16, 60311 Frankfurt

Presentation of new book by Milan Dekleva, published by Edition Thanhaüser

Moderator: Silke Scheuermann

Interpreter: Amalija Maček

22.10. 2022 at 16.00

Versopolis platform - poetry event

Open Books, Haus am Dom, Domplatz 3, 60311 Frankfurt am Main

Conversation with Martin Piekar (Germany), Nina Dragičević (Slovenia) and Gaia Ginevra Giorgi (Italy).

Moderator: José F. A. Oliver

22.10.2022 at 19.00

Nostalgie im Roman

Bookfest City, Lindley Lindenberg Hotel, Lindleystraße 17, 60314 Frankfurt am Main

A debate on contemporary Slovene fiction with Jela Krečič, Ana Schnabl and Aleš Šteger Moderator: Andreas Unterweger (writer and editor)

Interpreter: Amalija Maček

23.10.2022 at 12.00, at 14.00 and at 16.00

Duo / Yellow and Blue

Frankfurt Pavilion, Agora

A 2022 choreographic paraphrase with Mateja Bučar, Katja Legin and Nataša Živkovič (DUM - Association of Artists / Dancers Without Answers).

Organized and supported by SKICA Berlin

23.10.2022 at 12.00

Warum haben die Zebras Streifen?

Struwwelpeter Museum, Hinter dem Lämmchen 2–4, 60311 Frankfurt am Main

Workshop by Lila Prap, author’s performance, drawing with children

23.10.2022 at 16.00

Handover ceremony

Forum 1 (Guest of Honour Pavilion)

Debate with Drago Jančar and Manuel Rivas

Moderator: Shila Behjat

Interpreter: Amalija Maček

Musical performance: Maša But (vocal) and Janez Krevel (double bass)

After HANDOVER CEREMONY event: Slovenia – Spain, wine reception

See you at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022!

Slovenian Book Agency

Our official website sloveniafrankfurt2023.com with our beautiful logo of Slovenia: Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse 2023 - SATOVJE BESED / WABEN DER WORTE / HONEYCOMB OF WORDS will go live just before the PRESS CONFERENCE.

We are delighted to invite you to the yearly meeting of Slovenian and German language publishers. This year, the meeting will take place on May 25th at Haus des Buches, Braubachstraße 16, Frankfurt. The event will begin at 11h.
The programme will feature a presentation of two authors from Slovenia, presentation of translation subsidies and other support from the Slovenian Book Agency and will be rounded up by a speed-dating session with Slovenian publishers. Scheduled activities will end by 16h.
For any additional information and to confirm your attendance you can contact Ms. Katja Urbanija (katja.urbanija(at)jakrs.si, +386 30 356 017). Confirmation of participation is required!
We are looking forward to seeing you in Frankfurt.
 
Best regards,
Frankfurt 2023 Project team at the Slovenian Book Agency
 
Details about the participants

Authors

Veronika Simoniti appeared on the Slovene literary scene as an author of short stories, which have won numerous competitions and been collected in two books. She has since written several more critically acclaimed works. Her novel Ivana pred morjem (Ivana in front of the sea) was nominated for the Modra ptica Prize for best manuscript (2017), for the Kritiško Sito Prize of the Slovene Literary Critics’ Asssociation (2020) and won the Kresnik Prize 2020 for the best Slovenian novel.

Boštjan Videmšek is a long-standing war reporter for Delo, Slovenia’s largest daily newspaper. He has reported from all major wars and conflicts over the last 25 years. His articles had been published in over a hundred international magazines. In recent years, his journalistic focus has shifted to the effects of climate change and the green energy development boom all across the globe. Plan B is a collection of the most promising projects in the fight with the climate crisis. He is currently finishing a book about the struggles of scientists to save northern white rhinos from extinction.

Slovenian publishers who have confirmed their attendance (the list is still being updated):
Beletrina Academic Press  www.beletrina.com

Goga  www.goga.si/en/

Mladinska knjiga  www.mladinska-knjiga.si/en/books

Pivec  www.zalozba-pivec.com/foreign-rights

Sodobnost  www.sodobnost.com/foreign-rights/

A short overview of funding opportunities by the Slovenian Book Agency in 2022:

January 2022: NEW CALL - Call for proposals for publications of translations of works by Slovenian authors in foreign languages

Open in: January 2022

Deadline: February 28 2022

Grant amount: Fixed sum of 5.398,48€ per project.

Eligible costs: All costs connected to book production.

Eligible applicants: Publishers from EU countries only.

Book must be published until December 31 2022.

March 2022: CALL FOR PROPOSALS for the translations into foreign languages for the year 2022

Open in: March 2022

Deadline: April 15 2022

Grant amount: Up to 100% of translation costs for a project and up to 10,000.00 EUR for an individual project.

Eligible costs: Translation costs only.

Eligible applicants: World publishers.

Book must be published until August 31 2024.

Call for Proposals for the translation and publication of books by Slovenian authors in the German language for the year 2022

Open in: March 2022 

Deadline: April 15 2022

Grant amount:

-      up to €11.000, which should represent a maximum of 50% of the eligible costs for first publications. Eligible costs: all costs except license.

-      up to €3.000, which should represent a maximum of 50% of the eligible costs for reprints. Eligible costs: printing, proof reading, cover design, book setting and e-book production.

Eligible applicants: Publishers from the German-speaking area only.

Book must be published until August 31 2023.

Call for proposals for funding of cultural projects to co-finance the printing costs of translations of original Slovene works in foreign languages for the year 2022

Open in: March 2022

Deadline: April 15 2022

Grant amount: Up to 70% of printing costs for a project and up to 3,000.00 EUR for an individual project.

Eligible costs: Printing costs only.

Eligible applicants: World publishers.

Book must be published until November 15 2022.

We are looking forward to all your applications!

Kresnik Award (best novel of the year): Borut Kraševec – Agni (Agni (page 6 on the link), LUD Šerpa publishing house, rights contact: ludaserpa@gmail.com)

– “Written with literary skill, a broad view of the cultural landscape and a good ear for archetypal the novel relentlessly drills straight into the (unrecognized) nerve of the civilization.” – from the award justification

Kritiško sito (Slovene Literary Critics Association Award): Muanis Sinanović – Krhke karavane (Fragile Caravans poetry collection (page 9 on the link), LUD Literatura publishing house, rights contact: ludliteratura@yahoo.com)

• »The poems contain various toponyms and paint the imagery of the Balkans and Central Europe and the relationship between them in a hyper-globalized 21st-century world.« - from 10 Books from Slovenia

Book of the Year Award (5 finalists selected by jury, winner chosen by general public during the Slovenian Book Fair): Erica Johnson Debeljak – Devica, kraljica, vdova, prasica (Virgin, Wife, Widow, Whore, autofiction, Mladinska knjiga publishing house, rights contact: senja.pozar@mkz.si)

• “After her husband's death the author focused on the character of a widow throughout history. In a conversation at the Slovenian book fair 2021, she said that the widow is a well-known character, and she herself looked at the new role from the perspective of patriarchal society: if she was a wife before, she suddenly became a widow. The feeling was unusual, but in any case, the position of the widow seemed lower to her than the position of the wife. According to the writer, single women are at a disadvantage in a patriarchal society, whether they are a widow, a divorcee or a woman who does not marry.” – from Delo newspaper

Rožanc Award (best collection of essays): Robert Simonišek – Pejsaži – sanjati na soncu (Landscapes – Dreaming in the Sun, Družina publishing hose, rights contact: david.ahacic@druzina.si)

• »In our literary scene we rarely come across such essayistic texts that have weight, are authentic and linguistically skillfully written.« - from the award justification

Veronika Award (best poetry collection of the year): Tina Kozin - Nebo pod vodo (The Sky Underwater(page 5 on the link), Litera publishing house, rights contact: tajnistvo.litera@gmail.com)

• »A selection of poems about passing, (even) dying or (perhaps most accurately) a slow goodbye from the material, a journey through a kind of interspace between the here and there.« - from the foreword by Aljaž Krivec

Jenko Award (best poetry collection of the last two years): Nina Dragičević – To telo, pokončno (This Body, Upright, ŠKUC, rights contact: info@skuc.org) 

• »The author is well aware that the body is a field (also a battlefield) crossed by social conventions, agreements, dictations, repression; she knows that all this is written in it.« - from Sodobnost magazine

Novo mesto Short (best short story collection): Carlos Pascual – Nezakonita melanholija (Unlawful Melancholy, LUD Šerpa publishing house, rights contact: ludaserpa@gmail.com)

• “A few years ago, the Mexican writer Carlos Pascual, who lives in Slovenia, started publishing chronicles in Slovenian magazines, a kind of Latin American hybrid between literature and journalism. Until then, these were just real stories for him, with which he entertained his friends in Mexico. In Slovenia, his adventures quickly sounded excessive, almost fictional, even magically realistic. In short: a perfect fiction.” – from ARS program of the Slovenian national broadcaster

Best Debut Book of the Year: Natalija Milovanović – Samoumevno (Taken for Granted, CSK publishing house, rights contact: litcenter@mail.ljudmila.org)

• “Rarely do we find in poetic debuts such a sculpted and confident style of writing, which reveals the poetic maturity and art of playing with metaphors.” – from ARS program of the Slovenian national broadcaster

Zlatirepec award (best original comic book) went to:

• Jaka Vukotič in Žiga Gombač for Znamenitni: imenitne zgodbe znamenitih osebnosti v stripu (Znameniti: Great Stories of Celebrities, Rokus Klett publishing house) in the children's comic books category and to
• Gašper Krajnc for Mestne ptice (City Birds, VigeVageKnjige, rights contact: zala@vigevageknjige.org) in the comic books for adults category.

The Original Slovenian Book Award: Nataša Strlič (text), Damijan Stepančič (illus.) – Osamosvojitev (Independence, Miš publishing house, rights contact: anze@miszalozba.com)

• “A large illustrated book on the path of Slovenian independence is perfect for for those who still remember everything (too) well, and for those who are not familiar with the time and place at all. The book offers an objective and pictorial insight into the events, life and atmosphere in Slovenia between 1980 and 1992.” – from publisher’s description

Awarded children’s and YA books

White Ravens 2021 went to three Slovenian titles:

• Brane Mozetič (text) and Ana Lucija Šarić (illus.): Rožnate zgodbe (Pink stories. From the non-heteronormative history [for young people], ŠKUC publishing house, rights contact: brane.mozetic@guest.arnes.si)
• Damijan Šinigoj: Kjer veter spi (Where the Wind Sleeps, Miš publishing house, rights contact: anze@miszalozba.com)
• Various authors (text), various artists (illus.): Nepozabne. Ženske, ki so premikale meje našega sveta (Unforgotten. Women who have shifted the boundaries of our world, Mladinska knjiga publishing house, rights contact: senja.pozar@mkz.si)

Desetnica Award (best children’s or youth literary work by a member of Slovenian Writers’ Association): Damijan Šinigoj – Kjer veter spi (Where the Wind Sleeps, Miš publishing house, rights contact: anze@miszalozba.com)

• “What do we get when an experienced author, who is also an experienced caver, puts the events of his new youth novel in a cave? A tense, convincingly written adventure!” – from Bukla magazine

Večernica Award (best new literary work for young readers): Sebastijan Pregelj (text), Jure Engelsberger (illus.) – Vrnitev - Zgodbe s konca kamene dobe, 6. del (Return – Stories from the End of the Stone Age, part 6, Miš publishing house, rights contact: anze@miszalozba.com)

• “I wanted to write a series that would be tense enough to be interesting for boys, who like to read a little less, and on the other hand at least a little instructive. Because I also like to include lesser-known events from the past when writing for adults, I came up with the idea of writing a story about people who lived five thousand years ago, where we live now.” – from an interview with the author

The Golden Pear Award for best Slovenian nonfiction: Nataša Strlič (text), Damijan Stepančič (illus.) – Osamosvojitev (Independence, Miš publishing house, rights contact: anze@miszalozba.com)

The Golden Pear Award for best Slovenian fiction: Simona Semenič (text), Tanja Komadina (illus.): Skrivno društvo KRVZ (The Secret Society KRVZ, Mladinska knjiga publishing house, rights contact: senja.pozar@mkz.si)

“One evening, Črt sees a mysterious shadow in the sky through the window of his room. Is what he sees really a dragon? He wants to share this unusual experience with his friend Vid, but there is no opportunity at all, since Vid wants to share the news of the exciting discovery with him as well. A mysterious map came into the hands of his two new friends, and this fires the imagination of the children. They immediately find themselves in the midst of a thrilling adventure. A masterfully written story. The book is a true literary gem.” – from the award justifica

On December 1 a Slovenian bestselling author Drago Jančar was a guest of Bozar Center for Fine Arts in Brussels. Together with Flemish author Stefan Hertmans he participated in a talk titled »Meet the Author«, in which these two major European writers discussed on the power of the past. On this occasion a short video with both authors, filmed in Slovenia and in Belgium, was made.

Watch the video (English subtitles).

The event was organised by Bozar, the Embassy of Slovenia in Brussels and the Slovenian Book Agency.

Drago Jančar also took part in a talk with Swiss author living in Berlin, Zora del Buono, at a hybrid event at Literarisches Colloquium Berlin titled »Aufbrüche«. They discussed the events they witnessed and took part in more than 30 years ago – the Slovenian path to independence and the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Watch the full talk (in German and Slovenian).

The event was organised by LCB and the Slovenian Cultural Centre in Berlin.

***

After his novel Du existierst nicht / Erased was published by Edition Converso, Miha Mazzini was a guest in the Kulturzeit show at 3sat. The novel about the fall through the cracks of the system, which happened to thousands of Slovenians after the country gained its independence in the early 90’s, was translated by Ann Catrin Bolton. Earlier this year Miha Mazzini was also a guest of the Brussels Book Fair, this time with the French translation of his novel Grandir. 1973, Slovénie, Yougoslavie (translated by Zdenka Štimac, published by Editiones franco-slovènes).

Watch the video about the novel Erased (in German and Slovenian).

Watch the video about the novel Grandir (in English).

***

American-Slovenian author Erica Johnson Debeljak received the Book of the Year Award for her book Virgin Wife Widow Whore (originally written in English, Slovenian translation by Andrej E. Skubic, published by Mladinska knjiga), a memoir about the sudden and shocking death of her husband in Slovenia, the country where she has made her home since her marriage more than two decades previously, the trauma and grief that ensues, and her rite of passage from wife to widow. More than just a personal memoir, it is a book about the power and endurance of women throughout history. Earlier this year she talked about her book with journalist Ksenija Horvat.

Watch the video (in English).

The talk was organised by Ljubljana – UNESCO City of Literature, Vodnik Homestead and Mladinska knjiga publishing house.

***

Slovenian slam poetry champion, Matic Ačko, took part in the European Slampionship on December 11 in Brussels. He won the 6^th place and will be taking part in the world championship next year. We congratulate the author!

Watch his performance (English, Dutch and French translation).

Slovenian participation at the event was made possible by the Embassy of Slovenia in Brussels and the Slovenian Book Agency.

And that is not all: you are also kindly invited to live events with Slovenian poets Miljana Cunta and Anja Zag Golob, as well as musician Drago Ivanuša, and to a B2B meeting, which the Slovenian Book Agency is organizing in the frame of an EU project Every Story Matters – Making Books more Inclusive.

Check out our full program:

Tuesday, October 19

20.30 Haus am Dom, Giebelsaal (Domplatz 6)

The Depth of the Sky: Poetry Concert (in German and Slovenian)

Anja Zag Golob (poetry & voice) and Drago Ivanuša (music, piano, computer, theremin)

Registration required at hausamdom@bistumlimburg.de.

Livestreaming of the event available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-7RgWXHCB2PnIPzIg2KKMw 

Wednesday, October 20

19.00 Yok-Yok (Münchener Str. 32)

My Neighbour on the Cloud: Readings with manuskripte Magazine

Slovenian Poetry by Miljana Cunta and Anja Zag Golob

Registration required at hausamdom@bistumlimburg.de.

More about the event: https://hausamdom-frankfurt.de/beitrag/191021-2030-uhr-die-tiefe-des-himmels-poesiekonzert/

Thursday, October 21

15.00-17.30 Hall Congress Centre, level 3, room Illusion 1-3

B2B meeting for publishers of children's and YA literature

The event is organised in the frame of EU project Every Story Matters – Making Books more Inclusive, which is supported by the Creative Europe program of the EU.

Program partners: Frankfurter Buchmesse, Slowenisches Kulturzentrum Berlin, Kulturnetz Frankfurt, Haus am Dom (Katholische Akademie Rabanus Maurus), manuskripte Zeitschrift, Every Story Matters

From September 8-11 a group of publishers and producers from Germany and Austria visited Slovenia for a study trip organized by the Slovenian Book Agency. Representatives of C. H. Beck, Berlin Verlag, Suhrkamp, Literature House Munich, manuskripte magazine and others met several Slovenian publishers and authors as well as visited the famous Vilenica festival, which took place at the same time.

Participants of both events were excited about meeting live and learning about Slovenian literature, as well as enjoying the beauty of the future guest of honour country of the Frankfurt book fair.

Photos from the publishers' meeting in Berlin:

Photo 1: Dr. Jörg Wojahn, a representative oft he European Commission in Berlin, Saša Šavel Burkart, director oft he Slovenian Cultural Center in Berlin and Dr. Dimitrij Rupel, director of the Slovenian Book Agency

Photo 2: German and Slovenian publishers

Photo 3: Anja Mugerli and Nataša Kramberger in conversation with Kristine Listau (Verbrecher Verlag)

Photo 4: A talk with the authors

Photo 5: Matthias Göritz, the 'Slovenia – Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2023' curator in conversation with Anja Kovač, the project coordinator.

Photo 6: Gabriela Babnik (EUPL winner 2013), Nataša Kramberger (EUPL winner 2010), Saša Šavel Burkart (director of the Slovenian Cultural Center Berlin), Anja Mugerli (EUPL winner 2021) and Anja Kovač (Slovenian Book Agency)

Copyright: Jože Baši

Photos from the study trip in Slovenia

Photo 1: A meeting with Slovenian publishers

Photo 2: A meeting with Slovenian authors Mojca Kumerdej, Miha Mazzini and Suzana Tratnik at the Bled lake

Photo 3: A visit at the memorial house of the Slovenian poet Srečko Kosovel (1904-1926) in Tomaj (Karst)

Photo 4: Participants of the study trip in the company of the vilenica-award winner Josef Winkler (AT), the president of the Slovenian Writers' Association, Dušan Merc and several translators from Slovenian into German language

Photo 5: The vilenica-award winning author Josef Winkler (AT) at the prize-giving ceremony in the Vilenica cave in Slovenian Karst

Copyright: Slovenian Book Agency

Maschinenhaus, Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstraße 97, Berlin

With Miljana Cunta (poet), Vlado Kreslin (musician), Gregor Podlogar (poet), Jana Putrle Srdić (poet) and Tone Škrjanec (poet)

Moderation: Marie Kaiser (journalist RadioEins, Berlin)

Poetry is clarity - with this enchantingly clear sentence Tomaž Šalamun opens the film Every True Poet. Clarity as an opportunity to grasp the world in the moment, to let it become language: one could bring the poets of the evening to this poetic denominator - in order to then continue to accompany them in all their diversity.

Miljana Cunta (1976), Gregor Podlogar (1974), Jana Putrle Srdić (1975) and Tone Škrjanec (1953) will be accompanied by Vlado Kreslin (1953) is one of the most popular singer / songwriters in his country. Praised as the “Slovenian Bob Dylan”, he combines his musical origins from Prekmurje with influences from many European directions. In addition to their song-like poetics, his texts have a linguistic peculiarity: they are written in his dialect.

This evening for curious poetry explorers not only offers readings and music, but also three poetry films: Vsak pravi pesnik / Every True poet with Tomaž Šalamun, Čikorja an 'kafe, based on the poem of the same name by Iztok Mlakar, and Boles, which is based on a short story by Maxim Gorky.

Marie Kaiser will lead us through the evening with art and wine from Slovenia. The texts will be available in German translation. The films will be subtitled in English.

An event by the Slovenian Cultural Center Berlin SKICA, the Slovenian Book Agency and the Slovenian Film Center SFC in cooperation with Haus für Poesie.

The calls in question are:

• JR3-TRUBAR-2021: Call for applications for funding of cultural projects to co-finance the printing costs of translations of original Slovene works in foreign languages for the year 2021, open 5 March–23 April;
• JR5-P-2021: Call for Proposals for the translations into foreign languages for the year 2021, open 5 March–9 April;
• JR6-INJ-2021: Call for Proposals for the translation and publication of books by Slovenian authors in the German language for the year 2021, open 5 March–23 April.

The public calls documentation will be available on https://www.jakrs.si/en/international-cooperation/tenders-and-public-calls/tenders-and-calls.

Contact persons for the calls:

- JR3-TRUBAR-2021 and JR5-P-2021: Katja Stergar, katja.stergar@jakrs.si, tel: +386 1 369 58 27,

- JR6-INJ-2021: Anja Kovač, anja.kovac@jakrs.si, tel: +386 1 230 05 75.

We invite you to help us in our pursuit and take part in the online survey about our international activities.

The survey takes about 5-10min and is anonymous. We thank you for your time in advance!

Photo: Gettyimages / iStock photo

Ana Schnabl is a writer and journalist, the winner of the Best Debut award, who is currently working on her third book. This interview was made when her short story collection Disentangling was translated into German under the title Grün wie ich dich liebe grün (Folio Verlag, 2020, translated by Klaus Detlef Olof). The interview is in German.

Maja Gal Štromar is a writer and actress who published 13 literary works so far. Her first German translation is a novel Denk an mich, auch in guten Zeiten (Edition Converso, 2020, translated by Ann Catrin Bolton) about a complicated relationship between the protagonist and her father. Listen to the reviewof her praised novel at SWR2 (in German).

Sebastijan Pregelj, a writer and historian, who writes for children as well as adults, is already very well know abroad. One of his latest translations is novel A Chronicle of Forgetting (Slovenian Writers' Association, 2019, translated by Rawley Grau). The story about a man who is battling dementia but still finds small joys in his everyday life convinced the jury of The Dublin Literary Award 2021, who longlisted him as »one of Slovenia’s finest writers«. Read the full jury statement here(in English).

Alma M. Karlin (1889-1950), the first female world traveller who travelled solo was also a renowned writer in her time. Neue Zürcher Zeitung recently published an article (in German) about this extraordinary personality.

Igor Plohl is the author of picture books series Roggie the lion, a passionate athlete who has to use a wheelchair after being involved in a bad accident. The books illustrated by Urška Stropnik Šonc and published by Pivec publishing house are now part of Every Story Matters (Making Books More Inclusive) EU project, where Slovenian Book Agency is one of the partners. Check out a short video about the books here (in English).

Photos from top left clockwise:

Maja Gal Štromar (personal archive)

Igor Plohl (© Andrej Križ)

Sebastijan Pregelj (© Manca Jevšček)

Ana Schnabl (© Airbeletrina)

Kresnik Award (best novel of the year): Veronika Simoniti: Ivana pred morjem (Ivana in front of the Sea, Mladinska knjiga publishing house, rights contact: senja.pozar@mkz.si)

– “Ivana in front of the Sea is a multi-layered narrative that cleverly switches from one time to the other, from citations from letters to events placed in a number of places, without the story losing its suspense and the reader’s attention.” – Radio Slovenia

Veronika Award (best poetry collection of the year): Borut Gombač: S konico konice jezika (With the Tip of the Tip of the Tongue, Hiša poezije cultural society, rights contact: hisa-poezije@poetikon.si)

–  »Poetry collection by Borut Gombač With the Tip of the Tip of the Tongue consists of gallantly tailored poems, which are temptingly special due to their detailed composition.” – Slovenian national TV – webpage

Jenko Award (best poetry collection of the last two years): Brane Mozetič: Sanje v drugem jeziku (Dreams in Another Language, ŠKUC, rights contact: brane.mozetic@guest.arnes.si) 

– “One of the most exciting poetry collections lately” – from the award justification

Novo mesto Short (best short story collection): Sergej Curanović: Plavalec (The Swimmer, Cankarjeva založba, rights contact: senja.pozar@mkz.si)

– “These six unusually long stories stem out of the sort of focus, which is more common in novels than in short stories.” – Bukla literary magazine

Rožanc Award (best collection of essays): Esad Babačić: Veš, mašina, svoj dolg (Machine, do You Know What You Owe, Mladinska knjiga, rights contact: senja.pozar@mkz.si)

– “A master is a master.” – Ahmed Burić for Dnevnik newspaper

Desetnica Award (best children’s or youth literary work): Jana Bauer: Ding dong zgodbe, illustrated by Bojana Dimitrovski (Ding Dong Stories, Sodobnost International, rights contact: sodobnost@guest.arnes.si)

– “The main appeal of the book is its humour, recognized by pre-school children and adults alike.” – Miss Book blog

Večernica Award (best new literary work for young readers): Andrej Rozman Roza: Rimuzine in črkolazen, illustrated by Zvonko Čoh (Mladinska knjiga, rights contact: senja.pozar@mkz.si)

– “These poems are pure wordplay.” – from the award justification

Kristina Brenkova Award (best original Slovenian picture book): Peter Svetina: Timbuktu, Timbuktu, illustrated by Igor Šinkovec (Miš publishing house, rights contact: anze@miszalozba.com) - Peter Svetina was also a nominee for Hans Christian Andersen Award 2020!

Book of the Year Award (5 finalists selected by jury, winner chosen by general public during the Slovenian Book Fair): Boštjan Videmšek: Plan B (UMco, rights contact: samo@umco.si)

– “When people start to think and act not against but for nature and green future, a certain sociological phenomenon occurs: it isn’t only nature that heals, but human relationships too. They become more human and solidary. A concept of a good person is reinstated like in Anton Checkow’s novels. That’s why this is an important book and an excellent political program for the future.” – from the award justification

The book was our Highlight of the Month June. Read more.

Best Debut Book of the Year: Borut Kraševec: Agni (LUD Šerpa, rights contact: ludaserpa@gmail.com)

– “Written with literary skill, a broad view of the cultural landscape and a good ear for archetypal the novel relentlessly drills straight into the (unrecognized) nerve of the civilization.” – from the award justification

New books

Katja Perat’s novel Mazohistka / The Masochist has two new translations:

• It was published by Geopoetika in Serbia under the title Mazohistkinja (translated by Ivan Antić) and
• it was published by Istros books in Great Britain under the title The Masochist (translated by Michael Biggins).

Goran Vojnović has no less than three new translations:

• his second novel Jugoslavija, moja dežela / Jugoslavia, my Fatherland was published by Typotex in Hungary under the title Jugoszlávia, édes hazám (translated by Emese Rajsli).
• His latest novel Figa / The Fig Tree has been published by Sedno in Poland under the title Figa (translated by Joanna Pomorska) and in Great Britain by Istros books under the title The Fig Tree (translated by Olivia Hellewell).

A Slovenian classic, novel Prišleki / The Newcomers by Lojze Kovačič (1928-2004) was published by La nave di Teseo in Italy under the title Il bambino in esilio. I migranti, volume 1 (translated by Martina Clerici).

A poetry collection Plast za plastjo / Layer by Layer by Petra Kolmančič was recently published by Albert publishing house in Czech Republic under the title (Pro)past za (pro)pastí (translated by Petr Mainuš).

Sopra il cielo sotto la tera is the Italian title of the poetry collection Nad nebom pod zemljo / Above the Sky beneath the Earth by Aleš Šteger. It was translated by Michele Obit and published by Passigli Poesia.

Lila Prap, a best-selling Slovenian children’s books author recently got a few new Chinese translations published at Magic Elephant Books (part of Guangxi Normal University Press). The books were translated directly from Slovenian by Bao Jie.

Desa Muck, also best-selling Slovenian YA author, recently got a translation into Bulgarian. Her book Lažniva Suzi / The Lying Suzy was published by Matcom.

Majda Koren's  Skuhaj mi pravljico / Cook me up a Fairytale! was just published by Nar Publishing in Turkey.

Manica Musil's Lev Robi was published by Baeschlin Verlag in Switzerland under the title Gregor der Löwe. The book was translated by Alexandra Zaleznik.

New Deals

Fiction

Veronika Simoniti: Ivana pred morjem /Ivana in front of the Sea was sold to Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, China and Fraktura / Croatia – Novel of the Year Award!

Suzana Tratnik: Norhavs na vrhu hriba / Madhouse on the Hilltop was sold to Mali Verlag, Austria.

Goran Vojnović: Jugoslavija, moja dežela / Yugoslavia, my Fatherland was sold to Kutu Publishing, Turkey. – Novel of the Year Award!

Goran Vojnović: Figa / The Fig Tree was sold to Casa cartii da stiinta, Rumania. – Novel of the Year Award!

Ana Schnabl: Mojstrovina / Masterpiece was sold to Partizanska knjiga, Serbia.

Several titles by one of the most translated Slovenian authors, Evald Flisar, were sold. Novel Look through the Window will be published by Nirala Publications, New Delhi, Dar El-Kalema, Cairo, Ibis Grafika, Croatia, and Horizon, Great Britain. His novel Words above Clouds was sold to Graha Cendekia, Indonesia. Sampark from Kolkata, India, bought two titles: Collector of Dreams and Alice in Crazyland.

Non-fiction

Dr. Aleš Gabrič: V senci politike / In the Shadow of Politics was sold to Srednja Evropa publishing house, Croatia.

Graphic novel

Samira Kentrić: Balkanalije / Balcanalia was sold to Jacoby & Stuart, Germany.

Children's and YA books

Nataša, Valentin in Gregor Bucik’s Misleca / Thinkers was sold to Mini Acorn, Taiwan.

Gaja Kos in Ana Zavadlav’s  Obisk / The Visit was sold to Hagzhou Zhuochuang Cultural Media, China.

Huiquin Wang: Mala Alma / Little Alma, the story of the world traveller Alma M. Karlin, was sold to Srednja Evropa, Croatia.

Marta Bartolj’s wordless picture book Kje si? / One Small Kindness(White Ravens Catalogue 2019!) was sold to Sowonnamu publishing, South Korea.

Peter Svetina: Modrost nilskih konjev / Hippopotamus Wisdom was sold to Más Pimienta!, Spain and Uruguai.

Jana Bauer’s best-selling book about the Scary Fairy Groznovilca in divja zima / Scary Fairy and the Wild Winter was sold to Más Pimienta! (Spain and Uruguay), and to V. Books - XXI. Ltd. (Ukraine), whereas the first part of the book Groznovilca v Hudi hosti / Scary Fairy in Wicked Wood was sold to Curtea Veche (Rumania), Aminori (Latvia), Graha Cendekia, Indonesia, and Logos Pattambi, Kerala, India.

Ida Mlakar's Tu blizu živi deklica / Close to Here was sold to Fondo de Cultura Economica (Mexico) and Verlagsgruppe Beltz (Germany).

The annual award is conferred by the Polish city of Wroclaw to writers who write about important contemporary topics. It comes with a cheque for 150,000 Polish zloty (roughly EUR 33,000) for the author and 20.000 zloty (EUR 4,400) for the translator. Vojnović is the first Slovenian author to receive this important award.

• Watch the award ceremony here (start at 1:11:35 – in Polish and Slovenian language).
• Goran Vojnović and his English translator Olivia Hallewell were recently guests of the BookBlast Podcast. You can listen to their talk here (in English).
• He also did a video talk with cultural curator Rosie Goldsmith. You can watch it here (in English).

Both talks were created on the occasion of the author’s third novel,The Fig Tree, being published by Istros Books in Great Britain.

Katja Perat is a Slovenian poet and writer currently living in the USA. Her debut novel Masochist was recently published by Istros Books in Great Britain. On this occasion the author talked to the translator Michael Biggins – watch the full talk in English here.

Nataša Kramberger is a former EUPL winner. A German translation of her latest novel Commensurate Acres is coming up in 2021 at Verbrecher Verlag. This year she is one of artists in residence at Villa Concordia in Bamberg, where she gave this interview in English and German.

Avgust Demšar (pseudonym) is one of the two most popular Slovenian crime novel writers. So far he has written ten crime novels and there is a TV series based on three of these novels coming up in January. A short video portrait of Avgust Demšar with English subtitles is available here.

Jela Krečič is a Slovenian author and philosopher, whose first novel was recently published in Serbian by Laguna (translated by Jelena Budimirović). On this occasion the author talked to Nevena Milojević from Laguna publishing house – watch the full talk in English here.

Alma M. Karlin (1889-1950) was a writer and the first female traveller to travel the world alone and without any financial support but her own work - in 1920s! After being almost forgotten for half a century, her life and work are being rediscovered lately thanks to her biographers and publishers. One of them is Jerneja Jezernik, who recently wrote and published the first Karlin-biography originally written in German language:Alma M. Karlin: Mit Bubikopf und Schreibmaschine um die Welt (Drava Verlag, 2020). The book was presented by Erika Hornbogner (Drava Verlag) in the frame of the Donau Lounge 2020. Excerpts from the book were read by Claudia Carus. 

Watch the presentation hereand listen to the excerpts part I and part II. All videos are in German.

NEW DEALS

Fiction

One of our previous translation tips, a novel Ivana in front of the Sea by Veronika Simoniti, has been popular in 2020: rights have so far been sold to China (Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press), Croatia (Fraktura) and Albania (Fan Noli).

Drago Jančar’s And Love Itself was sold to Croatian Meandar Media and Polish Sedno, whereas his most famous novel I Saw Her That Night was sold to Egyptian publishing house Sefsafa.

Fig tree, the third novel by Goran Vojnović, this year’s recipient of the Angelus Central European Literature Award will be published in Arabic by Al Arabi from Egypt. His second novel Yugoslavia, my Fatherland, will be published in Albanian by Fan Noli. Vojnović is the first Slovenian recipient of the  internationally renown Angelus Award!

The Secret is Called Erich Šlomovič, an exciting crime novel from the world of art, by writer Slavko Pregl and art connoisseur Leon Pogelšek will be published in English by ARCA Publications (The Association for Research into Crimes against Art).

Boris A. Novak’s monumental epos in three books The Door of no Return (44.000 verses on 2.300 pages!), which brought the highest Slovene national award for arts – Prešeren’s Award to the author, will be published in Croatian by Fraktura publishing house.

Certamen Spirituale, a poetry collection by Gorazd Kocijančič, philosopher, poet and latest translator of entire Plato’s work into Slovene, will be published by Vaso Roto in Spain.

Poetry book Love Says Let’s Go by Nina Dragičević, a poet and a composer, will be published in Serbian by Rende. The book landed the first place on the Slovenian Critics’ Choice for 2020. We are also happy to announce that Dragičević will take part in the 2021 edition of the international Transpoesie festival in Brussels.

Non Fiction

The last book by Zmago Šmitek (1949-2018), an internationally renown professor of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Šelest divjine (The Rustling of the Wilderness), will be published by Croatian Ibis Grafika.

Children and YA

Nina Mav Horvat: Listen up, Here Comes the Badger!with illustrations by Kristina Krhin was sold to the largest Czech publishing group Albatros Media.

Cvetka Sokolov: In the Wrong Storywas sold to Arete publishing house from Serbia.

A bilingual Slovene-Chinese picture book Little Alma on a Great Journey by Slovenian writer Milan Dekleva and Chinese illustrator Hiquin Wang has been sold to Croatia (Srednja Evropa publishing house). The book tells a story of the writer and first female world traveler to travel the world by herself - Alma M. Karlin, who was born in Slovenian town Celje and traveled the world in 1920s. 

Vinko Möderndorfer’s YA books Whale on the Beach, Like in a FilmandI am Andrej were sold to Russia (Strecoza) and Macedonia (MIF).

Andreja Peklar’s awarded title Luna and I has been sold to Mexico (Textofilia Ediciones) and North Macedonia (Prozart Medija), whereas her wordless picture book Ferdo, the Giant Bird has been sold to Mongolia (Nepko Kids).

The popular Scary Fairy by Jana Bauer and her latest book How to Scare a Monster will be published in Germany (Tulipan Verlag), Italy (Besa Editrice), Rumania (Curtea Veche), Latvia (Aminori ) and Ukraine (V. Books - XXI. Ltd.).

The largest Slovenian publishing house Mladinska knjiga, whose educational materials received the Comenius-EduMedia-Award 2020 (for ucimse.com portal) and BELMA award (for My Friend Nande 1 learning materials for maths), is successfully selling learning materials – in 2020 they sold no less than 13 titles by author Nataša Bucik and illustrator Ana Zavadlav to China (Rightol), Russia (Eksmo) and Austria (Breitschopf).

NEW BOOKS

Slovenian alpine classic Pot (The Way) by Nejc Zaplotnik, one of the first two Slovenian mountaineers to climb Mt. Everest 41 years ago, was published by AS Verlag in Switzerland under the title Der Weg. The book was translated by Lars Felgner.

The novel Misli name, ko ti bo lepo (Think about Me, when You will be Having a Good Time) by Maja Gal Štromar was published in German language by Edition Converso under the title Denk an mich, auch in guten Zeiten. The book was translated by Ann Catrin Bolton.

Boris Pahor’s Grmada v pristanu (Bonfire in the Harbour) was translated into Catalan by Simona Škrabec and published by Edicions del Periscopi under the title La pira al port.

Drago Jančar’s Drevo brez imena (A Tree without a Name) was translated into Czech by Petr Mainuš and published by Altenberg publishing house under the title Strom beze jména.

Jana Bauers children’s book Kako prestrašiti pošast (How to Scare a Monster) was translated by Krešimir Krnic and published by Ibis Grafika under the title Kako prestrašiti čudovište.

The premiere of the film was on 16^th October in the frame of the Bookfest digtal Festival at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Watch the film.

Watch the interview and reading with Katja Gorečan the author of The Sorrows of Young Hana, filmed by the Slovenian Book Agency.

Photo copyright: LR photography

In three days between 14^th and 16^th October we welcomed more visitors at the stand than we ever did on our physical stand in Frankfurt. The busiest day was Wednesday with nearly 600 visitors, most of them being German or Slovenian. That was good news for us, because we reached one of our main target audiences (German) as well as motivated our domestic publishers, authors, translators, journalist and other interested audience to take part and use the virtual stand for their own activities, meetings and networking.

During the book fair the visitors were able to attend five events:

• an opening of the stand,
• a hybrid event about the world traveller Alma M. Karlin: Around the World in Eight Years: An Extraordinary World Traveler and Her Typewriter(video is in German language), which took place in Roomers Frankfurt and online in cooperation with AvivA Verlag,
• two short films in the frame of Bookfest digital festival:

                Art in Crisis (11min): a short film featuring Slovenian author and philosopher Alenka Zupančič, author and immunologist Alojz Ihan, author Mojca Kumerdej, author and journalist Mojca Širok and author and translator Jasmin B. Frelih talking about the meaning of art in times of crisis, filmed on the streets of Slovenia's capital Ljubljana right after the spring lockdown.

Ana Roš: The Cook and the Chef (7min): a short film about the globally-acclaimed Slovenian chef Ana Roš of Hiša Franko and her personal monograph Sun and Rain (Phaidon, 2020),

• arights sales workshop with Stephanie Barrouillet (S. B. Rights Agency)
• a pre-recorded discussion in the frame of Market Insights Series about the Slovenian book market.

Read more about our programme here.

We would like to once again thank all our visitors at the stand and our partners: Frankfurt Book Fair, Slovenian Embassy in Berlin, Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) and AvivA Verlag. We are looking forward to meeting you again – in person and virtually!

Visitors at the virtual stand can visit our showroom, which was inspired by our real-life book fair stand, designed by Slovenian architect and poet Lucija Stupica. There you can browse through 100+ new titles by Slovenian authors, catalogues and videos or have a chat with our crew and Slovenian publishers Mladinska knjiga, Cankarjeva založba, Sodobnost International, Založba Pivec, Miš, Goga and ZTT (Trieste Press). You can also book a meeting with the listed publishers and meet them in individual meeting rooms.

We will also be joined by Traduki network representatives as part of our three-year program Common Ground (2020-2022) and representatives of the Slovenian Tourist Board, who will provide visitors with the latest information on travelling to Slovenia in times of Covid-19 pandemic.

Our events at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2020:

Wednesday, 14. 10. at 12.00, Slovenian virtual stand:

official opening of the Slovenian virtual stand and a greeting by Renata Zamida, the director of the Slovenian Book Agency.

Friday, 16. 10. at 19.30, Roomers Frankfurt and online:

Around the World in Eight Years: Alma M. Karlin, an Extraordinary World Traveller and Her Typewriter. A book and photo presentation of a 1920s Slovenian author and traveller Alma M. Karlin and her third book available to German-speaking readers (Im Banne der Südsee, AvivA Verlag, 2020)

Saturday, 17. 10. at 15:40, Bookfest digital:

                Art in Crisis (11min): a short film featuring Slovenian author and philosopher Alenka Zupančič, author and immunologist Alojz Ihan, author Mojca Kumerdej, author and journalist Mojca Širok and author and translator Jasmin B. Frelih talking about the meaning of art in times of crisis, filmed on the streets of Slovenia's capital Ljubljana right after the spring lockdown.

                Ana Roš: The Cook and the Chef (7min): a short film about the globally-acclaimed Slovenian chef Ana Roš of Hiša Franko and her personal monograph Sun and Rain (Phaidon, 2020)

Available online: Market Insights Series: Slovenia – a video presentation of the Slovenian book market

For registered guests only: rights sales workshop with Stephanie Barrouillet (S. B. rights agency). Friday, 16. 10., 9.00-12.00, Slovenian virtual stand, conference room.

While we are all looking forward to times when meeting in person will be possible again, we kindly invite you to meet us online in the mean time!

For more information:

E: anja.kovac@jakrs.si

T: 00386 1 230 05 75

***

Our partners: Frankfurt Book Fair, Slovenian Embassy in Berlin, Slovenian Tourist Board (STO), AvivA Verlag

*To access the virtual stand a visitor needs an electronic device (PC or laptop for better experience) and an internet connection. The website works best in Chrome or Firefox browser.

The countries scheduled to be the Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse in subsequent years – Spain, Slovenia and Italy – agreed to postpone their own presentations by one year to accommodate Canada’s move to 2021. Following this shift, Slovenia will be the Guest of Honour at Frankfurter Buchmesse in 2023.

For 2020, Canadian Heritage and their partners are preparing a virtual presence to give Canadian authors and publishers a strong presence at the digital Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Juergen Boos, Director of Frankfurter Buchmesse

“We would like to thank the Guest of Honour committees, publishers associations and the authorities in Spain, Slovenia and Italy who, out of solidarity with Canada, have agreed to postpone their appearances in Frankfurt for another year in order that Canada will have the best possible opportunity to present its literature and culture at Frankfurter Buchmesse in October 2021. At the same time, we are looking forward to all the digital activities which will be presented by our Canadian partners during the 2020 Frankfurter Buchmesse. This year has presented us all with major challenges, and we’ve seen the international book community come together in response. This cooperation between Frankfurter Buchmesse’s confirmed Guest of Honour countries is just one of many examples.”

Michelle Müntefering, Minister of State, Federal Foreign Office

“Year after year, the Guests of Honour are a distinctive feature of Frankfurter Buchmesse and invite people to enter into a dialogue with the world. This makes the book fair an outstanding example of international cultural cooperation. By agreeing to postpone their respective appearances as Guest of Honour by one year, Canada, Spain, Slovenia and Italy are showing precisely the kind of solidarity that is needed during the current crisis.”

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage

“With today’s announcement, Canada can now take full advantage of the countless benefits that come with being a Guest of Honour country at the Frankfurter Buchmesse. We would like to thank Spain, Slovenia and Italy for agreeing to adjust their own Guest of Honour plans to accommodate our request, as well as the Frankfurter Buchmesse for their help in facilitating these plans. Our 2020 virtual programming will be a taste of what’s to come with the full suite of programming planned for 2021, and we look forward to showing the world what’s in store this October!”

H.E. Stéphane Dion, Ambassador of Canada to Germany and Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe

"I am very grateful that, in response to the current pandemic and in collaboration with the Frankfurt Book Fair, we have reached an agreement with our Spanish, Slovenian and Italian friends to postpone our respective presence as Guest of Honour by one year. Canada will gladly participate in the 2020 Fair with a strong virtual presence and will be more ready than ever to be a great Guest of Honour in 2021. At the Frankfurt Book Fair and throughout Germany, the singular stories of Canadian authors, illustrators and artists from all disciplines will represent in a vibrant manner Canada’s plurality of voices. Our presence as Guest of Honour will not only result in increased business ties, but also in a greater knowledge of Canada’s literary and artistic landscapes, for the pleasure of all those who, from Germany and around the world, will seize the opportunity to get to know our works and our creators better.”

Caroline Fortin, President of Canada FBM2020

“Canada FBM2020 is pleased to postpone being Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair to 2021, and we will be pleased to work with our partners to support all the initiatives that will help promote our authors and illustrators, in order to ensure the sale of Canadian titles in Germany and around the world.”

José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, Minister of Culture and Sport of the Government of Spain

“In these extraordinary times, we are sure that the Spanish Ministry of Culture’s agreement to postpone our presence in Frankfurt as Guest of Honour Country until 2022, will both create a better opportunity for the Spanish book sector and will increase international cooperation and solidarity (together with Slovenia and Italy) that will ensure that the publishing industry stay stronger after the pandemic. After consulting with the Spanish publishers and authors about this decision we truly believe that this resolution will allow us a bigger success in 2022”.

Dr. Vasko Simoniti, Minister of Culture, Slovenia

“After careful and thorough consideration, we have decided to postpone Slovenia’s title of Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair from 2022 to 2023, as proposed by President and CEO of Frankfurt Book Fair Juergen Boos. As we are aware of the significance of the event for Slovenian literature and general recognisability of our country, we will do our utmost to carry it out. Although the postponement will certainly require some accommodations, we believe that the spirit of cooperation and mutual support will help us through the hard times the world is going through due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are glad that we have been able to coordinate our views with those of the administration of the Frankfurt Book Fair and other countries and believe that we will be able to successfully carry out the event in 2023.”

Dario Franceschini, Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, Italy

“Our consent to postpone Italy’s participation as Guest of Honour by one year, from 2023 to 2024, was a hard choice to be made. We agreed to the proposal by the Frankfurt Book Fair in a spirit of solidarity towards Canada and of mutual support with Spain and Slovenia, which will precede Italy in 2022 and 2023, forming a unique “Trio” of European countries as Guests of Honour to the Frankfurt Book Fair. Italy will participate in this year’s edition, which will be much different than originally imagined because of the pandemic, but which will be nonetheless a defining moment for the European cultural scene taking place at the same time as the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Thanks to the opportunities provided by digital platforms, the Frankfurt Book Fair will be once again this year the world capital of ideas. And during an age of upheaval as ours, all world cultures must speak the same language: that of humanity.”

The dates of Frankfurter Buchmesse 2021-2024:

20-24 October 2021: Frankfurter Buchmesse – Guest of Honour Canada

19-23 October 2022: Frankfurter Buchmesse – Guest of Honour Spain

18-22 October 2023: Frankfurter Buchmesse – Guest of Honour Slovenia

16-20 October 2024: Frankfurter Buchmesse – Guest of Honour Italy

***

How will the postponement affect the Slovenian presentation?

Slovenian Book Agency, the organiser of the Slovenian presentation, both in Frankfurt and in Bologna, will continue with its preparations as planned. The Bologna Children's Book Fair has been cancelled this year due to Covid-19 pandemic, which means Slovenia will be GoH in 2022 instead of 2021. This way the continuity of the Slovenian GoH appearances will be preserved: 2022 in Bologna and 2023 in Frankfurt.

Regarding these recent changes the director of the Slovenian Book Agency, Renata Zamida, said:

»A consensus has been reached between the countries, which is based on solidarity and mutual understanding. This is a special year for all of us, and none is better of than the other. We believe that the implementation of Slovenia's GoH programme and activities at the FMB will be visible and feasible in 2023 as well as they would have been a year earlier and have confidence in our government to assure suitable funding adjustments. We are also happy that the Slovenian GoH appearance at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in 2022 will remain a bridge to Frankfurt 2023.«

Further information:

Anja Kovač, project Frankfurt 2023: anja.kovac(at)jakrs.si, 00 386 1 230 05 75

Katja Stergar, project Bologna 2022: katja.stergar(at)jakrs.si, 00386 1 369 58 27

New deals

Vinko Möderndorfers epic historical novel Druga preteklost (1000 pages!) will be published by Residenz Verlag in German language. Three of his YA books - Kot v filmu, Jaz sem Andrejand Kit na plaži will be published in Russia by Strecoza and Mif. Kit na plaži will aslo be published in Macedonian by Publisher publishing center.

Marta Bartolj’s wordless picture book will be published by Chronicle Books in US under the title One Small Kindness.

Vladimir Bartol’s global bestseller Alamut will be published in Chinese by Beijing Book Search Cultural Communication.

Drago Jančar's latest novel In ljubezen tudi, for which he received the Austrian state prize, will be published in Italian by La nave di Teseo.

Katja Perat's debut novel Mazohistka will be published in Italian by Voland Edizioni.

Tadej Golob’s bestselling crime novel Jezero, which was also adapted to a successful TV-series will be published in Macedonian by Čudna šuma.

Dino Bauk's best debut of the year novel Konec. Znova will be published in Italian by Bottega errante.

Bronja Žakelj's bestselling novel of the year 2018 Belo se pere na devetdeset – will be published in Macedonian by Ars lamina.

Jela Krečič's novel Ni druge will be published in German by Mitteldeutscher Verlag.

Majda Koren's children's book Skuhaj mi pravljico will be published in Turkish by Nar Publishing

Jana Bauer's children's book Kako prestrašiti pošast will be published by Paike ja Pilv in Estonian and by Ibis grafika in Croatian.

Ida Mlakar's children's book Tu blizu živi deklica will be published in Croatian by Ibis grafika.

Rok Vilčnik's theatre plays Drame will be published in Serbian by Treći trg.

Evald Flisar’s novel Poglej skozi okno will be published in Croatian by Ibis grafika and in German by Hermagoras in Klagenfurt, Austria. His most translated novel, Čarovnikov vajenec, will be published in Tamil language by Kalachuvadu Publishers in Chennai, India, and his book Na zlati obali will be published in Czech by Vetrne Mlyny.

Miha Mazzini’s novel Izbrisana, which was also adapted to movie, will be published in German by Edition Converso, which will also publish Maja Gal Štromar'sMisli name, ko ti je lepo.

Eva Markun’s short story collection Menažerija will be published in German by Maliverlag.

Nataša Bucik’s childrens’ book, illustrated by Ana Zavadlav (she was selected for The Illustrators Exhibition in Bologna 2019), Kukujeve igrarije will be published by Breitschopf in Austria. An illustrated edition of Martin Krpan (Slovenian tale) by Tone Kralj will also be published in Austria by Mohorjeva – Hermagoras publishing house.

Suzana Tratnik‘s YA novel Ime mi je Damjan has recently been sold to Black Flamingo publishing house from Bulgaria, where also Zelišča male čarovnice by Polonca Kovač and Ančka Gošnik Godec – one a legend among Slovenian children’s books authors, the other among illustrators - will be published by Emas Publishing.

New books

A comic book about an incredible persona – the first female world traveller to travel the world solo and a writer – Alma M. Karlin, was just published by bahoe books in German language, translated by an awarded translator Erwin Köstler, under the title Alma M. Karlin. Weltbürgerin aus der Provinz.

Alma M. Karlin is experiencing a real comeback 70 years after her death – her first ever biography in German language, written by her biographer Jerneja Jezernik, was also published recently under the title Alma M. Karlin. Mit Bubikopf und Schreibmachine um die Welt at Drava publishing house.

After the German and Polish translation of the cult Slovenian alpine classic Pot by Nejc Zaplotnik (1952-1983), the first Slovenian to climb Mount Everest, Italian readers can now enjoy the book too. It was translated by Dušan Jelinčič and published by Versante Sud.

Manica K. Musil’s sewn picturebookStan the Elephanthas been published in English translation by Jason Blake at Windmill Books (Rosen Publishing).

Two books by Slovenian superstar illustrator Lila Prap were published in Belgium by Alice Editions lately: Ptiči and Pasji zakaji.

Together with Slovenian photographer Matjaž Krivic, one of the world’s top photographers and a recipient of the 2016 World Press Photo prize, they started exploring renewable energy projects in communities all around the world - from the waste-incineration plant in Norway that plans to store the captured CO₂ in underwater caves, to Tilos, the first 100 percent self-sustainable island in the Mediterranean. They found many alternatives and numerous solutions – a Plan B for humanity. Through Videmšek’s texts and photos by Matjaž Krivic the book offers a clear call to action and a glimpse of hope in these pessimistic times.

The Slovenian edition is out on 1 September 2020.

Read the full book proposal here.

For rights and full English text please contact samo(at)umco.si.

Photo: Boštjan Videmšek by Uroš Hočevar

"Taking an individual to penetratingly render understandable the delusions of our history: this is one of the big strengths of his literature," the jury wrote about the 71-year-old. Jančar, a novelist, playwright and essayist, is the most widely translated Slovenian writer and has received an unparalleled number of awards in Slovenia and abroad.

He has written eleven novels; one of the most celebrated ones, I Saw Her That Night (To noč sem jo videl; 2010) has been translated into 15 languages so far. He is the only Slovenian writer to have won the prestigious Slovenian Kresnik Prize for the best novel of the year four times.

Many of his works have already been translated into German, the latest being his 11^th novel And Love Itself (Wenn die Liebe ruht, Zsolnay Verlag, 2019, translated by Daniela Kocmut) set in his home town Maribor during occupation in 1943. The English translation was published by Dalkey Arcive Press.

The Austrian State Prize for European Literature is handed out annually by the Federal Chancellery of Austria to a European author that has won international acclaim and has been translated into German. Last year the winner was French writer Michel Houellebecq and in 2018 the prize went to English novelist Zadie Smith.

We congratulate the author and his publishers at home and abroad!

Mojca Kumerdej received the most important national award for her monumental work in 2018. It is therefore no surprise that the Fabjan Hafner Prize jury wrote: “Not only the length of the novel, but also the polyphony of literary voices and their various speaking registers made the translation of this work an extremely difficult task. However, Erwin Köstler did an excellent job.”

Erwin Köstler (1964) is an awarded translator from Slovenian, based in Vienna. He has translated numerous Slovenian classics (Vladimir Bartol, Ivan Cankar, Slavko Grum, Srečko Kosovel, Prežihov Voranc, etc.), contemporary authors (Mojca Kumerdej, Sebastijan Pregelj, Andrej Skubic, Breda Smolnikar), graphic novels and many more.

The Fabjan Hafner Prize is a biennial prize awarded by the Goethe-Institut in Ljubljana together with  Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB), Robert-Musil-Institut / Kärntner Literaturarchiv, The Embassy of the Republic of Germany in Slovenia and the Land Carinthia (Austria). Translators receive the award for best translation from German into Slovenian (awarded every other year at the Slovenian Book Fair) and for the best translation from Slovenian into German (awarded every other year at the Leipzig Book Fair). Since this year’s Leipzig Book Fair has been cancelled due to coronavirus epidemic, the prize of 4.000€ will be awarded at a ceremony later this year.

With afterwords by Slovenian experts Dr. Dragica Haramija and Dr. Igor Saksida the catalogue is a precious tool for foreign publishers interested in Slovenian books for children and young adults. Since we won’t be able to meet you in person at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year, we invite you to have a look and contact us or any of the publishers listed in the catalogue. 

The catalogue was published by the Slovenian Writers Association and funded by the Slovenian Book Agency.

• Brussels Book Fair (5-8 March), with guest author Agata Tomažič and her short story collection Ce qu’on ne peut confier à son coiffeur (French translation by Stéphane Baldeck, Belleville éditions, Paris),
• Leipzig Book Fair (12-15 March 2020) – visit us at our stand in hall 4 and follow our newsletters for more information about our events with authors Drago Jančar, Ana Schnabl, Renata Salecl, Mirt Komel and Marta Bartolj,
• Bologna Children’s Book Fair (30 March-2 April 2020) – visit us at our stand in hall 29, stand C34-D33 and follow our newsletters for more information about our B2B meetings and events, among others with author Peter Svetina and illustrator Damijan Stepančič, the authors of the IBBY message for this year’s International Children’s Book Day 2020, which is sponsored by the Slovenian IBBY section.

See you in 2020!

Deadline: 30 December 2019

More info here.

The Sofia Literature and Translation House is welcoming applications for its joint residency programme with Traduki for 2020. The program aims at intensifying the literary exchange within Southeastern Europe as well as between Southeastern Europe and the German-speaking countries.

The program welcomes proposals from: 

• writers from all literary genres from Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia;
• literary translators from Bulgarian language into German as well as from Bulgarian into the languages of Albania, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.

Deadline: 30 January 2020

More info here.

– a warm, witty and moving story about loss, mourning and recovery as well as the absolute bestseller of 2019!

Veronika Award (best poetry collection of the year): Alenka Jovanovski: Tisoč osemdeset stopinj(Thousand Eighty Degrees, Center for Slovenian Literature, rights-contact: brane.mozetic@guest.arnes.si) 

– “One of the ground breaking poetry collections in contemporary Slovenian poetry” – Koridor magazine

Jenko Award (best poetry collection of the last two years): Kaja Teržan: Krog (Circle, Center for Slovenian Literature, rights-contact: brane.mozetic@guest.arnes.si) 

– “A poetry collection full of rare courage to explore the unknown.” – from the award justification

Novo mesto Short (best short story collection): Vesna Lemaić: Dobrodošli (Wellcome, Cankarjeva založba, rights-contact: sejna.pozar@mkz.si) 

– “Short and even shorter stories by Vesna Lemaić let the situations themselves talk: that is when they cut with the painful irony of the experience.” – from the award justification

Rožanc Award (best collection of essays): Marcel Štefančič, jr.: Ivan Cankar (UMco, rights-contact: samo@umco.si) 

– essays about one of the most important Slovenian authors of all times, Ivan Cankar: “[Marcel Štefančič] has proven once again that he is a master of literature, film, critique of capitalism, analysis of Slovenianhood and so much more.” – Slovenian national radio ARS

Desetnica Award (best children’s or youth literary work): Andrej Rozman Roza: Pesmi iz galerije (Poems from the Gallery, Narodna galerija)

• “Youngsters and their parents, both will smile while reading this book while refreshing their school knowledge at the same time.” – from the award justification

Večernica Award (best new literary work for young readers): Andrej E. Skubic: Babi nima več telefona (Grandma doesn’t have a Phone anymore, Mladinska knjiga, rights-contact: sejna.pozar@mkz.si)

• “A wonderful story about empathy among youngsters and a sensitive confrontation with death of a significant other.” – from the award justification

Book of the Year Award (awarded by the visitors of the Slovenian Book Fair 2019): EvaMahkovic (text) and Eva Mlinar (illustrations): Vinjete straholjubca (Vignettes of the Fear-lover, VigeVageKnjige, rights-contact: anja@vigevageknjige.org) 

• “An intimate and provocative manifestation of how lucid ideas by two authors can interlace” – from the award justification

Best Debut Book of the Year: Jakob J. Kenda: Apalaška pot (Appalachian Trail, ISPO publishing house, rights-contact: info@apalaska.si)

• “Erudite and extremely readable book at the same time.” – from the award justification

Nataša Kramberger’s latest novel Commensurate Acres will be published in German by a renown independent publishing house Verbrecher Verlag in 2021. Kramberger will also be writer in residence at a prestigious German writer’s residence Vila Concordia in Bamberg from April 2020 to March 2021.

Schenk Verlag from Germany successfully applied for support of the Creative Europe programme for literary translation – and not only with one, but with two Slovenian books in their programme: Polona Glavan’sA Night in Europe (Noč v Evropi) and Gabriela Babnik’sDry season (Sušna doba).

Slovenian children’s books publishers have had a good season too: in the next years Black and White (Črno Belo) by Žiga X. Gombač will be published by Wydawnictwo RM in Poland, About a Mouse that Makes New Friends(Miška želi prijatelja) by Nina Mav Hrovat in Czech Republic by Albatros Media and Where are you? by Marta Bartolj in United Arab Emirates by Kalimat.

Manica K. Musil with her inventive books with sewn illustrations is becoming one of the most well known Slovenian children’s books authors around the world. Rights have recently been sold to Kalimat (United Arab Emirates), Rosen Publishing (USA), Timas Publishing (Turkey), Youth Press Limited (China), Albatros Media (Czech Republic) and Kašmir Promet (Croatia).

New publications

Ana Schnabl: Grün wie ich dich liebe grün (Folio Verlag, 2020, translated by Klaus Detlef Olof)

Schnabl’s short story collection Disentangling (Razvezani) is coming up in German translation at Folio Verlag in March 2020. The publisher just received the support from the Creative Europe programme for literary translation for its programme, including this title.

Fabjan Hafner: Erste und letzte Gedichte(Suhrkamp Verlag, 2020, translated by Peter Handke)

A representative selection of poetry by Fabjan Hafner, a Slovenian poet and a translator from Austrian Carinthia, after whom the Prize for translations from German to Slovenian and vice versa is named, will be published by Suhrkamp in March next year, with an afterword by Peter Handke.

Florjan Lipuš: Boštjans Flug (Suhrkamp Verlag, reprint 2019)

A reprint of one of the most important books by a Slovenian minority author from Austria and the recipient of the Grand Austrian State Prize 2018, Florjan Lipuš, translated into German by Johann Strutz, with foreword by Peter Handke.

Lojze Kovačič: Newcomers: Book Two(Archipelago Books, 2020, translated by Michael Biggins)

The second part of Newcomers (Prišleki) – the cult Slovenian classic by Lojze Kovačič will finally be published by Archipelago Books in January 2020 under the title: Newcomers: Book Two. The novel was translated by Michael Biggins.

Mirt Komel: Il tocco del pianista(Carbonio Editore, 2019, translated by Patrizia Raveggi) and Goldman oder Der Klang der Welt(Hollitzer Verlag, 2019, translated by Sebastian Walcher)

An Italian translation of Mirt Komel's debut novel was published under the title Il tocco del pianista (Pianistov dotik) at Carbonio Editore. A German translation of the same novel was recently published by Hollitzer Verlag in Vienna under the title Goldman oder Der Klang der Welt. The author will be reading from it at BuchQuartier festival in MuseumsQuartier / Arena21 und Ovalhalle in Vienna on 8th December. 

Goran Vojnović:Under fikonträdet(Rámus Förlag, 2019, translated by Christine Bredenkamp)

A Swedish translation of Goran Vojnović’s third novel, The Fig Tree (Figa), was published by Rámus publishing house under the title Under fikonträdet. The English edition of the book is planned for October 2020 at Istros Books publishing house.

Drago Jančar: Kao i ljubav

The Serbian edition of And Love itself (In ljubezen tudi) by Drago Jančar was published by Arhipelag publishing house in Belgrade under the title Kao i ljubav. The book was translated by Ana Ristović.

Dino Bauk: Kraj. Ponovo

the Serbian translation of the novel Konec. Znova was made by Dragana Bojanić Tijardović and published by Rende Beograd publishing house. On this occasion the author visited Belgrade and presented the translation in a conversation with Muharem Bazdulj on 11 December.

Jana Bauer: Ding dong priče

A children’s book by Jana Bauer Ding Dong Stories (Ding dong zgodbe) was published in Croatian edition by Ibis grafika under the title Ding Dong priče. The book was translated by Krešimir Krnic.

Evald Flisar: Besede nad oblaki

Ibis grafika from Croatia published also a novel by Evald Flisar, translated by Krešimir Krnic and is planning to publish Poglej skozi okno (Look through the Window), another novel by Evald Flisar, and Tu blizu živi deklica (A Girl that Lives Nearby), a children's book by Ida Mlakar Črnič (text) and Peter Škerl (illustrations) in the future.

Extra

Tomaž Lavrič, a Slovenian comic book author has been nominated for the Prix du patrimoine of the Festival international de la bande desinée in French Angoulême for his cult book about punk in the 80’s Slovenia Alerte rouge, translated by Zdenka Štimac and published by Editions çà et là. The jury nominates outstanding classic comic books from around the world, which have been published in French for the first time or republished in the last year.

Slovenian Section of IBBY is the sponsor of International Children’s Book Day 2020, which is a special honour. The Slovenian Section of IBBY had previously been the international sponsor of ICBD in 1997, when artists Matjaž Schmidt and Boris A. Novak designed the poster Childhood Is Poetry of Life. Poetry Is Childhood of the World. For International Children’s Book Day 2020, Peter Svetina wrote Hunger for Words, while Damijan Stepančič illustrated the poster and, together with Melita Rak, designed the message to the children in the form of a cube. More on this topic here.

Enjoy the film!

We believe this measure represents an important support to the Slovenian publishing industry, which needs not only cultural and political but also economic measures, if we wish to preserve diversity, quality and availability of books in Slovenian language.

The goal of ESM is to increase the creation, availability and promotion of inclusive books for children and young adults in the EU and by doing so engage a broader and more divers reading audience. The project aims to nurture the cultural sensitivity of all young European citizens, while also handing book professionals (e.g. publishers, librarians …) the tools and strategies needed to become more inclusive. ESM wants to stimulate the creative potential of talents who are traditionally left out of scope through a talent development programme.

The project will officially begin with the conference Every Story Matters and a partners' meeting of the organizations in Lisbon on November 18-19 2019. Various lecturers will present the practices of challenging stereotypes in the society and present their own specific projects.

We invite everyone interested to apply:

https://www.everystorymatters.eu/event-details/opening-conference?fbclid=IwAR38-OHqsloX6tv5LoqV0rMbBAgvoiKocm0Van837K-sWq4owOQafx19gzA

In the scope of the project the Slovenian Book Agency will organize an international book-pitch/B2B event at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in 2020. An invitation to interested publishers will follow soon.

Contact: katja.stergar@jakrs.si or nika.kovac@jakrs.si

Veronika Simoniti (1967) began her career as an author of children’s books, first publishing her work on Radio Slovenia. Her first story collection, Zasukane Štorije (Twisted Stories) received Slovenia’s Best First Book of the Year award in 2005. In 2011 she published her second collection, Hudičev jezik (The Devil’s Tongue) and in 2014, her first novel, Kameno seme (The Stone Seed) which was shortlisted for the Kresnik Prize 2015 for the best Slovenian novel of the year. This year Cankarjeva založba published her second novel Ivana pred morjem (Ivana before the sea) and the critics love it.

In the novel the narrator returns from Paris, where she has created a home for herself, to the Primorje region in Slovenia in order to clear the apartment that belonged to her late mother for a serious buyer, and in a heap of yellowed photographs she finds a picture of her grandmother, holding her five-year-old mother’s hand, whilst her other hand lies on her pregnant belly. The year it was taken, 1943, was one of troubling events and rapid change. What happened to the unborn child? Through a number of parallel stories taking place at different times and generations of one family, Veronika Simoniti’s novel presents the reader with the collective past and individual fates. A beautiful novel about unpleasant times and things.

You can read a review from the web edition of the Slovenian national television here.

The novel is 173 pages long and an English sample translation is available.

For more info, please contact Mrs. Senja Požar, senior rights manager at Mladinska knjiga and Cankarjeva založba publishing houses: senja.pozar@mkz.si.

We’re happy to announce three new translations into English language: Dušan Šarotar’s Billards at the Hotel Dobray (translated by Rawley Grau) and Dino Bauk’s The End. And Again. (translated by Timothy Pogačar) were published recently by Istros Books. Both authors presented their books in London and Oxford in late October. A selection of Esad Babačić’s poetry was published by Dalkey Archive Press under the title Every Child is Beautiful When Born (translated by Andrej Pleterski).

By the end of the year a reprint of Boštjans Flug will be published by Suhrkamp – a cult book by Florjan Lipuš, the first Slovenian author (member of Slovenian minority in Austria) to receive the Grand Austrian State Prize (2018). The book will be updated with an afterword by Peter Handke.

A Dutch translation of Drago Jančar’s And Love itself has just been published by Querido publishing house under the title En ook de Liefde (translated by Roel Schuyt). The author talked about the book at an event in Passa Porta in Brussels in late October. A Bulgarian edition of the book was published as well: translated by Tomova Ganchev and published by Matkom.

A French translation of the Red Allert under the title Alerte Rouge by Tomaž Lavrič, a cult comic book about Ljubljana’s punk rock youth alternative scene of the eighties has just been published in French by Editions çà et là. It was translated by Zdenka Štimac.

Three new Spanish translations of Slovenian poetry were just published by Casa de Poesia: Casa by Kaja Teržan (translated by Marjeta Drobnič and Martín Delta), Obsesión by Brane Mozetič (translated by Marjeta Drobnič, Pablo Fajdiga and Santiago Martín) and Contribución a la teoría del Desarrollo by Tone Škerjanec (translated by Barbara Pregelj and Francisco Tomsich).

The Harvest of Chronos by Mojca Kumerdej has been published in Croatian translation by Fraktura. The book was translated by Anita Peti-Stantić. A Polish translation of Yugoslavia, my Fatherland by Goran Vojnović was published by Sedno publishing house under the title Moja Jugosławia, translated by Joanna Pomorska. A Ukranian translation of Aleš Šteger’s Absolution was published by Old Lion publishing house. The book was translated by Mariana Klymets and Nataliya Khoroz.

A German edition of a silent book by Marta Bartolj Where are you? Has just been published by the swiss Baeschlin Verlag. The book was listed in the White Ravens Catalogue 2019. We are also expecting a German edition of a classic Slovenian children’s book in the next days – the Sleeper Keeper Kitty by Ela Peroci, illustrated by Ančka Gošnik Godec. The Pantoffelmieze will be published by Leiv – Leipziger Kinderbuchverlag, 2019.

There will be an exhibition by the Slovenian illustrator Jure Engelsberger at W3 Gallery in London from 13 to 18 November. Engelsberger will exhibit illustrations from the book Prvotnost by Feri Lainšček.

Literaturhaus.net network from the German-speaking area unites 14 literary houses from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Their meeting in Ljubljana is the first one outside these countries and they invited partners from Norway, Bulgaria and the UK, as well as Slovenia, to join and discuss new presentation possibilities of literary events. The Traduki meeting will take place in Ljubljana for the second time in the past ten years since both, the Traduki network and the Slovenian Book Agency, have been established. 40 members from both groups will meet, new plans will be made – should be exciting!

Members of Traduki, a European network for literature and books (which celebrates 10 years in 2019, just like the Slovenian Book Agency), involves founding members from Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Switzerland. The network, which implements a translation support program for an exchange between member countries, will have its regular semi-annual meeting in Ljubljana, where the members will be considering translation proposals from their latest call for proposals and the future cooperation of the network members.

Every year at the Leipzig Book Fair Traduki also organizes common program with authors from all member countries. However, there will be an important novelty in 2020: a common fair stand presentation in terms of space and visual elements. This will ensure additional visibility and more financially favorable fair presentation for member countries.

Literaturhaus.net network from the German-speaking area unites 14 literary houses from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Their meeting in Ljubljana is the first one outside these countries and they would like to use this opportunity to learn about current Slovenian literary scene, our innovative literary event forms, literary venues in Ljubljana, Slovenian literary producers and their way of promoting literature in public space. A rich, two-day program will consist of the professional part at Vodnikova Homestead (Ljubljana's literary house and the seat of Ljubljana – Unesco City of Literature team) and sight-seeings and meetings in the city centre. German guests will be accompanied by representatives of similar institutions from Oslo, London and Sofia.

Full list of atendees:

Florian Höllerer, LCB

Tomas Friedmann, Literaturhaus Salzburg

Claudia Dathe, Universität Tübingen/Projektkoordination

Christine Wagner, LCB

Aurélie Maurin, Übersetzerfonds

Yana Genova, Next Page, Sofia

Tone Lunde, Litteraturhuset Oslo

Roma Backhouse, Free Word Centre, London

Pascal Seil, Centre national de littérature, Luxemburg

Roman Banzer, Literaturhaus Liechtenstein

Hansjörg Quaderer, Literaturhaus Liechtenstein

Gesa Schneider, Literaturhaus Zürich

Anja Johannsen, Literarisches Zentrum Göttingen

Ursula Steffens, Netzwerk der Literaturhäuser/Projektkoordination

Carolin Löher, Literaturhaus Hamburg

The two meetings are organized simultaneously on purpose – in order for the attendees to meet, exchange ideas and experiences as well as plan future cooperation.

This November, Modern Gallery in Ljubljana, the Goethe Institute and the Slovenian Book Agency are organizing a symposium “Art and Its Institutions in the Fight against Populism”; it will be attended by museum directors, curators and other agents in the field of modern and contemporary art from all over the world. The Slovenian Book Agency initiated an idea for international symposium as one of its activities in the frame of preparations for the Slovenia-Guest of Honour role at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022. The event will thus be co-moderated by Holger Volland, vice-president of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Read more about the program and the full list of attendees here.

Full list of events:

Monday, 4 November

19:00 Hauptbücherei am Gürtel / Veranstaltungssaal

Exhibition Opening: Slovenian Illustration

An Opening and a Concert with Anja Štefan, Boštjan Gombač, Blaž Ceralc, Andraž Mazi, Severa Gjurin, Jošt Drašler and Metod Banko.

Exhibition duration: 4-30 November 2019

Tuesday, 5 November

16:30-18:00, Korotan, Albertgasse 48, 08. Josefstadt

A Book's Journey - from the Author to the Reader

A Children's Workshop with David Kranjčan and Žiga X Gombač (for children 6-12, in Slovenian language)

Wednesday, 6 November

17:00-18:30, Korotan, Albertgasse 48, 08. Josefstadt

A Book's Journey - from the Author to the Reader

A Children's Workshop with David Kranjčan and Žiga X Gombač (for children 6-12, in Slovenian language)

Thursday, 7 November

14:30-15:00, Donaulounge stage, Buch Wien

Drago Jančar: And Love itself (Wenn die Liebe ruht)

A Reading and a Talk with Drago Jančar, moderated by Cornelius Hell. German Reader: Claudia Carus.

15:30-16:00, Der Standard stage, Buch Wien

Drago Jančar: And Love itself (Wenn die Liebe ruht)

A Reading and a Talk with Drag Jančar, moderated by Wolfgang Popp (Ö1).

16:00-16:30, Der Standard stage, Buch Wien

Aleš Šteger: Written on Site (Logbuch der Gegenwart – Aufbrechen)

A Book Presentation and a Talk with Aleš Šteger, moderated my Cornelius Hell.

16:30-17:00, Der Standard stage, Buch Wien

Mojca Kumerdej: The Harvest of Chronos (Chronos erntet)

A Book Presentation and a Talk with Mojco Kumerdej and the translator of the book Erwin Köstler, moderated by Cornelius Hell.

19:00, Alte Schmiede, Schönlaterngasse 9

Drago Jančar: And Love itself (Wenn die Liebe ruht)

A Reading and a Talk with Drago Jančar, moderated by Johanna Öttl. German Reader: Johannes Tröndle.

19:00, Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur, Herrengasse 5

Aleš Šteger: Written on Site (Logbuch der Gegenwart – Aufbrechen)

A Book Presentation and a Talk with Aleš Šteger, moderated by Ronald Pohl (Der Standard). German Reader: Aimie Rehburg.

Friday, 8 November

12:00-12:45, Donaulounge, Buch Wien

Mirt Komel: The Pianist's Touch (Goldman oder Der Klang der Welt)

A Reading and a Talk with Mirt Komel, moderated by Sebastian Walcher, German Reader: Claudia Carus.

The Slovenian Literary Week at Buch Wien is organized by the Slovenian Book Agency (www.jakrs.si) and Skica – Slovenian Cultural Center in Vienna (www.skica.at). This year it is a part of the Year of the Neighborly Dialogue Slovenia – Austria 2019-2020. The program is also supported by the Slovenian Tourist Board in Vienna.

Many thanks to all our program partners, organisations and individuals who met us at the fair and of course to the wonderful Frankfurt Book Fair team. This year was our last year in hall 5.0 – next year you can find the Slovene National Stand in hall 4.0!

Check out some photo impressions in the photo gallery.
 

Wednesday, October 16

13:00 Slovenian National Stand / Hall 5.0., C103: Slovenian Book Agency Reception

In cooperation with the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Sourdoughmania.

15:30-16:00 Lesezelt / Agora: Logbuch der Gegenwart with Aleš Šteger

In cooperation with Haymon Verlag.

Thursday, October 17

10:00-11:00 Gourmet Gallery Show Kitchen / Hall 3.1 L99: Sourdoughmania presentation with Anita Šumer

Organised by Soudoughmania.

Evening in the city:

19:00 Kunstverein Familie Montez / Honsellbrücke am Hafenpark, Honsellstraße 7: Jurij Hudolin will be reading from his novel Der Stiefsohn on the occasion of the 10. anniversary of Septime Verlag

In cooperation with Septime Verlag.

20:00 Romanfabrik / Hanauer Landstraße 186: a poetry reading of the Versopolis Platform

Organised by Versopolis.

Friday, October 18

10:30 Das Blaue Sofa: a talk with Drago Jančar about his novel Wenn die Liebe ruht

13:00-14:00 Weltempfang Salon / Hall 4.1 B81: Literary Translation: profession, art, labour of love?

An event with Bel Olid, author and translator into Catalan, ex CEATL Board, Barcelona, Tanja Petrič, translator into Slovenian, Ljubljana, Holger Fock, translator into German, ex CEATL president, Epfenbach and  Tiziano Perez, Dutch Literature Foundation, Amsterdam.

In cooperation with ENLIT (European Network for Literary Translation).

Saturday, October 19

18:30 Open Books / Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt, Römerberg 9: a talk with Drago Jančar about his novel Wenn die Liebe ruht

Moderator: Katja Gasser (ORF)

In cooperation with Zsolnay Verlag.

Sunday, October 20

13:00-14:00 Gourmet Gallery Gourmet & Travel Salon / Hall 3.1 L135: sourdough-tasting with Anita Šumer

Organised by Soudoughmania.  Follow them on Instagram.

We would especially like to invite you to join the Slovenian Book Agency Reception for International Partners at the Slovenian National Stand on Wednesday, October 16, at 1 p.m. On offer: Slovenian sparkling wine and traditional sourdough bread with salt.

See you in Frankfurt!

The second part of Logbuch der Gegenwart: Aufbrechenby Aleš Šteger was recently published by Haymon Verlag (translated into German by Matthias Göritz). Besides Frankfurt book fair the author will have a readings also in Düsseldorf (7. 9.), Graz (10. 9.), Salzburg (19. 9.), Bremen (21. 10.) and in Berlin (25. 10.). His poetry collection Über dem Himmel unter der Erde translated by Matthias Göritz was published by Hanser this spring. A poem from the collection was filmed in a short film titled Smile of our Poets, filmed in collaboration with the Slovenian accordionist Jure Tori.

A German translation of Mirt Komel's Goldman oder Der Klang der Welt is coming up this autumn. The author will be presenting the book on 8 November at 12:00 at Buch Wien, on 22 November in Lettretage in Berlin and later in December at Buchquartier in Vienna.

Der Stiefsohn by Jurij Hudolin, his latest novel translated into German by Daniela Kocmut and published by Septime Verlag, will be out in October, just in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair.

We also welcomed an original German book about architecture in Slovenia, Architekturführer: Slowenien by DOM publishers. A comprehensive edition with photos is a must-read for all architecture lovers.

Two eagerly awaited Italian translations of Slovenian authors came out this August: a masterpiece by a 20. century Slovenian classic Vitomil Zupan Minuetto per chittara (a venticinque colpi) translated by Patrizia Raveggi (Voland) and a current Slovenian bestseller Il bianco si lava a novanta by Bronja Žakelj, which won the novel of the year 2018 award (translated by Michele Obit, published by Bottega Errante Editioni). The author will have several readings in Italy this autumn: at the Pordenonelegge: festival in Pordenone on September 22, at the Barcolana regatta festival on October 4 in Trieste and at Il libro delle 18.03 on October 31 in Gorizia.

Drago Jančar also has a new Spanish translation: Aquella Noche la vi was translated by Florencia Ferre and published by Bärenhaus in Buenos Aires. Another Spanish translation by Florencia Ferre is also El billar en el hotel Dobray by Dušan Šarotar, published by Villa Maria in Argentina.

Mojca Kumerdej’s novel The Harvest of Chronos, which was published in German earlier this year, has now been published in Croatian as well by Fraktura publishing house under the title Kronosova žetva(translated by Anita Peti Stantić).

Jana Bauer continues to impress young readers around the world with her scary fairy: this time the first book in the series was translated into Serbian and Macedonian by Jelena Budimirović and Lidija Dimkovska respectively. The books were published by Laguna Belgrade and Artkonekt Skopje.

September will be an exciting month for comic book lovers: Slovenian publisher Stripburger will be having a comprehensive exhibition of Slovenian comics in neurotitan gallery:

Stripburger in Print: since 1992 / exhibition
Slovenian Comics Delicacies with a Distinctive International Flavour 

neurotitan gallery
(Rosenthaler Straße 39, Berlin)
6th September – 28th September 2019

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
David Krančan, Andrej Štular, Gašper Rus, Kaja Avberšek, Marko Kociper, Martin Ramoveš, Matej Stupica, Ciril Horjak, Matej Lavrenčič, Matej de Cecco, Saša Kerkoš, Boris Dolenc, Nez Pez, Leon Zuodar, Mina Fina, Zoran Pungerčar (SI), Marcel Ruijters (NL), Max Andersson, Lars Sjunnesson (SE), Atak, Till Lukat, Arkadi (DE), Danijel Žeželj, Igor Hofbauer, Dunja Janković (HR), Lars Fiske, Bendik Kaltenborn (NO), Matti Hagelberg, Jyrki Heikkinen (FI), Javier Triviño Murillo (ES), Stephane Blanquet, Pakito Bolino (FR), Filipe Abranches, Oficina Arara (PT), Matei Branea (RO), Andrea Bruno (IT) and some more! 
 

ADDITIONAL PROGRAM: 
 

Friday, 13^th September 2019, at 7pm / neurotitan gallery

Film evening with Max Andersson: TITO ON ICE & FLAT DOG TOWN

The screening will be followed by Q&A with directors Max Andersson and Helena Ahonen.

Thursday, 12^th September, 7pm/ Museum Europäischer Kulturen (Arnimallee 25, Berlin)

Opening of comiXconnection exhibition: presenting independent comics from Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Hungary and Romania (until 29 March 2020), organised by The Museum of European Cultures.  
 

Sunday, 15^th September, 12am–10pm/ Collegium Hungaricum Berlin (Dorotheenstraße 12, Berlin)

Graphic Novel Day: the all-day event organised by the internationales literaturfestival berlin (lib) will feature manifold artist talks and presentations by several acclaimed and emerging international comics artists, among others, conversation with David Krančan (Slovenian comics artist and Stripburger editor) and Helena Janečić (Croatian comics artist) moderated by Tagesspiegel editor and comics specialist Lars von Törne.

The first step has already been done: the leading partner in the project, Flemish Literature Fund, developed a charter that presents effective and endurable ways to reach writers and illustrators as well as readers from minority groups. The English translation of the charter and the project itself will be presented for the first time at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2020 at a B2B meeting of children’s books publishers, organised by the Slovenian Book Agency. In three years a series of different activities all around Europe will take place with the results being presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022, in Slovenia’s guest of honour year.

First part of the fellowship overlapped with the visit of the director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Jürgen Boos, in Slovenia, and the Head of the Guest of Honour programme, Simone Bühler, so the fellows got the opportunity to share a lunch with them.

The last day was dedicated to Eastern Slovenia, where fellows visited the atelier of a renown Slovenian photographer Stojan Kerbler at Ptujska gora, a traditional homestead in Haloze hills and, last but not least, the Days of Poetry and Wine festival in Ptuj.

Although the amount of new information must have been overwhelming (most fellows never visited Slovenia before), the fellows left with the best impressions and plans for future cooperation with Slovenian publishers and with the Book Agency during 2022.

Full list of fellows:

The seminar, which was organised by the Slovenian Book Agency and the Slovenian Association of Literary Translators, is a valuable opportunity for translators to learn about contemporary Slovenian literature and translation practices, but also to get to know Slovenia and thus better understand the cultural background of translated works. In nine years since the first seminar more than 100 translators took part and a vast majority of them are now expert translators into most world languages.

Full list of 2019 participants:

Jie Bao (China), Paula Braga Šimenc (Rumania), Jelena Budimirović (Serbia), Martina Clerici (Italy), Boštjan Dvořák (Germany), María Florencia Ferre (Argentina), Darko Ilin (Serbia), Liza Japelj Carone (France), Žana Perkovska (Russia), Timothy Pogačar (USA), Patrizia Raveggi (Italy), Lucia Gaja Scuteri (Italy) and Evgenija Shatko (Russia).

More photo impressions here.

19 April 2019 at 19.30 (EDT), Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto Canada: two international superstars, Dr. Slavoj Žižek (Slovenia) and Dr. Jordan Peterson (Canada), will be having a debate titled Happiness: Capitalism vs. Marxism. The tickets are sold out, but there will be live-streaming (not free of charge) available here.

25 April 2019 at 20.00 in Bozar, Brussels: Novelist and short story writer Suzana Tratnik will be one of the guests of an event titled My Youth Yugoslavia, organized on the eve of the Balkan Trafik Festival (24-28 April).

25-28 April 2019, Millenáris, Budapest, Hungary: Anja Mugerli will be a guest of the European First Novel Festival with her novel Spovin (Wine-Memory game, Litera, 2017), which was nominated for Best Novel of the Year Award in Slovenia in 2018.

27 April 2019 at 18.00 at Microfestival, Prague, Czech Republic: Slovenian poet Tibor Hrs Pandur will be one of the guests of Czech literary festival Prague Microfestival and will read his poems in Slovenian and Czech translation from his latest poetry collection Notranje zadeve (Internal affairs). More at: http://www.praguemicrofestival.com/

2-5 Mai 2019, Literaturhaus Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany: Anja Mugerli (author) and Orlando Uršič (publisher) will be guests of the European Festival of the First Novel. The festivalsk in Kiel and Budapest are not connected.

8-14 of May 2019, Skopje Book Fair, North Macedonia: Vinko Moderndorfer will be a guest of the literary event which gathers the biggest domestic and regional publishers in one place.  He will be presenting his novel Kot v filmu (Like in a Movie), just published in Macedonian language by TRI Publishing centre.

9 to 12 May 2019, Thessaloniki International Book Fair, Thessaloniki, Greece: Slovenian poet Aljaž Koprivnikar will be one of the guests of Thessaloniki International Book Fair, where he will present Anthology of young Slovenian poets, his poetry debut Anatomy (publishing house Vakxikon.gr) and have several readings. More at: http://thessalonikibookfair.gr/

10-18 May, Shanghai, Beijing, China: Aleš Šteger will be presenting the Chinese translation of his essay collection Berlin, translated by Lizhen Liang and published by East China Normal University Press.

24-28 May 2019, Beijing, China: Peter Svetina, a children's books author and the Slovenian nominee fort he Andersen Award will be a guest of the 4th EU-China International Literary Festival. His book How Mr Felix entered a bicycle race  was published by Oriental Babies & Kids Ltd. in 2018.

27 Mai – 1 June, Festival VAPoesia, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Brane Mozetič will participate as one of 20 guests of the festival (10 foreign, 10 local), all socially engaged authors, who will take part in events at schools, kindergartens, local communities, etc.

3 June, NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, New York, US: Brane Mozetič will take part in the 31st Annual Lambda Literary Awards for LGBT books as one of the nominees for his book Unfinished Sketches of a Revolution (Talisman House, 2018, translated by Barbara Jurša).

4 June 2019, Landesbibliothek, Graz, Austria: Mojca Kumerdej presents her German translation of The Harvest of Chronos – the novel which has been nominated for Best Novel of the Year Award in Slovenia in 2017.

9-18 June, Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Cordoba, Argentina: Drago Jančar will be on tour in Argentina.

15-20 July, LCB, Berlin, Germany: Jana Putrle Srdić, Vesna Liponik and Uroš Prah will take part in the second German and Slovenian potery translation workshop, organised by Center for Slovenian Literature (CSK) and LCB. German participants will be Rike Scheffler, Hendrik Jackson and Sonja vom Brocke. A public reading of the participating poets will be on 17 July. CSK will also organise another German-Slovenian workshop in Dane, Slovenia, 2-8 June with Carlo Spiller, Venus Ryter, Ralph Tharayil, Nataša Velikona, Muanis Sinanović and Nina Dragičević. The results will be presented at readings on 5 June (Sežana) and 7 June (Living Literature Festival, Ljubljana)

18-21 July, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Suzana Tratnik, Vesna Lemaić, Milan Šelj and Brane Mozetič will present the Slovenian LGBT literature at a round table and a reading organised by ŠKUC society.

Photo: Slavoj Žižek (personal archive), Mojca Kumerdej (© Jože Suhadolnik) and Aleš Šteger (© Matej Pušnik)

Public call for translations into foreign languages

Call for Proposals for the translation and publication of books by Slovenian authors in the German language for the year 2019

Slovenian and German-speaking publishers’ afternoon on 23 May in Literaturhaus München

Open applications for this year’s fellowship in Slovenia - foreign publishers, editors, journalists invited for a late-August get together

We are looking forward to your applications.

More info at anja.kovac(at)jakrs.si or +386 1 230 05 75.

Photos:

1 Storyteller Špela Frlic, illustrator Ana Zavadlav and the director of the Slovenian Book Agency Renata Zamida at the masterclass in the Illustrators Survival Corner.

2-4 Slovenian stand in hall 29

5 Postcard by Andreja Peklar

6 Postcard by Hana Stupica

7 Postcard by Maja Lubi

8 Postcard by Manica K. Musil

9 Postcard by Marija Prelog

10 Postcard by Polona Kosec

11 The Slovenian Book Agency Team

12 Illustrations by Ana Zavadlav at the Illustrators’ Exhibition

13 The cricket by Ana Zavadlav (from the book by Toon Tellegen The Healing of Cricket, translated into Slovenian by Staša Pavlović)

On the photos:

1 Authors Lila Prap and Anja Štefan with their bestselling titles Dragons (Prap) and Crumbs from the Mice Valley (Štefan) both published by Mladinska knjiga publishing house

2-3 Lila Prap at the Children's Corner

4-5 Anja Štefan at the Children's Corner

6 Mojca Kumerdej reading from her German translation of The Harvest of Chronos (Wallstein Verlag 2018, translated by Erwin Köstler)

7 Leipzig Book Fair

8-10 Ethnologist, Dr. Janez Bogataj talking about his book Slovenia – the Cultural Heritage (Hart Publishing house 2019, German translation by Alexandra Zaleznik)

11 Tanja Skale from Forum Ljubljana, a publishing house specialized for comic books, participating at a Traduki event about comic books from ex-Yugoslavia

12 A fairytale hour with Jana Bauer and her scary fairy

13 A talk titled »When Children's Books Travel« organized by the Slovenian Book Agency and Pro Helvetia from Switzerland

14-15 Mojca Kumerdej participating in a talk organized by Traduki

16-18 The Slovenian stand

19 A talk with Tadej Golob, the author of a YA novel The Golden Tooth (German translation by Ann Catrin Bolton published by Schruf & Stipetic 2018), and Jana Bauer, the author of The Scary Fairy (German translation by Ann Catrin Bolton published by S. Fischer Verlag 2019)

20-21 The Slovenian stand

22 A talk about the world traveler Alma M. Karlin and the new German edition of her travelogue from 1930s The Lonely Journey around the World (Einsame Weltreise, AvivA Verlag 2019)

23 Traduki’s Balkannacht with Ana Schnabl

24 Zoran Smiljanić and Marijan Pušavec presenting the German translation of the comic book The Mexicans, Band II, translated by Erwin Köstler and published by Bahoe Books

25 Zoran Smiljanić drawing for his fans

Interested publishers are kindly invited to participate. RSVP to Katrin Lange, klange(at)literaturhaus-muenchen.de by 15 May.

If you would like to join, please read the attached details and send us the filled-in application form by May 15^th to anja.kovac(at)jakrs.si.

More about the fellowship.

Next opportunity for strengthening the newly-formed connections will be Bologna Children’s Book Fair (1-4 April), where you can meet Miš publishing house and several other Slovenian publishers at the Slovenian national stand (hall 29, C34-D33).

The first one to mention is a German translation of the poetry collection by Aleš Šteger Über dem Himmel, unter der Erde (translated by Matthias Göritz, published by Hanser).

Followed by Andrej Blatnik’s Serbian translation of the novel Promeni me (translated by Ana Ristović, published by Geopoetika).

Manica K. Musil’s children’s books Stan the Elephant and Robbie the Lion were published in Russian by A walk through history publishing house together in one book.

German translation of Matej Fišer’s Prekmurjer Kochbuch. Von Schürze bis Schlips (translated by Lea Burjan, published by Tandem Mktg) is more of an art piece than a cookbook.

There are some new titles coming up this spring, so stay tuned!

On this occasion an English translation of Cankar’s Images from Dreams translated by Erica Johnson Debeljak and Jasmin B. Frelih was published in the book series Litteræ Slovenicæ by the Slovene Writers’ Association. The book, which comes in a beautiful gift-edition, also contains paintings by Mitja Ficko.

There are two books in English language coming up in early 2019: a new book by Boštjan Videmšek, a long-time war reporter for Slovenia’s leading daily newspaper Delo, Dispatches from the frontlines of humanity: A book of reportage (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019) - the book is not a translation, it has originally been written in English - and Fragma, a short story collection by Mojca Kumerdej (Dalkey Archive Press 2019). Kumerdej’s previous book, her epic novel The Harvest of Chronos (Istros books, 2017) has just been longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2019. Both her books were translated by Rawley Grau. Her novel will also be launched in Germany by Wallstein Verlag (Chronos erntet, translated by Erwin Köstler) in early spring.

Feri Lainšček's novel about four generations of a Roma family The Untachable: A Gipsy Myth was published in Polish and Spanish. Jasmin B. Frelih, the EU Literary Prize winner, got an English translation of his novel In/Half.

We have two new Croatian translations: No Matter How – Kako god by Polona Glavan was translated by Jagna Pogačnik and published by Hena publishing house, Dry Season – Sušno doba by Gabriela Babnik was translated by Anita Peti-Stantić and published by Sandorf.

A Lithuanian translation of Goran Vojnović’s Yugoslavia, my Country – Jugoslavija, mano tėvynė was published by Kitos Knygos in Laima Masytė's translation. The Italian translation of the same novel (Yugoslavia, terra mia, Forum Editrice, translated by Patrizia Raveggi) received the “Latisana per il Nord-Est” award.

An Italian translation of A song for Lira – Canto per una lira, a poetry collection by Bina Štampe Žmavc was published by Bibliotheka Edizioni. The collection was translated by Michele Obit, the same as Miha Mazzini’s book The Erased – I cancellati, which was published by Bottega Errante Editioni earlier this year. There is also a movie filmed after the book: Erased.

We are expecting some children’s books in early 2019 too: a German translation of Jana Bauer’s Scary Fairy – Die kleine Gruselfee (S. Fischer Verlag, 2019) and Manica K. Musil’s Stan the Elephant published in Hindi by Jugnoo Prakashan and in Russian by A walk through history publishing house, which will also publish her book Robbie the Lion.

The internationally acclaimed illustrator Maja Kastelic got some new translations of her beautiful silent book The Boy and the House - in Canada and Russia. The same goes for Lila Prap and her distinguished picture books - translations of new titles are now available in Canada (Firefly) and China (Guangxy University Press, Beijing Science and Technology Publishing).

The seminar is a source of high-quality translations and provides valuable information for translators from the Slovene into German language, who will be quite sought-after in the next few years as our Guest of Honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022 project approaches. It is an addition to the yearly translation seminar for translators from Slovene into foreign languages, which takes place every summer since already 8 years. A valuable list of quality translators is available to foreign publishers as a result of the translation seminars.

Two days were dedicated to trips outside Ljubljana – to the town of Celje and its Children’s Museum, as well as to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle, where participants met the author and street theatre performer Andrej Rozman – Roza, visited the atelier of Lila Prap and listened to the much-awarded author, narrator and collector of folk tales, Anja Štefan. Back in Ljubljana they also met the author of books for children with different disabilities, Aksinja Kermauner, and an author and translator Barbara Simoniti.

In the perspective of our Guest of Honour appearances at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in 2021 and at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022, our Book Agency organises yearly study visits for foreign publishers since 2015 in order to enhance the translational potential of Slovenian literature. The next study trip will be aimed at publishers of fiction and humanities again and will take place in August 2019. Interested already? Let us know – anja.kovac@jakrs.si

Participants’ impressions:

“I got the best impression from both your authors/illustrators/people involved in culture, and from your country. I look forward to establishing interesting contacts with the Slovenian publishers that I either met or had the opportunity to discover on my own and to continuing being in contact with you.”

• Lucia Borrero, Ravensburger Buchverlag

“Slovenia is beautiful country with an incredibly exciting and inspirational children’s book market, and I do hope that there will be possibilities for collaborations in the future. I’ve come back with some great memories and acquaintances, and I really appreciate you making that possible.”

• Tanya Rosie, Walker Books

“I really enjoyed the storytelling at the Vodnik Homestead. No acting, no puppets, just the story, music, illustrations and the storyteller. This type of performance was new for me and I liked it very much.”

• Romana Bartáková, Albatros Media, Czech Republic

“I didn’t expect such a rich variety of authors and illustrators. I’m also very much impressed by the work done at Vodnikova Domacija. It was so nice that you arranged the storytelling performance for us. Great as well that we went to visit the studio of Lila Prap.”

• Markus Weber, Moritz Verlag

Slovenian works presented by the Slovenian Book Agency will be:

Gašper Kralj: Rok trajanja( Expiration Date, *cf. Publishing house, 2017)

Miha Mazzini: Zemljevidi tujih življenj(Maps of Foreign Lives, Goga publishing house, 2016)

Anja Mugerli: Spovin (Wine-Memory Game, Litera publishing house, 2017)

Mojca Širok: Pogodba (The Contract, Mladinska knjiga publishing house, 2018)

Brane Mozetič: Prva ljubezen (First Love, Škuc publishing house, 2014)

Nika Matanović: Razred (School Class, Pivec publishing house, 2018)

Matching Stories and Film follows the concept of Books at Berlinale, established in 2006, which was the first rights market at an A-Film Festival.

At the stand, there will be several Slovenian publishers present with their individual meeting tables. These are:

Miš Publishing House, with a distinguished programme of quality children's and YA titles (Mr. Anže Miš: anze.mis@miszalozba.com) Goga Publishing House with its in-house literary agency, representing various literary fiction and non-fiction authors (Ms. Katja Urbanija: rights@goga.si) Pivec publishing house, a general publisher with a long backlist and a focus on children’s books (Ms. Zala Stanonik: zala@zalozba-pivec.com) Sodobnost International Publishing House, a general publisher with an emphasis on children’s books (Ms. Jana Bauer: jana.bauer@guest.arnes.si)

In addition, two publishing houses have traditionally their individual stands. Beletrina, with its eminent literary imprint awaits you in Hall 5.0., A 22, and Mladinska knjiga, Slovenian biggest publisher with various imprints in Hall 6.1, D36.

We also cordially invite you to join the Slovenian Book Agency Reception for International Partners at the Slovenian National on Wednesday, October 10, at 1 p.m. Save the date. On offer: Slovenian sparkling wine and potica (traditional Slovenian pastry).

Jančar lit the traditional Midsummer bonfire in a culmination of the ceremony. The novel is already being translated into several languages, the German and English editions are planned to be published in 2019.

In addition to the winner, four novels were shortlisted for the prize: Vlado Žabot's Sveti Boj (Holy Fight), Vse Moje Amerike (All My Americas) by Štefan Kardoš, Gramoz(Gravel) by Florjan Lipuš and Starec in Jaz (The Old Man and I) by Sarival Sosič.

The prize was introduced in 1991. Its name comes from a Slavic god associated with the summer solstice.

Read and interview with Drago Jančar about the winning novel

»We are very much looking forward to Slovenia's appearance at the fair with the country being famous for its high-quality tradition of illustration. I know a couple of excellent Slovenian illustrators – this year Andreja Peklar was present at our curated exhibition, there is also the wonderful Alenka Sottler and I'm looking forward to meeting many more«, said Elena Pasoli at the signature of the contract.

This year like every year Slovenia was present with a national stand but also in the frame of some international events and exhibitions. To name just one: Slovenian illustrator Andreja Peklar was selected by a jury as one of 80 illustrators from 25 countries to be exhibited at the great Illustrators Exhibition, a showcase for the latest trends in illustration and talent spotting new artists, which is one of the most prestigious selections of its kind in the world since its beginning in 1967.

Moreover, a book by Peter Svetina Ropotarna, illustrated by Damijan Stepančič (Miš publishing house, 2012) made it to the list of the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury, a list of outstanding works that merit translation everywhere, so that children around the world can read them.

Read here an article in English where Peter Svetina and his work is presented in detail: Outside any mould

Among the presented authors with recent book arrivals are Sebastijan Pregelj, Andrej Skubic, Alma M. Karlin’s (1889-1950) biography, Cvetka Lipuš, Anja Golob, Slavoj Žižek, Aleš Šteger and more.

One of the highlights will be the bestowal of the Fabjan Hafner Translation Award for the best translation from Slovenian into German, on Friday at 3 p.m. on the stage of the International Forum (Hall 4, C505). The award winner for 2018 is Johann Strutz for the translation of the novel by Florjan Lipuš, entitled Mirne duše (Seelenruhig, Jung&Jung Verlag, 2017).

****
An exciting title finally published – The autobiography of Alma M. Karlin, one of the most known female world travellers of her time, published by Aviva Verlag in Berlin under the title Ein Mensch wird. Auf dem Weg zur Weltreisenden.
You can also visit the virtual museum: Alma M. Karlin Virtual Home

The Frankfurter Buchmesse 2022 Guest of Honour has been chosen: Today, 20 February 2018, Slovenia’s appearance as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse (19-23 October 2022) was formally sealed by the Director of the Slovenian Book Agency, Renata Zamida, and Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, in the presence of the Slovenian Minister of Culture, Anton Peršak, and numerous authors and publishers.

“Literature plays an exceptional role in Slovenian society. Thirty years after Slovenian intellectuals and authors created the basis for the constitution with their ‘writers’ constitution’ after the declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia is preparing a major celebration of its literature and culture in Frankfurt”, said Juergen Boos at the signing of the contract that will make Slovenia Guest of Honour at the book fair in 2022. “The local literary scene is very vibrant and extends far beyond the country’s borders. I am delighted to see the great value placed on poetry in Slovenian society. We are very much looking forward to the appearance of Slovenian authors and publishers in Frankfurt and, with them, will discover the stories of the Guest of Honour.”

Renata Zamida, Director of the Slovenian Book Agency, said: “Founded in 1991, Slovenia will be one of the ‘youngest’ countries to appear as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurter Buchmesse. However, Slovenian literature as such has existed for much longer than the independent state of Slovenia – and its influence extends far beyond its borders. Consider, for example, the many respected literary works by Slovenian authors in neighbouring countries, such as Maja Haderlap in Carinthia or Boris Pahor, who lives in Trieste and is already considered a classic Slovenian writer of contemporary literature in Italy, France and Germany. The world’s most important book fair offers a unique opportunity to present the full spectrum of Slovenian literature and culture to an international audience. The entire Slovenian cultural community – and the book sector in particular, of course – has many positive expectations for Slovenia’s appearance in Frankfurt in 2022. We’ve noticed that the lead-up to this appearance is already having an impact beyond our borders, attracting the attention of the international publishing world.”

Slovenian Minister of Culture Anton Peršak added: “The Slovenian government and cultural sector consider this invitation a unique opportunity to showcase the accomplishments of Slovenian literature and of the nation itself – its rich culture, quality literature encompassing all genres and longstanding tradition of literary creativity – at the Frankfurter Buchmesse. Slovenia has made a number of remarkable international breakthroughs in various cultural spheres, leaving its mark on the European and global stage despite its small size and less than three decades as a sovereign state and independent cultural entity. The country’s planned participation in Frankfurt is a tremendous opportunity to promote its activities.”

About the Frankfurter Buchmesse
The Frankfurter Buchmesse is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with over 7,300 exhibitors from 102 countries, around 286,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and some 10,000 accredited journalists (including 2,400 bloggers) in attendance. It also brings together key players from other media, including the film and games industries. Since 1976, the Book Fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. The Frankfurter Buchmesse organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. With its Business Club, the Frankfurter Buchmesse offers essential services and an ideal setting for the activities of entrepreneurs, publishers, founders, pioneers, experts and visionaries. The Frankfurter Buchmesse is a subsidiary of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publishers & Booksellers Association). www.book-fair.com

Media coverage:

MMC RTV Slovenija:
Dogovor podpisan: Slovenija bo častna gostja frankfurtskega sejma 2022

RTV Slovenija, oddaja Osmi dan
http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/osmi-dan/174521995

Delo:
Velika priložnost za majhno državo
»Če projekt preveč obvladujejo politiki, bo težko dober«

Večer:
Zaradi poezije, knjižnic in navdušenja

Primorski dnevnik:
Slovenija podpisala dogovor za častno gostjo na frankfurtskem sejmu leta 2022

Photo: Nebojša Tejić / STA and Slovenian Book Agency

Slovenia was represented by the following authors: Manica K. Musil, Evald Flisar, Jasmin B. Frelih, Andrej Hočevar, Ivo Svetina, and dr. Zmago Šmitek. Manica K. Musil held an inspiring lecture, while her book Pobalinska pujsa (The Naughty Pigs) represented the platform for a string of well-received workshops for children. The essence of Slovenian poetry was unveiled during the presentation of the volume Dvojina srca (The Dual of the Heart), an anthology of contemporary Slovenian poetry (edited by Ivo Svetina and Andrej Hočevar, one of the featured authors who also attended the fair to accompany the book launch), published by the New Delhi-based Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters). The European Union Prize for Literature recipient Jasmin B. Frelih was joined by fellow EUPL winners for a number of crowd-pleasing readings and hosted a much lauded workshop. The iconic writer, playwright and editor Evald Flisar and a company of seven other European authors (representing Poland, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Greece, and Finland) appeared at a joint reading at the University of Delhi, while Flisar was also individually hosted as the guest of honour at an event staged by the university’s Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures. The Slovenian contingent was also active at the “Lazy Sunday of Literature” event and engaged in interesting discussions about the marketing and licensing of translation rights outside of Europe as well as opportunities for future book-production-industry-related collaboration between Slovenia and India.

Between Monday, 8 January 2018, and Tuesday, 9 January 2018, Slovenian publishers (representatives of the publishing houses Mladinska knjiga, Goga, LUD Literatura, and literary agent Gašper Malej) attended over 30 meetings, what raises hope for fruitful ventures throughout the coming years. The newly-appointed director of the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK), Mrs. Renata Zamida and representatives of the National Book Trust, one the largest publishing companies in India and the organizer of the New Delhi Book Fair, came to an agreement about the publishing of an anthology of Slovenian short prose, which is scheduled for publication in English and at least five official Indian languages in 2019. The Slovene Writers’ Association (DSP) will be part of this upcoming project as well. Furthermore, Mrs. Zamida was a featured guest speaker at the distinguished “CEO Speak” event, hosted by the president of the fair. His Excellency Mr. Jožef Drofenik, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to India, also invited the Slovenian authors to participate at a literary reading at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

In addition, the fair saw the unveiling of the English translation of Evald Flisar’s novel Besede nad oblaki (Words Above the Clouds; published by the Nirala publishing house), Ivo Svetina participated in a discussion about the possibilities for promoting European literatures across the world, while dr. Zmago Šmitek held an exciting lecture about mandalas and the myths of global warming, and took part at a roundtable discussion titled “The Planet that Doesn’t Grow”. The Slovenian delegation received high praise from His Excellency Mr. Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador of the European Union to India, for contributing to the appeal of the EU pavilion.

This year’s New Delhi Book Fair took place between 6 January and 14 January 2018 and attracted over a million visitors.

More about Slovenia’s participation as part of the EU pavilion at the New Delhi World Book Fair in India.

European Union will be Guest of Honour at the forthcoming New Delhi World Book Fair. 17  member states will collaborate and present a joint European Programme, among them: Slovenia, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Portugal, France, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Cyprus, Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovakia.

There are 6 Slovenian authors participating, and 4 Slovenian publishers are attending the fair. The programme and the activities are coordinated by the Slovenian Book Agency.

We will be happy to meet you at the Slovenian booth, part of the EU Pavilion. 

Programme with Slovenian authors:

Sunday, 7 January

7/1, 12:30-13:30, EU Pavilion

Panel: Cooperation opportunities between India and Slovenia.

Guests: Ivo Svetina and Evald Flisar, both authors and editors from Slovenia, Yuyutsu RD Sharma, poet and publisher from India, Renata Zamida, director of the Slovenian Book Agency. Moderated by Kartik Bajoria.

Financial support for translating and publishing books from Slovenia – including a presentation of on-going cooperation with Indian Publishers.

7/1, 14:30-16:00 at Children's Corner

Workshop for children (age: 5+) with Manica K. Musil
Wool, wood and chicks.

Garmenting wooden chickens, which appear in the story ("The Naughty Pigs"), with wool. There are 30 available for children to finish up. Choose a colour of your preference, play with architect and children's book author Manica K. Musil – and watch a movie about her naughty characters!

Manica K. Musil sews, glues, crochets and draws her picture books – more than 10 exist already, with characters as mosquitoes, elephants, cats, chickens ... Her books are not just beautiful, fascinating and attractive to the gaze and touch, they are also instructive and educational – without moralising.

7/1, 14:00 -17:00 at International Corner

Lazy Sunday of literatures event (panels and readings) with altogether 8 European authors, among them Slovenian Evald Flisar.

7/1 14:00-15:00, EU Pavilion

Presentation of a new arrival: Anthology of Slovenian Poetry entitled "The Dual of the Heart", just published by Sahitya Akademy in New Delhi. The book will be presented and inaugurated by the poet and co-editor of the book Koyamparambath Satchidanandan, the Slovenian editor and poet Ivo Svetina and the Slovenian poet Andrej Hočevar.

Ivo Svetina (born 1948) is an acclaimed Slovenian poet, playwright and translator. He has won numerous awards for his plays and poetry collections. In 2014 he was elected President of the Slovene Writers' Association and re-elected just recently.

Andrej Hočevar (born 1980) is a writer and editor. He has published six books of poetry and one collection of short prose. Hočevar has been a guest at many international literary festivals and is also editor at the Literary Publishing House LUD Literatura.

Monday, 8 January

8/1, 12:00 – 14:00 at International Corner

International Marketing for children's books and their authors. The Experience with foreign markets and rights sales.

Panel with Senja Požar (Slovenia), rights manager at Mladinska knjiga publishing house, Palle Schmidt (Denmark), an internationally renowned author and illustrator of children’s comics and Manica K. Musil (Slovenia), children’s book author with successful translations on the Asian markets. Moderated by Renata Zamida, director of the Slovenian Book Agency.

8/1, 10:30 – 13:00, New Delhi University

Literary event (panel and reading) at the University venue and respective language departments. Participating authors:David Foenkinos (France), Dorothea Nürnberg (Austria), Norman Ohler (Germany), Evald Flisar (Slovenia), José Luís Peixoto (Portugal).

Tuesday, 9 January

9/1, 16:30 – 17:30, EU Pavilion

Forest of ideas
How books get a live in urban space. A lecture by children's book author Manica K. Musil.

Manica K. Musil sews, glues, crochets and draws her picture books – more than 10 exist already, with characters as mosquitoes, elephants, cats, chickens ... Her books are not just beautiful, fascinating and attractive to the gaze and touch, they are also instructive and educational – without moralising.

»The lecture is about my work. As an architect, I visualise a variety of possible ways how my books, characters, objects or ideas can get alive in public space around us, thus not being limited in format of books«.

9/1, at 19:00, venue: ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations, http://www.iccr.gov.in/), Azad Bhavan Road, Indra Prastha state IP, Indraprashta Marg, IP Estate, New Delhi

Read, feel and taste Slovenia. Literary event hosted by the Slovenian Embassy in New Delhy. Moderated by Christopher Daruwalla, presented authors: Ivo Svetina, Andrej Hočevar, Jasmin B. Frelih and Evald Flisar.

Followed by a reception with Slovenian wine.

Wednesday, 10 January

10/1, 16:00-17:00, EU Pavilion

Reading session with EUPL Prize winners

Participating authors:  Jasmin B. Frelih (Slovenia), Osvalds Zebris (Latvia), Kallia Papadaki (Greece), David Machado (Portugal).

Jasmin B. Frelih (born 1986 in Slovenia) published his first novel Na/pol ("In/Half") in 2013 to considerable media attention and critical acclaim. In addition to the European Literature Prize (EUPL) it received the best literary debut award at the annual Slovenian Book Fair and was shortlisted for the novel of the year and book of the year awards. His short story collection Ideoluzije ("Tiny Ideologies") was published by LUD Literatura in 2015. His short fiction, essays and translations of American authors appear in the leading Slovenian literary magazines. He also translates poetry from Slovenian into English.

Thursday, 11 January

11/1 15:00, at International corner

Presentation of the latest novel by author Evald Flisar, "Words Above the Clouds", published by Nirala (New Delhi). the book will be presented by the editor and Himalayan poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma, and the author, Evald Flisar. Followed by a book signing by the author.

About the novel: During a 12-hour flight from London to Singapore passengers endeavour in increasingly dramatic conversations.

About the author: Evald Flisar (1945, Slovenia) is an acclaimed novelist, playwright, essayist, editor, globe-trotter (travelled in 96 countries), underground train driver in Sydney, editor of (among other publications) an encyclopaedia of science and invention in London, author of short stories and radio plays for the BBC … Various works of his have been translated into 40 languages, among them Bengali, Hindi, Malay, Nepalese, Indonesian, Turkish, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Dutch, Icelandic, Romanian, Russian, English, German, Italian, Spanish, etc. His stage plays are regularly performed all over the world. In January 2017 he spent three weeks touring India, lecturing at three renowned institutions (National School of Drama in New Delhi, Rabindranath Tagore University in Kolkata, Malayalam University in Kerala), attending productions of two of his plays in Bengali and promoting translations of three of his books in Kerala, Bangalore and Kolkata.

Friday, 12 January

12/1, 15:00-16:00, EU Pavilion

Mandalas: Secret Gardens of Enlightenment - A lecture by Dr. Zmago Šmitek

The monograph "Mandalas", basis for the lecture, explores the role, significance, structure, design, functionality and message of mandalas in different Asian cultures: Indian, Nepali, Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, Japanese, Thai, etc. This serves as an entry point for integral examinations of the concepts of space, time, architecture, art and aesthetics in general in Asian cultures. The author furthermore scrutinises similar symbols and concepts in European and other cultures. The text is one of the most comprehensive studies of mandalas to date and includes over 300 photos and diagrams.

Dr. Zmago Šmitek (1949) is a professor at the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. A member of several national and international associations and journal advisory boards, Šmitek is an internationally renowned expert in his field and has received numerous awards for his work. His main interests are anthropology of religion, comparative mythology and Asian cultures.

12/1, 11:30 -12:30, EU Pavilion

Reading session with EUPL Prize Winners

Participating authors: Kallia Papadaki (Greece), David Machado (Portugal), Osvalds Zebris (Latvia), Jasmin B. Frelih (Slovenia) and Selja Ahava (Finnland)

Jasmin B. Frelih (born 1986 in Slovenia) published his first novel Na/pol ("In/Half") in 2013 to considerable media attention and critical acclaim. In addition to the European Literature Prize (EUPL) it received the best literary debut award at the annual Slovenian Book Fair and was shortlisted for the novel of the year and book of the year awards. His short story collection Ideoluzije ("Tiny Ideologies") was published by LUD Literatura in 2015. His short fiction, essays and translations of American authors appear in the leading Slovenian literary magazines. He also translates poetry from Slovenian into English.

12/1, 16:00-17:00, at International Corner

Panel on promoting European literatures in India. From obstacles to success stories.

Collaborative projects and live events with authors, theatre, digital and cross-artform projects with a literary core. Participating guests: Alexandra Büchler (Literature Across Frontiers, UK), Sadaf Raza (Pro Helvetia, Switzerland), Ivo Svetina (Slovene Writer’s Association, Slovenia). Moderator: Vinutha Mallya, journalist and publishing consultant.

Saturday, 13 January

13/1, 15:00-16:00, EU Pavilion 

Panel discussion: The Planet that doesn't Grow. Participating authors: Dr. Zmago Šmitek (Slovenia), JL Morin (Cyprus), Selja Ahava (Finnland), Dr. Ashish Chaturvedi (India).

13/1, 16:00-17:00, EU Pavilion

THE HOLY ECO-COWS: Thoughts on Environment and Philosophy of Nature

Lecture by Ethnologist Dr. Zmago Šmitek on mythology and ecology

Dr. Zmago Šmitek (1949) is a professor at the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. A member of several national and international associations and journal advisory boards, Šmitek is an internationally renowned expert in his field and has received numerous awards for his work. His main interests are anthropology of religion, comparative mythology and Asian cultures.

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Movie to be screened at International Corner:

H2O (author Maja Bahar, produced by TV Slovenia, 2016), Documentary on water (English subtitles), 50  min

This year, the organizers invited the following distinguished representatives of publishing and media companies from the German-speaking realm: German publishers Sebastian Guggolz (Guggolz Verlag); Janika Rüter (Suhrkamp Verlag); Sewastos Sampsounis (Größenwahn Verlag); Anja Schutzbach (Weissbooks); Jörg Sundermeier and Kristine Listau (Verbrecher Verlag); Swiss publishers Urs Bolz (AS Verlag) and Fabienne Leisibach (Baeschlin Verlag); German journalist Jörg Plath (Deutschlandradio Kultur); German freelance journalists and authors Nils Kahlefendt and Leander Steinkopf; the Director of the Leipzig Book Fair, Mr Oliver Zille; and the Head of the Berlin-Brandenburg Publishers & Booksellers Association, Mr Detlef Bluhm, who is currently in the process of assembling a photo book dedicated to Ljubljana – the capital of Slovenia.

Our journey began on 23 November at the Slovenian Book Fair, where the participants immersed into the lively beat of the event. They seized the opportunity to meet a string of Slovenian publishers and engage in interesting conversations about the Slovenian and the German book market and about the respective publishing approaches. The visit also featured an official working meeting.

In addition to selected book fair events (a viewing of a biopic dedicated to Florjan Lipuš, a conversation with Axel Scheffler etc.), our guests took a stroll along several Ljubljana sights, enjoyed a tour of the Manuscript Department of the National and University Library (NUK), and attended a private screening of the feature film Izbrisana (The Erased), directed by Miha Mazzini, who is also the author of the namesake novel on which the movie is based. The screening was followed by a discussion with the distinguished author himself.

Our esteemed guests were also treated to an all-day trip to the Karst region of Slovenia. Accompanied by acclaimed translators Amalija Maček and Ludwig Hartinger, the company visited Lipica Stud Farm, the Oskar Kogoj Nature Deign Gallery in Miren, the Škocjan Caves, and even made their way across the Italian border to meet with dr. Miran Košuta, Professor of Slovenian Literature at the University of Trieste.

The book fair, the vibrant hustle and bustle, personal meetings with authors, and the hidden gems of a land previously unknown to most of the participants, made quite an impression on our guests, particularly in light of Slovenia’s scheduled participation as “Guest of Honour” at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022 – a unique opportunity for the country to awaken and spark more interest for its literary endeavours among the international sphere.

The next study visit, scheduled for 2018, will be open to publishers and journalists from all over the world and will not be limited to representatives of the German-speaking realm exclusively.

A photographic recap of this year’s study visit (by participants Urs Bolz and Sewastos Sampsounis) is featured below.

Media coverage:
Jörg Plath (Deutschlandradio Kultur, in German)
http://ondemand-mp3.dradio.de/file/dradio/2017/12/06/wo_lyriker_noch_stars_werden_koennen_buchmesse_in_drk_20171206_1050_6b579a61.mp3

Visit our Stand B05 (right opposite the 3Sat Bühne), or join in at the publisher's brunch for partners from the industry, on Thursday, November 9th at 11.00 in the Fair's restaurant on the 1st floor.

SLOVENIAN EVENTS AT BUCH WIEN 2017:

Montag, 6. November 2017, 19.00 Uhr
Hauptbücherei am Gürtel - Büchereien Wien
Urban-Loritz-Platz 2A, Wien

Plečniks Ljubljana: Ausstellungseröffnung und Gespräch

2017 wird in Slowenien als das Jože-Plečnik-Jahr gefeiert. Jože Plečnik (1872 - 1957) gilt als der bedeutendste Architekt Sloweniens und gehört zu den renommiertesten Architekten Europas im 20. Jahrhundert. Es gibt Städte, die untrennbar mit ihren Architekten verbunden sind: Ljubljana gehört mit Plečnik, der das Bild dieser Stadt entscheidend geprägt hat, ohne Zweifel dazu. Plečnik war Kosmopolit und ein Pionier der modernen slowenischen und europäischen Architektur. Er entwickelte seinen eigenen Architekturstil, der noch heute einzigartig ist und das Bild dreier mitteleuropäischer Städte geprägt hat – Wien, Prag und Ljubljana.

Die Ausstellung wurde vom Slowenischen Kulturministerium, vom Museum für Architektur und Design in Ljubljana und dem Plečnik-Haus (Museen und Galerien Ljubljana) kuratiert.

Die Eröffnung am 6. November wird von Tourismus Ljubljana unterstützt.

Im Foyer der Hauptbücherei wird anlässlich der Eröffnung ein Plečnik-Kaffeehaus eingerichtet, in dem die Lieblingsgerichte des  Architekten angeboten werden.

Im Saalder Hauptbücherei wird gleichzeitig das Buch „Symbolismus in der Architektur Jože Plečniks“ von Andrej Hrausky vorgestellt, das nun in englischer Übersetzung vorliegt.

Dr. Andrej Hrausky
Der slowenischer Architekt und Publizist Andrej Hrausky (geb. 1951) absolvierte 1976 ein Studium bei Prof. Edvard Ravnikar (der Schüler von Jože Plečnik sowie von Le Corbusier war). Er ist einer der großen Kenner der Werke Plečniks und Autor zahlreicher Büchern über ihn. Hrausky hat mehr als 200 Architekturausstellungen in Slowenien und im Ausland gestaltet. In den 1990er Jahren war er Jurymitglied für den internationalen Architekturpreis Mies van der Rohe. Für sein Werk erhielt er mehrere Auszeichnungen.

Symbolism of Jože Plečnik's Architecture(Verlag: Lili in Roza 2017, Übersetzerin: Lili Anamarija)
Hrauskys Buch thematisiert einen weniger bekannten Aspekt der Architektur Plečniks: die Welt seiner Symbolen. Im Vordergrund stehen seine Werke in Ljubljana, die zahlreiche symbolische Bedeutungen in sich tragen. Plečnik hat verschiedene Symbole wohl überlegt in seine Werke integriert. Durch seine Arbeiten wollte er nicht nur unvergängliche Architektur schaffen, sondern auch seine eigene Vergänglichkeit überwinden.

Mittwoch, 8. November 2017, 19.00 Uhr
Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur
Herrengasse 5, Wien

Florjan Lipuš: Seelenruhig – Veranstaltung anlässlich des 80. Geburtstags des Autors

Der Schriftsteller Florjan Lipuš feierte im Mai 2017 seinen 80. Geburtstag und gehört –  obwohl er auf Slowenisch schreibt – nicht nur zu den bedeutendsten slowenischen, sondern auch österreichischen Schriftstellern. Seine Literatur ist eng verknüpft mit der tragischen Geschichte der Kärntner Slowenen während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Seine Mutter, eine Kärntner Slowenin, wurde 1943 im KZ Ravensbrück ermordet, während der Vater Soldat der deutschen Wehrmacht war. Für sein Werk erhielt Lipuš zahlreiche Auszeichnungen, auch den bedeutendsten Literaturpreis Sloweniens, den Prešeren-Preis. Viele seiner Bücher erschienen in deutscher Übersetzung, dennoch wurde ihm der Österreichische Staatspreis für Literatur 2016 nicht verliehen, weil er nicht auf Deutsch schreibt.

Seelenruhig(Verlag: Jung und Jung 2017, Übersetzer: Johann Strutz)
Der Roman Seelenruhig hat den Rang einer literarischen Autobiographie. Er ist der Versuch des Autors, nicht nur ein ganzes Leben, sondern vor allem das Leben als Ganzes in Worte zu fassen. Lipuš berichtet mit erstaunlicher Gelassenheit vom Aufwachsen in einer bäuerlicher Umgebung Kärntens, innerhalb einer Familie, die von den Entsetzlichkeiten der Geschichte nicht verschont wurde.

Donnerstag, 9. November, um 12.00 Uhr
Messe, ORF Bühne

Die Weltbürgerin. Ein Roman über Alma Karlin
Ein Gespräch mit dem Romanautor Milan Dekleva und Jerneja Jezernik.

Milan Dekleva: Die Weltbürgerin. Ein Roman über Alma Karlin(Verlag: Drava 2017, Übersetzer: Klaus Detlef Olof)
Alma Karlin gehört heute zu den zehn größten Weltreisenden und verfasste ihre Reisebücher in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts in deutscher Sprache. Milan Dekleva macht sich zum Begleiter von Alma Karlin und erzählt von drei dramatischen Wendepunkten in ihrem Leben. Er folgt ihr nach London kurz vor Beginn des Ersten Weltkriegs, wo Alma acht Sprachen studiert, dann finden wir sie am Anfang ihrer Weltreise im Jahr 1920 in Arequipa in Peru. Der letzte Teil stellt die Zeit zwischen 1932 und 1944 dar, als sie sich dem Partisanenkampf angeschlossen hatte.

Milan Dekleva (geb. 1946 in Ljubljana) zählt mit seinen zahlreichen und preisgekrönten Werken zu den bedeutendsten Literaten Sloweniens.

Jerneja Jezernik arbeitet seit Jahrzehnten wissenschaftlich und schriftstellerisch zum Leben und Werk von Alma Karlin. Sie schrieb das Nachwort zu Milan Deklevas Roman.

Donnerstag, 9. November 2017, 12.30 Uhr
ORF Bühne

Die slowenische Literaturlandshaft von Innen und Außen: Maja Haderlap (Klagenfurt) und Jani Virk (Ljubljana) im Gespräch.

Der slowenische Autor Jani Virk (geb. 1962) zeigt sich auch in seinem jüngstem Prosaband Zwischen Bäumen als Meister der Erzählung. Die Titelgeschichte erscheint im Novemberheft der Literaturzeitschrift Wespennest in deutscher Übersetzung. Mit der Kärntner Slowenin Maja Haderlap (geb. 1961) verbinden ihn der lyrische Stil seiner Texte und die Unmittelbarkeit des Erlebens, die seine Erzählungen beim Leser auslösen. Die Dichterin und Schriftstellerin, die mit dem Ingeborg Bachmann Preis für ihren Roman Engel des Vergessens als große Erzählerin gewürdigt wurde, stellt ihren slowenischen Generationskollegen im Gespräch mit der ORF-Kulturredakteurin Katja Gasser vor.

Donnerstag, 9. November 2017, von 13.15 bis 13.45 Uhr
FORUM Bühne

Slowenische Kinderbücher – Ein Einblick in Trends des slowenischen und internationalen Buchmarkts
Katja Stergar und Dr. Katja Wiebe im Gespräch

Jedes Jahr erscheinen in Slowenien über 500 Kinder- und Jugendbücher von einheimischen Autoren, die Publikum und Presse gleichermaßen begeistern. Im Buchmarkt sind Werke neuer Autoren und Illustratoren genauso erfolgreich wie die von „alten Meistern“. Welche slowenischen Autoren werden am meisten gelesen und gekauft? Welche Illustratoren sind gefragt? Was sind die Spezifika der slowenischen Illustration und worin ist sie einzigartig? Wie universell sind die slowenischen Kindergeschichten? Welche Titel werden nach China und welche nach Estland verkauft? Machen Sie sich schlau und blättern Sie zwischen und nach der Veranstaltung durch die vielfältigen Titel.

Katja Wiebe arbeitet seit 2010 als Lektorin für osteuropäische Kinder- und Jugendliteratur bei der Internationalen Jugendbibliothek München.

Katja Stergar ist Mitarbeiterin der Slowenischer Buchagentur und ausgewiesene Kennerin der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur .

Donnerstag, 9. November 2017,  14.30 bis 15.00 Uhr
Messe, ORF Bühne

Florjan Lipuš liest aus seinem Roman Seelenruhig (Verlag Jung und Jung, 2017)

Donnerstag, 9. November 2017, 19.00 Uhr
Buchhandlung Orlando, Liechtensteinstr. 17

Lesung und Gespräch – Drei Stimmen aus einer Generation: Andrej Blatnik, Jani Virk und Andrej Skubic. Moderation: Tanja Malle (ORF)

Andrej Blatnik (geb. 1963) schreibt Romane, Kurzgeschichten, Essays und wissenschaftliche Monographien. Im Folio Verlag sind drei seiner Bücher auf Deutsch erschienen: die Erzählbände Das Gesetz der Leere (2001) und Der Tag, an dem Tito starb (2005) sowie der Roman Ändere mich (2009). Blatnik ist Chronist einer Welt, in der Entfremdung die zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen bestimmt, und erzählt dennoch mit viel Humor und Ironie.
Seine neuesten Kurzgeschichten sind als Leseheft erschienen und liegen bei der Veranstaltung bereit.

Jani Virk (geb. 1962) ist Schriftsteller, Fernsehredakteur und Journalist. Sein Roman Sergijs letzte Versuchung erschien 1998 im Wieser Verlag auf Deutsch. In Zwischen Bäumen, seinem aktuellen Erzählband, werden die Geschichten verschiedener Männer in den mittleren Jahren erzählt, die den Boden unter den Füßen verlieren. Die Titelgeschichte Zwischen Bäumen wird im Novemberheft der Literaturzeitschrift Wespennest veröffentlicht.

Andrej Skubic (geb. 1967) wurde für sein Schaffen mehrfach ausgezeichnet, u. a. gleich dreimal mit dem Kresnik-Preis für den besten slowenischen Roman des Jahres. In seinen Werken schildert er humorvoll den Alltag und die Lebensgeschichten ganz normaler Leute und thematisiert dabei aktuelle gesellschaftliche Phänomene wie Migrationen und Rassismus.

Das neue Buch von Andrej Skubic, Spiele ohne Grenzen erschien 2017 im Verlag Voland & Quist und wurde von  Erwin Köstler übersetzt. Der dystopische Roman erzählt von einer nahen Zukunft, in der Migration kein staatliches Unterfangen mehr ist, sondern getrieben wird von privatem Interesse: Während die einen »Unternehmer« Leichen sammeln, um diese an Depots und deren Habseligkeiten als Souvenirs an Touristen zu verkaufen, begeben sich die anderen zu den intakten Flüchtlingsbooten, um die Überlebenden als billige Arbeitskräfte an die lokale Wirtschaft zu verkaufen. Beide Unternehmerarten werden dabei von der EU subventioniert. Der slowenische EU-Bürger und Leichensammler Kastelic gerät zwischen die Fronten und seine Überzeugung aus den Fugen, als er eine fliehende Somalierin mit Baby in Obhut nimmt.

Tanja Malle ist zweisprachig in Kärnten aufgewachsen. Sie studierte Publizistik und Theaterwissenschaft. Seit 2005 ist sie Redakteurin des ORF-Radiosenders Ö1 und verfasst Beiträge mit den Schwerpunkten Zeitgeschichte und Süd- bzw. Ost-Europa.

Das Gespräch wird von Ana Jasmina Oseban ins Slowenisch und Deutsch übersetzt.

Donnerstag, 9. November 2017, ab 21.00 Uhr
Statt-Beisl im WUK, Währinger Straße 59

ENDE. ABERMALS
Buchvorstellung und Party mit dem Autor Dino Bauk, DJ Belo smetje und Slowenischem Craft Bier

Dino Bauk hat mit seinem 2017 im Hollitzer Verlag auf Deutsch erschienenen Debütroman Ende. Abermals. laut dem Magazin Falter harten, guten Stoff geliefert. Mit dem Übersetzer Sebastian Walcher spricht er über seinen erfolgreichen Erstling, der „ein furioses Panorama des Slowenien zwischen Wende und Gegenwart ist und zugleich ein literarisch dicht gesponnenes Porträt einer lost generation, die zwischen Umwälzungen und Stillstand verloren geht.“ (Ö1)

Anschließend laden der Hollitzer Verlag und Skica in Kooperation mit der slowenischen Buchagentur und KulturKontakt Austria zur Party mit slowenischem Craft Bier, DJ und guten Gesprächen über Literatur.

Freitag, 10. November 2017, 15.00 Uhr
Messe, Donau Launch

Krieg im Spiegel aktueller slowenischer Romane

Andrej Skubic und Dino Bauk verarbeiten beide auf unterschiedliche Weise die Nachwirkungen von Krieg in ihren aktuellen Romanen: Skubic erzählt in seiner Dystopie, Spiele ohne Grenze, Geschichten über den Menschenhandel und Dino Bauk schildert in seinem Debütroman Ende. Abermals. den Zerfall des Alltagslebens im auseinanderbrechenden Jugoslawien. Moderation: Sebastian Walcher.

Dino Bauk (geb. 1973) ist Autor und arbeitet als Partner in einer Rechtsanwaltskanzlei. Er ist für die renommierte slowenische Wochenzeitschrift Mladina als Kolumnist tätig und veröffentlichte mehrere Kurzgeschichten. 2015 erschien sein Debütroman Ende. Abermals. in Slowenien, für den er im selben Jahr auf der Slowenischen Buchmesse mit dem Preis für den besten Erstlingsroman ausgezeichnet wurde. 2017 wurde er, übersetzt von Sebastian Walcher, im Hollitzer Verlag auf Deutsch veröffentlicht. Ende. Abermals. ist eine große Geschichte von Krieg, Liebe und Rock’n’Roll. Bauk nimmt uns mit ins Ljubljana der 1980er- und 1990er-Jahre, wo sich die Amerikanerin Mary und der Musiker Denis ineinander verlieben. Während Mary in die österreichische Provinz strafversetzt wird, findet sich Denis in den Wirren des Balkankrieges wieder. Als Sohn bosnischen Eltern wird er einer von 25.000 Menschen, die der Staat Slowenien kurz nach der Unabhängigkeit aus dem Bevölkerungsregister löschte. Bauk erzählt die Geschichte einer verlorenen Generation und deckt gleichzeitig ein dunkles Kapitel der Slowenischer Geschichte auf.

Das Gespräch wird von Ana Jasmina Oseban ins Slowenisch und Deutsch übersetzt.

Freitag, 10. November 2017, 20.15 Uhr
Literaturhaus Wien, Zieglergasse 26a, 1070 Wien

Exil und die Grenze in mir

Die Autoren Aleš Šteger und Ilija Trojanow stellen im Gespräch mit Kristina Pfoser (ORF) ihre aktuellen Bücher vor:  Logbuch der Gegenwart (Haymon) und Nach der Flucht (S. Fischer).

Aleš Šteger (geb. 1973) veröffentlichte sechs Gedichtbände und 2016 seinen ersten Roman (Archiv der toten Seelen, Schöffling 2016). Seit 2012 unternimmt er jährlich eine schriftstellerische Performance unter dem Titel Vor Ort geschrieben, die ihn bisher u. a. nach Fukushima, Mexiko-Stadt, Belgrad und in diesem Sommer nach Sibirien führte. Der Verlag Haymon brachte zu diesem Projekt 2016 das Logbuch der Gegenwart heraus, das als Fortsetzung erscheinen wird. Šteger erhielt mehrere slowenische und internationale literarische Auszeichnungen. Seit 2014 ist er Mitglied der Akademie der Künste Berlin.

Logbuch der Gegenwart (Haymon 2016, Übersetzer: Matthias Göritz)
Für sein einzigartiges Logbuch der Gegenwart sucht Aleš Šteger Orte auf, wo Wunden unserer Zeit klaffen. Es entstehen Momente der Wachheit, die die Leser direkt ins Herz unserer Gegenwart führen. Als einer der bedeutendsten slowenischen Gegenwartsautoren fängt Šteger hochbrisante Themen, Schauplätze und Schicksale literarisch ein: authentisch, unvermittelt und hautnah.

Ilija Trojanow wurde 1965 in Bulgarien geboren. 1971 flohen seine Eltern mit ihm nach Deutschland, wo sie in München politisches Asyl erhielten. Ein Jahr später zog die Familie nach Kenia. Trojanow nahm ein Studium in Deutschland auf und reiste später durch Afrika, Indien und Tansanien. Er schrieb mehrere Bücher über seine Reisen. Während der Olympischen Spiele 2012 fasste er den Entschluss, alle 80 Einzeldisziplinen der Sommerolympiade zu trainieren. Trojanow wurde mit zahlreichen Literaturpreisen ausgezeichnet und seine Bücher wurden in 30 Sprachen übersetzt. Zur Zeit lebt er in Wien.

Nach der Flucht (S. Fischer 2017)
Ilija Trojanow ist als Kind zusammen mit seiner Familie aus Bulgarien geflohen, eine Erfahrung, die ihn bis heute nicht los lässt. Virtuos, poetisch und klug reflektierend erzählt Ilija Trojanow von seinen Prägungen als lebenslang Geflüchteter. Von der Einsamkeit, die das Anderssein für den Flüchtling tagtäglich bedeutet. Davon, wie wenig die Vergangenheit des Geflüchteten am Ort seines neuen Daseins zählt. Trojanow hat mit vielen Flüchtlingen über das Danach gesprochen und schreibt sehr persönlich darüber, wie ihn seine Flucht noch immer prägt und ob so etwas wie eine transnationale Existenz möglich ist.

Kristina Pfoser arbeitet seit 1988 beim ORF. Zunächst bei Radio Österreich International als Producerin und Moderatorin der RÖI-Kultursendungen, seit 2000 bei Ö1 in der Redaktion Aktuelle Kultur. Sie verantwortet das Literaturressort.

Samstag, 11. November, 10.30 Uhr
Messe, Literaturcafe

Lebensabend im Altersheim
Chronik des Vergessens – Buchpräsentation des neuen Romans von Sebastijan Pregelj

Sebastijan Pregelj (geb. 1970) ist Autor von Romanen und Kinderbüchern. Drei seiner Romane Auf der Terrasse des Turms von Babel (Drava 2013), Unter einem glücklichen Stern (Drava 2015), Chronik des Vergessens (Drava 2017) und zwei seiner Kinderbücher Das Gespenst Babujan und seine Freunde und  Das Gespenst Babujan und der unerwartete Umzug (beide Drava 2017) sind auf Deutsch erschienen.

Chronik des Vergessens (Drava 2017, Übersetzer: Erwin Köstler)
Was braucht man, um im Altersheim einen relativ glücklichen Lebensabend zu verbringen? Die Hauptfigur, ein pensionierter Jurist, glaubt es zu wissen: er hat seine eigenen vier Wände, sein Blutbefund ist in Ordnung, er hat die Ausscheidung unter Kontrolle, ist nicht hilflos, nicht wirr und nimmt seine Umgebung wahr, kurz: er ist Herr über sein Leben. Zumindest erscheint es so. Nach und nach aber erweist sich sein Gedächtnis als ziemlich porös. Das Hier und Jetzt findet immer ausschließlicher in seinem Kopf statt, die Gegenwart gerät zu einer ins Fantastische ausufernden Erzählung und bald fragt man sich, welche Wirklichkeit die wirklichere ist.

Samstag, 11. November 2017, 17.00 - 18.00 Uhr
Messe - Kochbühne

Weingut Gaube: Winzer Alojzij Gaube präsentiert elegante Weißweine des Hauses und lädt zur Verkostung ein. 

Die Geschichte des Weinbaus auf Bauernhof Gaube, der als Hersteller von frischen, fruchtigen Weinen bekannt ist, erstreckt sich über einige Generationen. Kein Wunder, das Bauernhaus liegt nämlich im Herzen der slowenischen Weinbauregion Podravje (nach der Drau, slowenisch „Drava“, benannt). Einige Anbaugebiete im östlichen Teil der Region zählen zu den vier Prozent der besten Weinbaulagen der Welt. Der Wein wächst hier seit der römischen Antike auf idealem Boden und unter dem Einfluss des Kontinentalklimas.

Sie sind herzlich eingeladen, Weine und Feinkost aus Slowenien zu verkosten!

In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Slowenischen Tourismusbüro in Wien.

Sonntag, 12. November, 12.45 Uhr
Messe - Kinderbühne

Das Gespenst Babujan kommt!

Gespenst Babujan und seine Freunde und Das Gespenst Babujan und der unerwartete Umzug (Drava 2017)
Eine Gruppe von Kindern spielt vor einer alten, verlassenen Villa, sie stacheln einander auf, das unheimliche Haus zu betreten. Nur Peter, der blind ist, versteht nicht, warum er dort drinnen nicht einfach Ball spielen kann. Er flieht auch nicht, als sich jemand mit freundlicher Stimme als das Gespenst Babujan vorstellt Während die anderen Kinder die Angst packt, überzeugt Peter seine Freunde vom freundlichen Wesen des Gespenstes und stellt sie Babujan vor. Durch die gemeinsamen Abenteuer mit dem liebenswürdigen Gespenst lernen die Kinder, dass Peter trotz seiner Blindheit einer von ihnen sein kann.

Sonntag, 12. November 2017, 16.00 Uhr
Messe – FORUM

Evald Flisar im Gespräch mit Wolfgang Popp 

Schriftsteller und Dramatiker Evald Flisar (geb. 1945) im Gespräch mit Wolfgang Propp (Ö1/ORF) über seinen neuen Roman Wörter über den Wolken, der 2017 im Mohorjeva Hermagoras Verlag erschien und wurde von Ann Catrin Bolton übersetzt.

Zum Buch:
Ein zwölfstündiger Flug mit einer Boeing 747 mit 500 Passagieren aus London nach Singapur öffnet einen ganzen Fächer an Inhalten, Figuren, Charakteren und Beziehungen zwischen Menschen gleicher oder verschiedener Generationen, Nationalitäten, Glaubensbekenntnisse, geschlechtlicher Ausrichtung, intellektuellem Niveau und Lebensgeschichten, die der Autor in Dialogen zwischen den Passagieren erzählt. Nebeneinander sitzen Eheleute, Partner, Verwandte, aber auch vollkommen Fremde, die sich in immer dramatischere, teils skurril anmutende Gespräche verwickeln und bald stellt sich heraus, dass einige auf ungewöhnliche, ja sogar fatale Weise untereinander verbunden sind.

Sonntag, 12. November 2017, 20.00 Uhr
Café Korb (Art Lounge), Brandstätte 9, Wien

Poesieabend mit Musik

Die slowenischen LyrikerInnen Ana Pepelnik, Veronika Dintinjana, Maja Vidmar & Primož Čučnik stellen ihre neuen Gedichte vor, die im Novemberheft der Literaturzeitschrift Lichtungen erschienen sind. Vorgestellt von Robert Prosser und begleitet vom bekannten Akkordeon-Virtuosen Bratko Bibič.

Veronika Dintinjana
Geboren 1977, ist Lyrikerin und Übersetzerin. 2002 wurde sie beim Festival Urška für junge slowenische Literatur zur besten Autorin gewählt. 2008 wurde sie Ritterin des Poesieturniers in Maribor. Bei LUD Literatura erschien ihr Poesieerstling Rumeno gori grm forzicij (Gelb brennt der Forsythienstrauch, 2008), der bei der 24. Buchmesse in Ljubljana den Preis für das beste Debüt erhielt. Ihr zweites Werk V suhem doku (Im Trockendock, 2016) erschien acht Jahre später im selben Verlag. Sie ist Mitorganisatorin der Poesieabende Mlade rime (Junge Reime), die vom Verein LUD Kentaver durchgeführt werden.

Ana Pepelnik
Geboren 1979 in Ljubljana, ist Lyrikerin und Übersetzerin. Beim Verlag LUD Literatura erschien ihr vielbeachteter erster Gedichtband Ena od varijant kako ravnati s skrivnostjo (Eine der Varianten mit Geheimnissen umzugehen, 2007) und später noch Utrip  oranžnih  luči  na  semaforjih (Das Blinken gelben Lichts auf Ampeln, 2009) sowie Cela večnost (Eine ganze Ewigkeit, 2013). Ihre beiden aktuellsten Bücher sind Pod vtisom (Unter dem Eindruck, 2015) und Tehno (Techno, 2017). Sie war beim internationalen Dichterinnenprojekt Metropoetica und VERSOPOLIS beteiligt.

Maja Vidmar
Geboren 1961 in Nova Gorica, studierte Slowenisch und Literaturwissenschaften. Sie ist eine der bekanntesten slowenischen Lyrikerinnen, die bereits mit ihrem ersten Gedichtband Razdalje telesa (Körperdistanzen, 1984) Neuland betrat. Bisher erschienen sieben Lyrikbände, u. a.: Prisotnost (2005, auf Deutsch unter dem Titel Gegenwart bei Edition Korrespondenzen erschienen, 2007), Sobe (Zimmer, 2008), Kako se zaljubiš (Wie man sich verliebt, 2012) und Minute prednosti (Minuten des Vorsprungs, 2015), sowie zwei Anthologien ihrer Poesie. Ihre Gedichte sind in zahlreiche Sprachen übersetzt, sie erhielt mehrere Preise u. a. den Preis der Prešeren-Stiftung 2006.

Primož Čučnik
Geboren 1971 in Ljubljana, wo er als Lyriker, Gelegenheitsessayist und Übersetzer lebt. Sein Buch Dve zimi (Zwei Winter, 1999) erhielt den Preis für das beste Debüt Sloweniens. Es folgten weitere Sammlungen, u. a.: Delo in dom (Arbeit und Heim, 2007), Kot dar (Wie ein Geschenk, 2010), Mikado (2012), Ti na S (Du mit S, 2017). Für sein Werk erhielt er mehrere Preise, u. a. den Preis der Prešeren-Stiftung 2008. Er verfasste den Prosaband Otročjost (Kindischsein, 2013), nebenliterarische Notizen Primet s knjigo (Würze mit Buch, 2017). Er ist Redakteur der Literaturzeitschrift Literatura und leitet seinen eigenen Taschenverlag namens Šerpa (Sherpa).

After a string of informal gatherings, the German and Slovenian dramaturgs finnaly met in an offficial capacity during the central festival event, a round table discussion titled “Eye-to-Eye with Dramaturgs”, which took place on Saturday, 21 October 2017 at Hotel Maribor in its namesake city. The guests – Stefan Bläske, Uwe Gössel, and Johanna Höhmann representing Germany and homecountry representatives Alja Predan, Simona Semenič, and moderator Urška Brodar – shared their takes on various interesting topics and also engaged in conversation with members of the (predominately expert) audience.

Mementoes from the round table discussion are featured below.
Photo: 52nd Maribor Theatre Festival / Matej Kristovič & Boštjan Lah

• Miš Publishing House, with a distinguished programme of quality children's and YA titles (Ms. Ema Karo: ema.karo@miszalozba.com)
• Goga Publishing House with its in-house literary agency, representing various literary fiction and non-fiction authors (Ms. Katja Urbanija: rights@goga.si)
• Pivec publishing house, a general publisher with a long backlist and a focus on children’s books (Ms. Zala Stanonik: zala@zalozba-pivec.com)
• Sodobnost International Publishing House, a general publisher with an emphasis on children’s books (Ms. Jana Bauer: jana.bauer@guest.arnes.si)

In addition, two publishing houses have traditionally their individual stands. Beletrina, with its eminent literary imprint awaits you in Hall 5.9., A 22, and Mladinska knjiga, Slovenian biggest publisher with various imprints in Hall 6.1., D36.

We also cordially invite you to join the Slovenian Book Agency Reception for International Partners
at the Slovenian National Stand in Hall 5.0., C103, on Wednesday, October 11, at 1 p.m.
Save the date. On offer: Slovene sparkling wine and artisan chocolate.

Programme with Slovenian guests at the Frankfurt Book Fair:

WEDNESDAY, 11 OCTOBER

Publishers Rights Corner (LitAg, Hall 6.1.), at 17:00

Jasmin B. Frelih: Na/pol (In/Half) – presentation of last year’s European Union Prize for Literature recipient. The event will be organized by the Oneworld Publications (UK) publishing house, the Cankarjeva založba (SLO) publishing house, and representatives of the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL).

FRIDAY, 13 OCTOBER

ARTS+, Hall 4.1., The ARTS+ Runway, 11:30-12:30

Brainfood – What’s Next in Smart Technology

Jurij Krpan (Slovenia, Gallery Kapelica): Platform for Contemporary Investigative Arts, presentation

Creating the conditions for marketing the ideas of artists and scientists working on joint projects and enabling economic agents access to breakthrough ideas and creative solutions.

Literadio, Hall 4.1., B33, at 13:30

Sebastijan Pregelj: The Chronicle of Forgetting / Chronik des Vergessens (Drava Verlag, 2017)

Book presentation. The body is old and weak, but the heart yet feels and the brain yet shines. Sebastijan Pre­gelj’s novel addresses the final events with a light that inspires and awakens. Do what you must do, do it now, else you too will be written into The Chronicle of Forgetting.

Weltempfang, Hall 3.1., 14:30–15:30

Playing Ball with the Balkans?

A discussion in German and English on international interests and conflicts, delivered on the “playing field” of the Balkans. Guests: Branko Soban (Slovenia), Vladimir Pistalo (Serbia/USA), Marie-Janine Calic (Germany), moderated by Ulrich Ladurner, journalist at Die Zeit. In Cooperation with the TRADUKI Network.

"International stage", Hall 5.1., at 17.00

Beletrina publishing house event: Poets’ Voices in Times of Crisis – European poetry platform Versopolis.

Great Britain, Poland, Catalonia – the media provides us with daily news, which we would have never expected to emerge from the European realm until recently. How do critical, engaged poets as well as poets who have become personally involved in the situation involuntarily react to the goings-on and can they influence the course of events? Are projects, such as the Open Letter to Europe, written by acclaimed Belgian author Stefan Hertmans earlier this year, met with resonance and do European decision makers feel compelled by them in any way, shape, or form?

SATURDAY, 14 OCTOBER

Leseinsel der unabhängigen Verlage, Hall 4.1., D36, at 9:30

Sebastijan Pregelj: The Chronicle of Forgetting / Chronik des Vergessens (Drava Verlag, 2017)

Book presentation. The body is old and weak, but the heart yet feels and the brain yet shines. Sebastijan Pre­gelj’s novel addresses the final events with a light that inspires and awakens. Do what you must do, do it now, else you too will be written into The Chronicle of Forgetting.

Location, Premises and Equipment
The Dane Zajc Writers’ Studio is located in Praprotnikova Street (Praprotnikova ulica) in Ljubljana, a 10-minute walk from the city centre. In this apartment Dane Zajc was living and working for some years at the end of his life – so the residence features many testimonies to his life (e.g. paintings he was receiving as gifts, furniture he used, some personal objects). The residence measures 48, 70 square metres, it has two bedrooms and a kitchen, a bathroom and an enclosed glass balcony. The smaller bedroom has a bed, a desk, and a cupboard, while the larger one contains a “reading corner” and leads to the balcony. In each bedroom there are bookcases stocked with translations of Slovenian authors and with books that have been left there by other residence guests. The apartment has a wireless network (data transfer 50GB/month), a kitchen with basic utensils for cooking, a washing machine and an iron. A cleaning service of the studio apartment after the resident leaves and a change of bed‐linen and towels are provided.

Program description:
The residency programme is addressed to writers with at least two published works, as well as literary translators who have completed their training and have published at least two literary translations (students are not eligible). Translators are only eligible if they translate Slovenian literature into a foreign language. Preference will be given to those authors/translators whose project will contribute to the promotion and presence of Slovenian literature and humanities on the world stage.

The Slovene Writers’ Association invites a maximum of 12 authors each year to work 4 weeks in the studio apartment in Ljubljana for the year 2018.

Application Documentation
Applications must be submitted in the following languages: Slovenian, English or Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian. The following documents are required:

• A short version of your CV, including a detailed list of your publications or translations.
• A short written project proposal (not more than one 1 DIN A4 page) including information on preferred month of Residence and two alternative time slots.

Applications must be submitted by regular post or email before 31. 10. 2017 (date of postmark) to:

Društvo slovenskih pisateljev (Slovene Writers’ Association)
Tomšičeva 12
1000 Ljubljana

or

Email address: agata.simenc@drustvo-dsp.si

The submission must be clearly marked “Artist in Residence in Ljubljana/Slovenia 2018”.

All complete application will be considered.
The applicants will be informed about the outcome by 1.12.2017.

More about residence: The Dane Zajc Writers’ Studio

The opening event, an insightful conversation between Matthias Göritz (*1969) and German literature expert Tanja Petrič, took place in the garden of the Ljubljana Goethe Institute, where the esteemed German author also read selected passages from his novel Der kurze Traum des Jakob Voss (The Short Dream of Jakob Voss). The Slovenian translation of the novel by Mojca Krajnc is scheduled to be published by the Litera publishing house before the end of this year.

This year’s event also included two accompanying specialist lectures. The first, by Berlin-based editor Maike Nedo, introduced the participants to the concept of the role of the translator as a literary mediator and acquainted them with the possibilities for introducing works by Slovenian authors into the international programmes of German publishing houses.  The second lecture, by acclaimed translator and interpreter Amalija Maček, introduced the participants to the theory of consecutive interpreting and also included practical workshop. Consecutive interpreting is namely a frequent feature at events hosting foreign literary guests, the works of which accompanying interpreters have often translated themselves.

The Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) originally established the specialist Translation Seminar for Translators of Slovenian Literature into German in 2016 as one of the preparatory activities prior to the project “Slovenia – Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair” with the intent to facilitate regular and more frequent exchanges between the Slovenian and the German-speaking literary realms. The novel Kronosova žetev (The Harvest of Chronos) by Mojca Kumerdej, which was one of the selected works in focus last year, is currently being translated into German by Erwin Köstler, who was among the eight participants who attended the inaugural seminar in Ljubljana. The German translation of Mojca Kumerdej’s novel will be published by the Wallstein publishing house.

The third edition of JAK’s Translation Seminar for Translators of Slovenian Literature into German is scheduled to take place in 2019.

Photo: Ema Koncilija, Alenka Mestek and Goethe Institut Ljubljana

The objective of the seminar is to promote literary and print publications of quality translations of Slovenian literature abroad, to spread information, to encourage networking among translators and to facilitate close collaboration between Slovenian authors, publishers and international translators. Throughout the four-day workshop, the participants focused on selected poetry from the volume Zbrane pesmi (Selected Poems; Beletrina, 2007) by Gregor Strniša, the youth novel Kebarie (Miš založba, 2010) by Janja Vidmar, the collection of essays Državljanski eseji (Civic Essays; Beletrina, 2012) by Alojz Ihan and the novel Otroštvo (Childhood; Goga, 2015) by Miha Mazzini. They were mentored by esteemed translators and translatologists dr. Nada Grošelj and dr. Đurđa Strsoglavec.

The afternoon sessions were reserved for specialist lectures by dr. Igor Žunkovič (“The Poetics and Poetry of Gregor Strniša”), dr. Kozma Ahačič ("Language Resources for Translators of Slovenian-Language Texts") and dr. Aljoša Harlamov (“Modern Slovenian Novel”). The participants were also privy to meeting a number of Slovenian publishers, who acquainted them with individual original programmes form the areas of fiction, youth and children’s literature, the humanities and non-fiction.

The 7th International Translation Seminar for Translators of Slovenian Literature was also highlighted on the Culture Panorama programme, broadcast by Radio Ars. The feature by Simona Kopinšek is available here (in Slovenian). 

Photo: Domen Ulbl

The Fig Tree is an intimate drama portraying a family through three generations at the time of former Yugoslavia, its breakup and today's Slovenia. It is also a story about relationships,  love, freedom and the choices we make. It follows the interwining stories of Jadran's family, but mostly that of Jadran, a 30-something year-old, who tries to piece together the story of his family to be able to understand his own story and his relationship with Anja, who walked out of their life.

Published in Slovenian under the title Figa by Beletrina publishing house in 2016.
Rights sold to:
Croatia (Fraktura)
Germany (Folio)

Tadej Golob: The Lake
Tadej Golob (1967), a journalist and mountain climber, is one of the most original Slovenian authors. He also writes biographies and young adults novels. His novel Pork Legs (Svinjske nogice, 2010) was awarded with the 2010 Kresnik Award while his most recent novels; Ali boma ye! (2014) and the crime fiction The Lake (Jezero, 2017); were both shortlisted for the aformentioned award.

Slovenian readers and literary critics have hailed The Lake as the best Slovenian crime novel. The story starts at the New Year's Eve in heavy snowfall, the scenary being the picturesque Lake Bohinj in the closed-off Alpine valley, when chief inspector Taras Birsa and his wife stumble on a police car parked in the middle of the road. Sitting inside is a girl and her dog who found a headless corpse of a young woman in the ice of the nearby river…

Golob has set a planned sequel to The Lake aside to write a script for a TV series based on his novel. The series in six parts will be produced for the National TV by the end of 2018.

Published in Slovenian under the title Jezero by Goga publishing house in 2016 (world rights available).

Gašper Kralj: Shelf Life
Gašper Kralj, a social anthropologist researcher who has been living in Catalonia since 2010, has made the shortlist with his debut novel Shelf Life (Rok trajanja, 2016), a psychological drama dealing with the theme of dying from the perspective of a male palliative care nurse.
The book has earned critical acclaim for its fresh and innovative take on dying, and for its persuasive first-person narrator, something that Kralj as a freshman among established novelists, finds "exciting".

The protagonist  has no name. What he does have, however, is a somewhat unusual job – and a rather uncommon approach to it as well. He is a palliative caregiver, who efficiently – perhaps even too efficiently – looks after the dying. He writes a diary to alleviate the anxiety that he experiences at work and especially after work. And to avoid forgetting. When he has work – that is, when people around him are dying – he seems to have things more or less under control. When he has no work, his world seems to be slowly falling apart. His habitual meetings with his drinking buddies and his girlfriend Katarina are turning shorter and shorter. He is becoming increasingly desperate while trying to come up with alibis for his criminal acts – which may or may not be categorized as such – and getting increasingly lonelier trying to incriminate his friends, who might be precisely that.
Questions of death, suicide, homicide, euthanasia and guilt are thus skilfully sutured into the caregiver’s paranoid inner world. This extraordinary work, which describes the details of death and dying while focusing on the downward slide of its first-person narrator into madness, is “a highly articulate debut novel, whose style places it somewhere between Robbe-Grillet’s Voyeur and Beckett’s heroes,” as one of the literary critic states it.

Published in Slovenian under the title Rok trajanja by cf* publishing house (world rights available).

Rights sold to:
Hungary

Mojca Kumerdej: The Harvest of Chronos
Mojca Kumerdej (1964) is an award-winning writer and philosopher.

The Harvest of Chronos (Kronosova žetev, 2016), her second novel, is a picturesque portrait of Central Europe in the 16th century – a territory plagued by ceaseless battles for supremacy between the Protestant political elite and the ruling Catholic Habsburg Monarchy. In this epic saga, history and fiction intertwine in wavelike fashion, producing a colourful portrait of the Renaissance; permeated by humanist attempts to resurrect antiquity through art, new scientific findings, and spirited philosophical and theological debates. Yet this was a time of intrigues, accusations of heresy, political betrayal, and burnings at the stake, an age which produced executioners, scapegoats and extraordinary individuals who were prepared to oppose the dominant beliefs and dare to believe in a new order.

The novel was already awarded twice this year, with the critics choice award and the highest national award for cultural archievments (Prešeren Prize).

Published in Slovenian under the title Kronosova žetev by Beletrina publishing house in 2016 (world rights available).
Rights sold to:
UK (Peter Owen World Series/Istros Books)
Germany (Wallstein)
Serbia (Geopoetika)
Croatia (Fraktura)
The English edition will be available in bookstores this October.

Tomo Podstenšek: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Tomo Podstenšek was in the running with Rock, Paper, Scissors (Papir, kamen, škarje, 2016), a harshly realistic novel about a geography teacher going through mid-life crisis. He is full of anxieties (be it in shopping malls, traffic, relationships), somewhat unsociable and sour in a Houellebecquian way...

"The response has been distinctly positive, probably also because of the topical theme of searching for a meaning in a world of material overabundance that is devoid of spirituality," Podstenšek said.

Published in Slovenian under the title Papir, kamen, škarje by Litera publishing house in 2016 (world rights available). 

As he notes at the beginning, Slovenian literature is no enigma to the Phébus publishing house, as it had previously published the French translation of Vladimir Bartol’sAlamut approximately three decades ago. Due to its content, the novel attracted particular and international attention in the aftermath of 9/11. Phébus has hitherto also published no less than eight French translations of works by Slovenia’s internationally most renowned authorDrago Jančar, who has been very well received by the French-speaking audience. In 2014, his novel To noč sem jo videl (Cette nuit, je l‘ai vue; I Saw her That Night) received the prestigious Prix du Meilleur livre étranger best foreign book prize presented by the French Critics and Publishers Association. Ahl added: "When Drago Jančar received the best foreign book prize in France three years ago, we immediately sold 10,000 copies of Cette nuit, je l‘ai vue."

Nils Ahl, who has been at the helm of the publishing house for the past two years, explains that he aspires to maintain a sort of balanced editorial selection between "... languages and important countries and others, who strive to become more recognizable on the literary scene.  I am seeking to maintain a balance between complex and easily accessible literature." And this in spite of a vastly prevailing Anglo-American book production, which provides for 80% of all literature translated into French. “Phébus – like all other publishing houses both in France and abroad – is steadfast in its endeavours to publish books by various authors from near and far. Quality literature deserves to be read. And Slovenian literature truly is good literature." This was one of many reasons due to which Phébus remains inclined towards continual cooperation with Slovenian publishers and authors.

"Today’s Slovenian literature and Slovenian literature that emerged during the second half of the 20th century are very important European literatures. In my opinion, Slovenian literature entered an age of surprising maturity, which is a monumental achievement for such a small country in demographic terms. Boris Pahor and Drago Jančar are great contemporary European writers.”

He was instantly enticed by Feri Lainšček’s Halgato, the author’s first ever to be translated into French. The story appealed to him because "... everyday life – incidentally full of poetics, dreams, ambitions, and introspection – is at the forefront. The world depicted in Lainšček’s novel may appear very exotic to the French reader but is protagonists are like you and me. Because it features the Romani community – this community is frequently portrayed as a caricature in France as well as other countries – I was touched by the subject matter all the more. I believe, still, that literature has to fight for something. For an idea, for harmony. The novel Halgatois important from this very angle."

After a short stop in Ljubljana, where they were treated to a screening of the movie Halgato (directed by Andrej Mlakar, 1994) at the Slovenian Cinematheque (Slovenska kinoteka), the French company set sails for Prekmurje, where they attended an exhibition of Lainšček’s opus at the Murska Sobota City Library and a presentation of Lainšček literary exploits hosted by Ignacija Fridl and Melita Forstnerič Hajnšek. The following stages of their study visit were Plečnik’s church in Bogojina, the Lendava Synagogue (where they were greeted by Slovenian writer Dušan Šarotar), the Vinarium Observation Tower, the Museum of Romani Culture, and the Romani settlements Pušča and Kamenci (the latter was used as the filming location for the movie Halgato). The programme also included a tasting of Slovenian national dishes and Romani culinary delights, animated discussions with the Romani here and the Gypsies there, and performances of original travellers’ music.

According to literary critic of Le Figaro littéraire and publicist Thierry Clermont, interest in smaller literatures is on the rise among the French public. He particularly mentioned Drago Jančar and Boris Pahor whose works have been very well received by the French readers. Halgato is the first of Feri Lainšček’s novels translated into French.

The visitors from France were impressed by the diversified landscape, the warm and hospitabl reception, and the cultural diversity and found it highly exciting to tread along the original paths and to meet the people that inspired the story of the book. Reactions to the study visit are summarized and featured at the following links:

Media coverage:

Radio Europe 1 (French)

http://www.europe1.fr/emissions/carnets-du-monde/carnets-du-monde-syrie-slovenie-3287732

La Croix (French)

http://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Europe/En-Slovenie-Roms-heureux-2017-04-07-1200837830

Večer (Slovene)

http://www.vecer.com/francoski-novinarji-pri-feriju-lainscku-6254184

and

http://www.vecer.com/za-francoskega-bralca-je-svet-lainsckovega-romana-zelo-eksoticen-6255534

TV Slovenija 1, Slovenska kronika (Slovene)

http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/slovenska-kronika/174462955 (starting at 8:14)

The Slovenian Book Agency(JAK) was, of course, also among the participants. Its booth featured the freshest works by the most acclaimed Slovenian authors and a number of German translations of original Slovenian works. As every year, the selection of featured authors was conducted in co-operation with Slovenian publishers. However, the JAK booth was not the only highly frequented spot. The accompanying events, which it had organized together the literary network TRADUKI and publishers KLAK, Hollitzer, Milena, Kunstmann, AvivA, and Drava were attended by many people.

Author Suzana Tratnik spoke to Maike Nedo about her novel Tombola ali življenje (Bingo or Life; MK, 2017), from which students from two local grammar school read selected excerpts. Suzana Tratnik also discussed her novel and the topic ‘identity’ as a participant in a themed discussion together with Albanian writer Elvira Dones. Author Dino Bauk, who spoke to Doris Akrap, esteemed journalist and contributor to the German newspaper Tageszeitung at the tazstudio, also attracted quite a lot of attention. The problem of the “erased”, which he treats in his début novel Konec. Znova (The End. Again), translated into German as Ende. Abermals (Hollitzer Verlag, 2017) and mostly unknown to the German audience attracted a sizeable crowd. The same can be written about the discussion about refugees, about whom the acclaimed Slovenian war correspondent, political analyst, and long-time contributor to the newspaper Delo Boštjan Videmšek writes in his haunting book Na begu (On the Run), translated into German as Auf der Flucht (KLAK Verlag, 2016).

A biography about Tito entitled Tito in Tovariši (Tito and His Commrades) by Jože Pirjevec that was published in German in 2016 by the Verlag Antje Kunstmann publishing house under the title Tito. Die Biografie, already received heaps of attention during the launch of the German-language edition. During a conversation with Norbert Mappes-Niediek (correspondent for Die Zeit and expert on Austria and Southeastern Europe) with the tagline ‘Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Tito But Were Afraid To Ask’, Pirjevec shared a lot of highly interesting trinkets about the late Yugoslav leader with a capacity crowd. Another literary evening was organized by the Drava publishing house, which published the German translation of Andrej Skubic’s novel Lahko (Easy) under the title Ruhe late last year. The event, titled Balkan To Go, was hosted by German journalist and film and book scholar Ernst Garndits. In autumn, another German translation of Skubic’s work, this time his novella Igre brez meja (Games beyond Borders), is scheduled to be published by Voland & Quist.

The entire string of literary events was accompanied by the comic art/graphic novel exhibition titled Alma M. Karlin –  Svetovljanka iz province (A Provincial Cosmopolitan Woman) (art: Jakob Klemenčič, story: Marijan Pušavec). The author’s and globetrotter’s life story was told by Marjan Pušavec, who discussed the groundbreaking exploits of the legendary Slovenian female personality in a conversation with publisher Britta Jürgs (AvivA Verlag) and moderatoress Amalija Maček. Alma Karlin has evolved into a highly intriguing figure for German publishers as two additional German translations of works about her life, namely her autobiographical story Sama: iz otroštva in mladosti (Alone: My Childhood and Youth), scheduled to be published by the AvivA publishing house; and the novel Telo iz črk (Roman o Almi) (Body Made of Words: A Novel about Alma) by Milan Dekleva, scheduled to be published by the Austrian Drava Verlag; are about to be unveiled to the world in the very near future.

The next comprehensive presentation of Slovenian literature is scheduled to take place in Vienna at the BuchWien literature fair between 8 and 12  November 2017.

Plot:
Mia, sixteen, is growing up in a small, dull town, with a mom who would do anything to force her into taking a job. Her father is absent, although he does occasionally appear and fill her head with empty promises and dreams of a better future. Through a period rife with disappointment - over school, choosing an occupation, parents, friend and boyfriends - Mia needs to realise on her own which path to choose for herself and who she can count on in life. Her search for answers, which ultimately leads to surprising discoveries, will also prove a great read for those who left their teenage years behind long ago.

EVENTS BY DATE:

THURSDAY, 23 MARCH

Thursday, 23 March, 5:00 PM (17:00) – Club naTo
BINGO OR LIFE!

Suzana Tratnik and Maike Nedo will discuss the author’s most recent novel Tombola ali življenje (Bingo or Life), published by the Mladinska knjiga publishing house. The discussion will also revolve around Tratnik’s novel Ime mi je Damjan (My name is Damian), which was also published in German (Mein Name ist Damian) by the Milena Verlag in 2005. Students from two local grammar schools are scheduled to interpret excerpts from Suzana Tratnik’s novels live on stage.

Thursday, 23 March, 8:00 PM (20:00) – Kaiserbad
TITO IS DEAD

Colloquial evening of the Traduki Network featuring Jože Pirjevec, Dino Bauk, Dragan Velikić, Ethem Mandić, Shpëtim Selmani and Nenad Veličković.

FRIDAY, 24 MARCH

Friday, 24 March, 12:30 PM (12:30) – Traduki Südosteuropa-Forum, Hall 4
BINGO OR HANA. ABOUT IDENTITIES

Suzana Tratnik will converse with Elvira Dones, Albanian author of the successful novel Sworn Virgin (not yet translated into the Slovene), which was adapted into a marvellous feature film.

Friday, 24 March, 2:00 PM (14:00) – Traduki Südosteuropa-Forum, Hall 4
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT TITO BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK 

Meeting between Jože Pirjevec and German jounalist Norbert Mappes-Niediek (correspondent for Die Zeit and expert on Austria and Southeastern Europe).

SATURDAY, 25 MARCH

Saturday, 25 March, 3:15 PM (15:15) – taz.studio
THE END. AGAIN

Dino Bauk and journalist Doris Akrap are scheduled to sit down on the famed red sofa of the Tageszeitung newspaper at a distinguished fair location to discuss the German translation of Bauk’s debut novel Konec.Znova (The End. Again).

Saturday, 25 March, 7.30 PM (19:30) – Schaubühne Lindenfels Theatre
BALKAN TO GO

The Drava publishing house invites eager visitors to attend a literary evening of its most acclaimed authors, among them Andrej E. Skubic, who will preveal the German translation of his novel Lahko (Easy). The event will be hosted by German journalist and film and book scholar Ernst Garndits.

Saturday, 25 March, 8:00 PM (20:00),  UT Connewitz Cinema
Balkans Night hosted by the Traduki Network (under the motto Not West, Not East – Alchemy of the Balkans)

The scheduled discussion about the good sides of the Balkans and the subsequent literary reading will feature Suzana Tratnik, Boštjan Videmšek, Georgi Gospodinov, Slobodan Šnajder, Gabriela Adamesteanu, Ridvan Dibra, Milena Marković, Namik Kabil, Patrick Boltshauser and Damir Karakas.

Visitors will be treated to tastings of beer by assorted Slovenian boutique breweries.

SUNDAY, 26 MARCH

Sunday, 26 March, 11:30 AM (11:30) – Forum OstSüdOst
ALMA M. KARLIN –  A PROVINCIAL COSMOPOLITAN WOMAN

Moderator Amalija Maček, Marijan Pušavec (writer of the story for the namesake graphic novel and "Alma connoisseur") and Britta Jürgs of the AvivA publishing house (scheduled to publish an Alma Karlin biography in German) will provide insight about the life and times of Slovenian cosmopolitan and world traveller Alma Karlin.

Sunday, 26 March, 12:30 PM (12:30) – Forum Buch Aktuell
ON THE RUN. MODERN EXODUS (TO THE PROMISED LAND)

Boštjan Videmšek and his German publisher (KLAK VERLAG) are scheduled to present the German translation of the author’s groundbreaking coverage book Na Begu (On the Run. Modern Exodus), originally published by UMco in 2016.

The annual Yasnaya Polyana Book Award was established by the Yasnaya Polyana Museum and Samsung Electronics company in 2003 and the Yasnaya Polyana Foreign Fiction Award was introduced in 2015. The long list in this category is selected by experts: literary critics, translators, and publishers, among them Vladimir Tolstoy, chairman of the jury, and advisor to the RF President on culture and art, Pavel Basinsky, a writer and literary critic, and Aleksei Varlamov, a prose writer. The prize fund consist of two parts: the winner receives nearly 20,000 euros and the translator is awarded nearly 8,000 euros.

The name of the winner of the Foreign Fiction Award will be announced in October of 2017 during the Yasnaya Polyana Book Awards ceremony.

Drago Jančar, a Slovenian writer, playwright and essayist, is the most translated contemporary Slovenian writer. His novels, essays and short stories have been translated into 21 languages and published in Europe, Asia and the United States. The nominated novel, published also in English under the title I Saw Her That Night (Dalkey Archive Press, 2016) is a love story in time of war, a novel about a few years in the life and mysterious disappearance of Veronika Zarnik, a young bourgeois woman from Ljubljana, sucked into the whirlwind of a turbulent period in history. The novel was also translated into Russian, German, French, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Croatian and Serbian. The novel was also recognized in France and in 2014 awarded with Prix du Meilleur livre étranger (Best Foreign Book Prize, category Novel).

Jančar has received a number of Slovenian and international literary awards, including the Prešeren Award, Slovenia's most prestigious arts award in 1993 for his narratives, plays and essays; the European Short Story Award (Augsburg, 1994); the Herder Prize for literature in 2003; the European Prize for Literature in 2011.

On Tuesday, the first formal talks were held between representatives of the Administration of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Slovenian Minister of Culture Mr Anton Peršak, and the President of the Republic of Slovenia Mr Borut Pahor. During this momentous occasion, Mr Pahor accepted the distinguished role of honorary patron of the candidature of Slovenia for the title of Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Therefore, this project has been officially elevated to a project of national importance. In addition, it also represents a unique opportunity for Slovenia to present itself on an international stage and strive to establish its culture and literature on a global scale.

During the next five years, the title of "Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair" will be held by France (2017), Georgia (2018), Norway (2019) and Canada (2020). The year 2021 coincides with the 30th Anniversary of Slovenia's independence and will also mark the second time since 2008 that Slovenia will take on the EU Council Presidency (during the second part of that year).

The "Guest of Honour" is formally selected by the Supervisory Committee of the Frankfurt Book Fair. The selectee for 2021 is scheduled to be revealed either at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2018. The Slovenian Book Agency, actively supported by Slovenian publishers and other cultural actors, has launched the first preparatory and organizational activities for this project in 2015. The visit of the Administration of the Frankfurt Book Fair is proof that the Slovenian candidature is under serious consideration. 

Aleš Novak, Director of the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK): "The project 'Slovenia – Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair' most definitely ranks among the most important projects when it comes to presenting our country on an international stage and establishing Slovenian literature on a global scale. The Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) has been developing concepts for a successful presentation. We humbly consider the visit by the Administration of the Fair as proof that our plans and outlined activities have convinced the 'authorities' that our intentions are valid and that all actors from the literary and cultural sphere involved express the necessary potential required for a successful implementation of this monumental project."

Jürgen Boos, Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair: "During these two days, I learned more about Slovenia than I could have ever imagined. My distinguished colleague and I are returning home with lasting impressions. Literature and culture appear to be of great importance here. The network of public libraries fascinated me, as did the stable support provided to publishers that is crucial for such a small market. I am convinced that Slovenia has a lot to show for on an international level. "

Media coverage: http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/prispevki-in-izjave-kultura/174452638

The programme Ljubljana bere – Ljubljana Reads included both Slovenian authors and musicians. The honorary task of opening  the programme fell to the legendary group Laibach, to visual artists Metka Krašovec, Alenka Sottler, Hana Stupica and Jure Eržen who stunned the audience at the Pula Gallery Night and, last but not least, to the beguilling Slovenian cuisine provided by Turizem Ljubljana.

Much has already been reported about the fair (Slovenian Gallery Night in Pula and Slovenian Authors in the Focus of the Pula Book Fair), but some words also have to be devoted to the final days of the festival as well as to the visiting authors.

The performance of the marvellous Svetlana Makarovič in front of a packed house represented the pinnacle of the event before the fair's conclusion. She performed chansons from her album Kdor gleda ljudi skozi mačje oči (Those Who See People Through Cat's Eyes) accompanied by violinist and vocalist Jelena Ždrale, bass player Nino de Gleria, pianist Joži Šalej and vocalists Aphra Tesla, Tomaž Mihelič – Marlena and Ivan Rupnik. The concert by master singer-songwriter Zoran Predin, who has many fans among Croatian music enthusiasts, was highly popular as well.

The same can also be said for the last two readings by Slovenian authors attended by writer and culture journalist Mojca Kumerdej, who read from her collection of short stories titled Temna snov (Dark Matter, Beletrina, 2011), and Agata Tomažič, who attracted a vast audience during the discussion about her essayist-like collection of coverages titled Zakaj potujete v take dežele? (Why Do You Travel to Such Countries?, Cankarjeva založba, 2016).  During a special literary event, Josip Osti, Sinan Gudžević and Andrew Zawacki paid hommage to two Slovenian poetry greats, Aleš Debeljak and Tomaž Šalamun.

Media coverage:
http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/osmi-dan-prispevki/174442404
http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/prispevki-in-izjave-kultura/174441548

The pinnacle of the opening ceremony on 3 December 2016 was a (masterful) performance by the legendary Laibach group. Their first point of order was the christening of the exhibition of illustrations and posters. The group rounded up the event with a themed concert titled Laibach Kunst Machine at the packed Sveta srca (Sacred Hearts) Gallery. Before the concert, the main representatives of the organizers of the regional programme, the Mayor of the City of Ljubljana, Mr Zoran Janković and Mr Darko Komšo, Head of the Archaeological Museum of Istria, addressed the audience.

Svetlana Slapšak and Boštjan Videmšek were also on hand. Together with photographer Jure Eržen and Svetlana Slapšak, Boštjan Videmšek participated in an interesting discussion titled Island-Ghetto-Asylum hosted by Aljoša Pužar and presented his most recent book Moderni eksodus (2005–2016): z begunci in migranti na poti proti obljubljenim deželam (On the Run: Modern Exodus; UMco, 2016). Goran Vojnović also ranks among Slovenian authors whose works are popular among the Croatian readership as many of his novels have, among many other languages, been translated into Croatian as well. This time around, his novel Figa (Fig) was in the focus of attention. The scrumptious, mouth-watering Slovenian culinary marvels that made the book fair even more delightful were served by Chef KlemenKošir, who astounded the Croatian public with sensational fish creations. He prepared an array of assorted specialities from his most recent cookbook titled PLAVA: knjiga o plavi ribi (in English: BLUE: Adriatic Blue Fish; self-publication, 2016).

A number of events are still scheduled to take place before the end of this year's edition of the Sa(n)jam knjige (Dreaming Books) festival. A detailed list can be found below:

Literary Programme
– An Homage to Aleš Debeljak and Tomaž Šalamun. Participants: Josip Osti, Sinan Gudžević and Andrew Zawacki (The Red Salon, Fair, 7 December 2016).
– Discussion: Zoran Predin: DRUGA ŽENA V HAREMU / SECOND WIFE IN THE HAREM. Participants: Boris Dežulović (The Red Salon, Fair, 7 December 2016).
– Authors Reading Authors: Agata Tomažič: ZAKAJ POTUJETE V TAKE DEŽELE? / WHY DO YOU TRAVEL TO SUCH COUNTRIES? (The Red Salon, Fair, 8 December 2016).
– LitLink: Agata Tomažič, Sebastijan Pregelj. Other participants: Neven Ušumović, Nenad Stipanić, Marinko Koščec, Francesca Borri, Adrian Bravi, Alessandro Salvi, Flavio Soriga (Caffe bar P14, Fair, 9  December 2016).
– Discussion: Mojca Kumerdej: TEMNA SNOV / THE DARK MATTER. Participants: Vladislav Bajac, Bora Ćosić (The Red Salon, Fair, 10 December 2016).
– Breakfast with the Author: Svetlana Makarovič (Mozart Café, Fair, 11 December 2016).

Concerts
– Zoran Predin: SINGER-SONGWRITER IN CONCERT (Rock caffe, 8 December 2016 at 9:30 PM (21:30)).
– Svetlana Makarovič and her stars: KDOR GLEDA LJUDI SKOZI MAČJE OČI / THOSE WHO SEE PEOPLE THROUGH CAT'S EYES chansons. Performance with a cast of supporting musicians: Jelena Ždrale (vocals, violin), Nino de Gleria (bass), Joži Šalej (keyboard), Afra Tesla (vocals), Marlenna (vocals) and Ivan Rupnik. (The Red Salon, Fair, 10 December 2016 at 7:30 PM (19:30)).

The entire programme is accessible at the official website of the "Sa(n)jam knjige" festival:
http://www.sanjamknjige.hr/hr/2016/naslovnica/

The festival will commence with the screening of short film Srečno, Orlo! (Good Luck, Orlo!), a masterpiece by Sara Kern, the first ever female Slovenian director to participate at the Venice Film Festival (2016). The festival selector, producer Marina Gumzi, described the choice of films as an attempt of the expert team to raise the level of recognizability of young Slovenian film makers, who appear to be in "top shape".

Apart from Srečno, Orlo! (Good Luck, Orlo!), four additional short films are scheduled to be unveiled to the Berlin audience:  Dober tek, življenje! (Bon Appetit, Life!) by Urška Djukić, Male ribe (Little Fish) by Maja Križnik, Selitev (A New Home) by  Žiga Virc and the animated featurette Nočna ptica (Nighthawk) by Špela Čadež. The festival will also feature the following three feature films: Idila (Idyll) by Tomaž Gorkič,Družinski film (Family Film) by Olmo Omerzu and Houston, imamo problem! (Houston, We Have A Problem!) by Žiga Virc. All directors will attend the respective screenings and be available for subsequent Q&A sessions.

Berlin-based Slovenian writer Nataša Kramberger, the head of the festival and co-founder of Periskop, had the following to say about the selection: "We want to support the products and the authors thereof as they are good, artistically relevant and poignant both with regard to content and expression. We have identified the new Slovenian cinema as a pearl that has to be preserved and given an opportunity. We observe it as a whole, like a conglomerate of visions and the authors' voices." She also stressed that this year's festival generated a lot of interest among film connoisseurs.

The supporting art for the second edition of the Neues slowenisches Kino (New Slovenian Cinema) festival has been provided by Nenad Cizl. The festival is financially supported by the Government's Office for Slovenians Abroad, the newly established Slovenian Cultural Centre in Berlin and a number of private companies from Slovenia and Germany.

Additional information: www.periskop-berlin.org

Metka Krašovec presented her art as part of the Dnevnik (Diary) exhibition at the PoolaGallery. The CvajnerHouse of Art displayed literary illustrations by Alenka Sottler and Hana Stupica. Both illustrators have received many awards for their sterling work. Alenka Sottler, for example, received the US Society of Illustrators Prize for her artwork featured in the book of poetry Pesem za liro (Poem for Lyre) by Bina Štampe Žmavc, while Hana Stupica received the prestigious Slovenian Hinko Smrekar Award for artfully adorning the Ukrainian folktale Rokavička (The Mitten) at the Slovenian Biennial of Illustration in 2014.

The opening of the exhibition Na begu (On the Run) at the Pula City Gallery generated a lot of attention as well. The exhibition features shocking photographs by Jure Eržen, who accompanied acclaimed journalist Boštjan Videmšek on his strenuous journey along the Refugee Trail. The photographs were originally published in Videmšek's book Na begu: Moderni eksodus (2005–2016): z begunci in migranti na poti proti obljubljenim deželam (On the Run: Modern Exodus).

The visitors were treated to tastings of traditional Slovenian cuisine. The catering was provided by the Ljubljana-based public institute for tourism Turizem Ljubljana.

Images from the event are featured below.

On 6 December 2016, at 19:00 (7:00 PM), Boštjan Videmšek is scheduled to attend an event at the offices of the German KLAK Verlag publishing house, where he will be discussing his newest book Na begu: Moderni eksodus (2005-2016): z begunci in migranti na poti proti obljubljenim deželam (On the Run: Modern Exodus). The collection of field reports, essays and interviews was also translated into German by Andrea Leskovec and published under the title AUF DER FLUCHT: Moderner Exodus ins Gelobte Land earlier this year. The literary evening will begin with a keynote speech delivered by the Slovenian Ambassador to Germany, Her Excellency Mrs Marta Kos Marko. The introductory address will be followed by an interview with the author conducted by Barbara Anderlič. The event will be organized by the KLAK Verlag publishing house, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Berlin and the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK).

Boštjan Videmšek's book represents the final part of a topical trilogy (preceded by Upor: Arabska pomlad in evropska jesen (Revolt: Arab Spring & European Fall, 2013) and Vojna terorja: deset let po 11 septembru, (The War of Terror: 10 Years After 9/11, 2011) of one of the most acclaimed Slovenian war correspondents, political analysts and long-time contributors to the newspaper Delo. In his latest volume, the author portrays the intimate fates of hundreds of refugees who have been forced to leave their homes due to war, poverty and cruel mistreatment. The main part of the book is dedicated to Syrian refugees, victims of the most bloody conflict of our time whom the author accompanied on their flight via the Mediterranean and the Balkan route. The book is not only a general account about refugees, but moreover a highly effective depiction of our reactions towards them and a detailed description of the eruption of racism and populism throughout modern-day Europe. Photographs by photo reporter Jure Eržen, Videmšek long-time collaborator and travelling companion accompany the featured, shocking stories.

The Periskop society will be hosting a special literary event with another burgeoning Slovenian writer, Davorin Lenko. The representative of the young Slovenian generation of authors will be a guest at the so-called literary brunch consisting of tasteful words and tasty food at the Lettrétage literary house in the legendary Berlin artist quarter of Kreuzberg on 11 December 2016. Davorin Lenko's debut novel Telesa v temi (Bodies in the Dark, 2013) was translated into German by Ann Catrin Bolton and published by the Slovene Writers' Association under the title Körper im Dunkeln in 2015. 

Poet Anja Golob is also 'packing her suitcase' to leave for Berlin, where she will be working on her first novel as writer in residence under the auspices of the renowned German organisation Literarisches Coloquium Berlin (LCB). The prolific poetess has recently received the Jenko Award for the Best Slovenian Poetry Collection for her volume Didaskalije k dihanju (Stage Directions to Breathing, 2016), from which she will read at the literary gathering of LCB residents on 12 December 2016, at 20:00 (8:00 PM). In 2015, 13 poems from her second poetry collection Vesa v zgibi (Bent Hang, 2013) have been translated into German by Urška P. Černe and Uljana Wolf and published by the Hochroth Verlag under the collective title ab und zu neigungen.

As mentioned before, the first ever Slovenian-German translation workshop is scheduled to take place within the frame of the Vice-Versa Programme, undertaken by the renowned German organisation Literarisches Coloquium Berlin (LCB) during the month of December. The five-day workshop is scheduled to unfold between 4 December and 9 December 2016. The event is intended for professional translators of literature and humanist works who have previously published at least one book-length translation. Mentors Erwin Köstler and Amalija Maček will head the workshop. Initiator of the workshop is the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK).

Event links:
http://www.periskop-berlin.org/2016/11/09/3-dezember-1900-stanka-hrastelj-und-mojca-kumerdej/
http://www.klakverlag.de/
http://www.periskop-berlin.org/2016/11/08/11-dezember-1200-davorin-lenko-und-literarischer-brunch/
http://www.lcb.de/home/
http://www.lcb.de/uebersetzer/werkstatt-zweisprachig/deutsch-slownische-werkstatt2016.htm

The Slovenian guests scheduled to appear at the festival are: Svetlana Makarovič, Josip Osti, Svetlana Slapšak, Goran Vojnović, Agata Tomažič, Jure Eržen and Boštjan Videmšek, Mojca Kumerdej, Sebastijan Pregelj, Maja Gal Štromar, Jože Suhadolnik, Klemen Košir, Metka Krašovec, Alenka Sottler, Hana Stupica, the music group Laibach and Zoran Predin.

A special event will also be dedicated to the memory of two Slovenian poetry greats, Aleš Debeljak and Tomaž Šalamun.

Ljubljana Reads will be officially opened on Saturday, 3 December 2016, at 21:00 (9:00 PM) at the Gallery Sveta srca (Sacred Hearts) in Pula with the unveiling of the accompanying exhibition and a performance by the legendary music group Laibach.

A roundtable discussion for librarians titled Knjižnice v UNESCO-vem mestu literature: Ustvarjanje novih modelov predstavljanja knjig [Libraries in UNESCO City of Literature: Creating New Models of Book Presentation] is scheduled for 30 November 2016, before the official opening of the fair. Speakers at the event will include Jelka Gazvoda, Director of the Ljubljana City Library; Veronika Rijavec Pobežin, Head of the Users and Special Collections Department at the Ljubljana City Library; and Tijana Barbić Domazet, Director of the University Library of Pula who will act as the moderator. As a reminder: Ljubljana has previously been selected as the World Book Capital 2010 and joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2015.

This year's international programme with the central topic of Transatlantic will be directed towards forging ties between Europe and South America. The international focus will be dedicated to the literatures of Brasil, Portugal and Spain. Many distinguished literary names of international acclaim are scheduled to attend the fair. The list includes names such as the Syrian-French poet Adonis - a perennial favourite for the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Angolan-Portuguese writer José Eduardo Agualusa, the Portuguese writer Inês Pedrosa, Spanish author Lucía Etxebarría and many more.

Programme Ljubljana Reads:

Literary programme:

- discussion: Maja Gal Štromar: Think About Me While Having a Good Time (Mozart Café, CDH, 30. 11.)

- Breakfast with the Author: Svetlana Slapšak (Mozart Café, CDH, 3. 12.)

- discussion: Boštjan Videmšek: On the Run. Participants: Jure Eržen, Svetlana Slapšak (Red Salon, CDH, 3. 12.)

- Authors Reading Authors: Goran Vojnović: A Fig (Red Salon, CDH, 4. 12.)

- Breakfast with the Author: Goran Vojnović (Mozart Café, CDH, 5. 12.)

- Anti-Obligatory Read: Goran Vojnović (Red Salon, CDH, 6. 12.)

- Ljubljana Reads (and Cooks): Klemen Košir: The Blue: a book about blue fish (Bistro Alighieri, 6. 12)

- Homage to Aleš Debeljak and Tomaž Šalamun. Participants: Josip Osti, Radko Polič - Rac (Red Salon, CDH, 7. 12.)

- discussion: Zoran Predin: Second Wife in the Harem (Red Salon, CDH, 7. 12.)

- Authors Reading Authors: Agata Tomažič: Why Do You Travel to Such Countries (Red Salon, CDH, 8. 12.)

- LitLink: participants Agata Tomažič and Sebastijan Pregelj (Caffe bar P14, 9. 12.)

- discussion: Mojca Kumerdej: The Dark Matter (Red Salon, CDH, 10. 12.)

- Breakfast with the Author: Svetlana Makarovič (Mozart Café, CDH, 11. 12.)

Exhibitions:

Pula Galleries' Night with a taste of Ljubljana (in collaboration with Ljubljana Tourist Board):

- Metka Krašovec: DIARIES (Gallery Poola, 1. 12.)

- Alenka Sottler in Hana Stupica: ILLUSTRATIONS (Gallery Cvajner, 1. 12.)

- Jure Eržen: ON THE RUN (Pula Civic Gallery, 1. 12.)

***
- Laibach: LAIBACH KUNST MASCHINE (Gallery Sacred Hearts, 3. 12.)

- Jože Suhadolnik: THE PORTRAITS OF SLOVENIAN WRITERS (Mozart Café, CDH, 30. 11.)

Concerts:

- Laibach: LAIBACH KUNST MASCHINE (Gallery Sacred Hearts, 3. 12., at 21:00)

- Zoran Predin (Rock Café, 8. 12., at 21:30)

- Svetlana Makarovič (and her stars): chansons (Red Salon, CDH, 10. 12., at 19:30)

T

he entire programme is accessible via the official website of the "Sa(n)jam knjige" festival at: www.sanjamknjige.hr/hr/2016/naslovnica/

Boris Pahor will be interviewed by his long-time personal friend, esteemed German philologist ThomasPoiss - editor of the German translation of Nekropola (Nekropolis) and expert on the author's literary opus. The discussion will be followed by a short classical concert performed by Slovenian master musicians Brina Kafol Žust (flute), Marko Zupan (flute) and Vasja Legiša (cello). The acclaimed artists will introduce the audience to original sheet music by Boris Pahor's Triestian neighbour, revered Slovenian composer Pavle Merku.

The vestibule of the main hall will host an exhibition about the life and work of Boris Pahor. The exhibition was conceived in cooperation with the Cankarjeva založba publishing house since most of the displayed content was borrowed from Tako sem živel (This Is How I Lived), a monograph about the author's life edited by Tatjana Rojc.

The event is part of the preparatory activities prior to the project "Slovenia – Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair".

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE EVENT: stadtlandbuch.de/event/lesung-musik-und-gespraech/

The saga Meksikajnarji (Mexicanos; art: Zoran Smiljanić, story: Marijan Pušavec) features five books and represents the most extensive Slovenian graphic novel series. The story revolves around the futile feat of emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (a member of the House of Habsburg and younger brother of Austrian emperor Francis Joseph I.), who attempted to conquer the Central American country of which he proclaimed himself sovereign and annex it to the Habsburg Monarchy. The story is narrated from the point of view of a Slovenian soldier, who fights in Mexico as a volunteer in the Habsburg Imperial Army.

Alma M. Karlin: Svetovljanka iz province (A Provincial Cosmopolitan Woman) (art: Jakob Klemenčič, story: Marijan Pušavec) is a story about world traveller and writer Alma M. Karlin, the first woman ever to have travelled the entire world by herself after World War I. Alma M. Karlin was born in 1889 in Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Ex-Yugoslavia in 1950.

The exhibition is part of the preparatory activities prior to the project "Slovenia - Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair" and will be open until 16 November 2016. In 2017, the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) and the Slovenian Culture and Information Centre (SKICA) will stage the exhibition at another Austrian venue and at the upcoming Leipzig Book Fair (23 - 26 March 2017).

Media coverage:

outsider.si/ko-mehika-sreca-slovenijo/

www.sloshop.com/default.asp

Homepage of the Literaturhaus Wien

: www.literaturhaus.at

The candidacy programme of the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) includes a significant increase of the size of the Frankfurt-bound Slovenian National Booth and the introduction of Slovenian guests at selected fair events for 2017. Meanwhile, preparations for the next presentation of Slovenian literature in the German-speaking realm, at the 2017 Leipzig Book Fair (23-26 March 2017), are slowly reaching fever pitch. At the mentioned international fair, Slovenia is scheduled to participate both individually and in collaboration with the Traduki network with a number of events with featured authors (the detailed programme will be released in early 2017) and with a comic-book-and-graphic-novel-themed exhibition titled Alma & Anton: Svetovljanka sreča Meksikajnarja (Alma & Anton: A Cosmopolitan Woman Meets A Mexicano), which will be first unveiled to the world this weekend, on 28 October 2016, in Vienna. The opening of the event at the Viennese cultural staple "Literaturhaus Wien" will feature a discussion with comic book artist and graphic novelist Zoran Smiljanić and storybook writers Marijan Pušavec and Jakob Klemenčič. The exhibition will be organized in collaboration with the "Literaturhaus Wien" and the Slovenian Culture and Information Centre (SKICA).

On Wednesday, 19 October at 3:00 PM (15:00), the Slovenian national booth will host an official reception for foreign and domestic partners from book-related areas. The invitation is available at www.jakrs.si. We would like to take the opportunity to invite the public to peruse through the newest catalogue of Slovenian literature. Visitors of the Slovenian national booth will receive a complimentary issue of Sinfo magazine, published in English by the Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia. The most recent issue, the complimentary gift, is dedicated to Slovenian literature and was composed in collaboration with the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) (for more information access: http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/).

As reported before, Slovenia submitted its bid as a candidate for the title of "Guest of Honour" at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The government of the Republic of Slovenia has summoned the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) to undertake all candidacy-related project activities. The agency launched various preparatory activities (organizing study visits, hosting translation seminars, lobbying for and hosting cultural and literary events abroad, adopting and implementing additional measures for financing programmes and projects related to translating Slovenian literature into foreign languages, promoting Slovenian literature abroad). We plan to significantly increase the size of the Frankfurt-bound Slovenian national booth and perform a monumental image change in 2017.

Preparatory activities conducted by the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) as part of the campaign will also feature content-enriched presentations at the Leipzig Book Fair. The Leipzig Book Fair is an annual international event that takes place every March. A joint presentation with Germany, Austria and Switzerland as International Literatures in Focus and a networking programme for authors and publishers are also scheduled for the 2017 Slovenian Book Fair.

During last year's fair, a Slovenian Book Agency delegation officially submitted a candidature file on behalf of Slovenia for the title of Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair to its Director, Mr Jürgen Boos. The bid was met with appreciation by the Frankfurt fair's governing body, which is scheduled visit Slovenia in early 2017.

Mrs Damjana Pečnik, State Secretary of the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, is also scheduled to attend the opening day of the Frankfurt Book Festival on Wednesday, 19 October 2016. Mrs Pečnik will be accompanied by the Slovenian Ambassador to Germany, Mrs Marta Kos Marko and the director of the Slovenian Book Agency (JAK), Mr Aleš Novak. The official programme for her visit foresees a guided tour of the Frankfurt Book Fair conducted by the fair's Vice-President, Mr Tobias Voss, attendance at the official reception at the Slovenian national booth, a guided tour of the Dutch-Flemish pavilion, and an official meeting with the programme director of this year's Guests of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair – Netherlands & The Region of Flanders. At 4:30 PM (16:30), Mrs Pečnik is scheduled to attend the official opening of the "Weltempfang" (World Reception) programme where she will meet with the Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Mr Jürgen Boos to discuss the mutual expectations related to Slovenia's potential role as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Last week, the fair announced the official signing of an agreement with Canada to act as Guest of Honour in 2020. The previously announced future Guests of Honour are France (2017), Georgia (2018) and Norway (2019).

Activities of individual Slovenian publishing houses at the Frankfurt Book Fair:

The Mladinska knjiga publishing house has invited Milan Dekleva and Jasmin B. Frelih - recipient of this year's European Union Prize as its representatives in Frankfurt. A reception and session with the authors are scheduled to take place at the booth of the Mladinska knjiga publishing house on Thursday, 20 October 2016, between 4:00 PM (16:00) and 6:00 PM (18:00) in Hall 6.1., D36.

The Beletrina publishing house will choose Frankfurt to unveil the project Versopolis (a European platform uniting poetry festivals from 12 countries) at an international poetry reading on Thursday, 20 October 2016, at 8:00 PM (20:00) in the Römer City Hall (Römerberg 27), which will host the Open Books literature festival during the fair. Založba Beletrina v Frankfurtu predstavlja projekt evropske platforme Versopolis, ki združuje pesniške festivale iz 12 držav, z mednarodnim pesniškim branjem, v četrtek, 20. oktobra, ob 20.00 uri v frankfurtski mestni hiši Römer (Römerberg 27), kjer sicer v času sejma poteka tudi literarni festival Open Books.

As noted, SINFO magazine is generally published in English, with the exception of assorted articles that are also translated into Slovene. The focus of the September-October 2016 issue is on various areas of Slovenian literature. The magazine features pieces on a string of acclaimed male (B. Pahor, L. Kovačič, M. Mazzini, G. Vojnović) and female (Alma Karlin, Maja Haderlap, Ana Pepelnik, Anja Golob) Slovenian authors, a feature article on world-renowned philosopher Slavoj Žižek, and detailed articles about the national projects Rastem s knjigo (Growing with a Book) and Bralna značka (Reading Badge); which is oriented towards motivating primary, lower secondary and upper secondary students to explore the joys of reading; and about Slovenia's most important international literature-specific event, the Vilenica International Literary Festival, organized by the Slovene Writers' Association (DSP).

The September-October 2016 issue of SINFO magazine (in English and with selected articles translated into Slovene) is available at:

www.ukom.gov.si/si/promocija_slovenije/publikacije/sinfo_promocijska_revija/

The exhibition Alma & Anton: Svetovljanka sreča Meksikajnarja - Alma & Anton: A Cosmopolitan Woman Meets A Mexicano features two graphic novels, both historically and culturally linked to the Austrian realm. Alma M. Karlin: Svetovljanka iz province (Alma M. Karlin: A Provincial Cosmopolitan Woman - art: Jakob Klemenčič, story: Marijan Pušavec) is a story about world traveller and writer Alma M. Karlin, the first woman ever to travel the entire world by herself after World War I. Alma M. Karlin was born in 1889 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and died in Ex-Yugoslavia in 1950. The episodic graphic novel Meksikajnarji (Mexicanos - art: Zoran Smiljanić, story: Marijan Pušavec) is a story about the futile feat of emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, a member of the House of Habsburg and younger brother of Austrian emperor Francis Joseph I. The story is narrated from the point of view of a Slovenian soldier, who fights in Mexico as a volunteer in the Habsburg Imperial Army.

The exhibition will be open until 16 November 2016.

Homepage of the Literaturhaus Wien: www.literaturhaus.at

Our journey began on Thursday, 9 June, with a visit to the annual publishers' meeting organized by the Slovenian Publishers Association. Dr. Petra Hardt, a renowned copyright and translation rights specialist with over twenty years of experience in the field and representative of Suhrkamp Verlag held a lecture with the title "Copyright and Translation Rights - A Marvel Neglected by too Many Publishers". Dr. Hardt's speech was followed by a round table discussion revolving around the recent challenges faced by German publishers. The host Renata Zamida had the opportunity to engage in conversation with Thorsten Ahrend (Wallstein), Alexander Roesler (S. Fischer), Kristine Kress (Ullstein) and Maike Nedo (Berlin Verlag). During the afternoon, our guests visited the Bled islet, the venue of a literary event with Mojca Kumerdej, and were also welcomed acclaimed historian and 16th-century expert Dr. Sašo Jerše. The evening session featured a conversation with world-renowned philosopher Dr. Slavoj Žižek.

On Friday, 10 June, our guests embarked on a guided literary tour of Ljubljana and met with writer Jani Virk. During the afternoon, our guests attended a tour of the Manuscript Department of the National and University Library (NUK), where they were acquainted with the works of Alma Karlin and the original edition of Jurij Dalmatin's Bible. The group was also joined by writer and poet Milan Dekleva (who dedicated a novel to the great Alma M. Karlin) and editor, publicist and translator Jerneja Jezernik, a prolific and devoted researchers of the spiritual, literary and material heritage of the renowned world-traveller and internationally-acclaimed writer Alma M. Karlin.

On Saturday, 11 June, our guests visited acclaimed historian Jože Pirjevec, after which they joined writer Marko Sošič at the famous San Marco Café and Bookstore in Trieste - a venue near and dear to stellar author Claudio Magris. The journey to Trieste ended with a visit of the city's book central, where our guests had the opportunity to acquaint themselves with Italian translations of works by Slovenian authors. The three-day visit concluded with a tasting of six assorted Slovenian vines in Ljubljana, where our guests were treated to a literary introduction to six Slovenian poetry greats: Srečko Kosovel, Lili Novy, Dane Zajc, Edvard Kocbek, Tomaž Šalamun and Stanka Hrastelj.

Impressions by some of our eminent guests:

Dr. Petra Hardt, Suhrkamp
Throughout the past 36 years, I attended numerous study visits for publishers and I can honestly say that the visit to Slovenia was the best. It represented a harmonious fusion of literature, philosophy, authors, publishers, the land, people, history, the contemporary book market, archives and extraordinary hospitality. In the end, all participants exclaimed in unison that we would never forget this journey. With its historic and multilingual space, Slovenia spreads topics and views that are key to other cultures and language spaces throughout Europe as well. Therefore, the Suhrkamp publishing house intends to persistently speak in favour of and broadly support the idea of a focus on Slovenian literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair that should come to fruition until 2021 at the latest.

Dr. Alexander Roesler, S.Fischer

The multitude of impressions is astounding. We were able to meet so many authors and become acquainted with a plethora of works. We participated in so many discussions and were privy to obtaining so many information about Slovenia that it will most definitely conquer a very special place (in my mind and in my heart). I returned home with volumes of ideas and I firmly believe that some of the projects discussed will be realized. And when the time comes for Slovenia to grace the stage as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, I am convinced that you will succeed in exciting the entire literary world. I can't imagine anything different.

Kristine Kress, Ullstein

The visit most definitely conveyed a comprehensive impression about the diversity and richness of Slovenia and even throughout these few days, which very much too short, it became clear too all of us that there are so many more literary voices and stories of Slovenia that we still have to explore. And what I had seen spurs a desire in me to delve into this cultural diversity even more deeply. Furthermore, it was marvellous that we were able to visit so many places, see so many landscapes and meet such different and inspiring personalities. In my opinion, the composition of our group was excellent. It included just the right amount of people and joined publishers and journalists, which was a rare occasion for us, but a welcome one with regard to our respective professions.

The study visit to Slovenia was also revisited in German newspapers:

Gregor Dotzauer: Miniature Europe (Tagesspiegel)
Dotzauer is a German culture journalist who observes Slovenian literature very thoughtfully and has followed (and occasionally reviewed) it for several years as much as this is possible to someone who does not speak Slovene. This is also evident from his article in the German newspaper Tagesspiegel (July 2016) that features a socially critical word-journey from Bled to Ljubljana and further to Trieste "in the company" of authors, whom Dotzauer met during his travels to Slovenia, and ends with verses by Edvard Kocbek. Dotzauer thus frowns upon the fact there are no bilingual signs in Trieste, upon the seemingly irresponsible "clearance sale" of state property (for example water sources), upon the "insurgents" occupying the former bicycle factory Rog, and upon the Slovenian neo-leftists, who seek inspiration from Greek and Spanish revolters. However, what echoes loudest from his article is the desire to read Kosovel with a glass of Teran or to purchase German translations of Pahor, Sošič and many other Slovenian authors at the Central Bookstore of Trieste.

Paul Ingendaay: Poetry and Honey (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
Paul Ingendaay, a columnist for one of the leading German newspapers, substantiated his article about the study visit to Slovenia with many arguments speaking in favour of Slovenia's "honorific" participation at the Frankfurt Book Fair: scenic beauty, exquisite wine, rampant thinkers and perchance the highest density of poets in all of Europe. Slovenia, a country passed and shared between empires and larger states throughout history always searched for and found its identity in language and culture rather than in the context of territorial unity...

Four evenings dedicated to Slovenian literature have enticed the Viennese audience with an exciting programme, with Slovenian works translated into German, and with performances by authors that will definitely be considered among the most intriguing events of the year - as Manfred Müller, head of the "Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur" Austrian Literature Society described the evening with Boris Pahor. Despite a part of the audience having to remain standing throughout the event, they gladly persevered for a full two hours.

The inaugural Tuesday event unfolded in a relaxed atmosphere at the PHIL bookstore at Gumperndorfer Straße - one of the most popular central bookstores that, among many other things, also serves as a café and an open-air cinema. With courtesy of the Slovenian boutique brewery Reservoir Dogs, the audience was graced with the opportunity to both taste and lend an ear to the "Slovenian" by listening to the poetry of Cvetka Lipuš, Ana Pepelnik, young Austrian poet Verena Mermer, and the host of the evening - Austrian slam poet Robert Prosser. Davorin Lenko, who conversed with the audience in German, represented the Slovenian prose section by touching upon the German translation of his debut novel Telesa v temi (Körper im Dunklem, Litterae Slovenicae, 2016).

Wednesday afternoon was reserved for a visit to various Austrian publishing houses and bookstores. The fairly strong Slovenian delegation began their rounds by visiting the editor-in-chief of the Zsolnay publishing house (which has been a part of the influential Hanser Group for the past few of years) and then stopping by the Folio publishing house, where Drago Jančar has been the "bearer of the Slovenian flag" for a fair while and where Goran Vojnović recently saw the publishing of a translation of his work into German. Still, all of us unanimously agreed with a sentiment emanating from the announcement of the "Slovenian literary tour" in the Vienna-based newspaper Falter - Slovenija: A land so near and so scarcely known. This statement is not painful for the Slovenian Tourist Board alone - it gravely affects the Slovenian publishing industry as well. Fortunately, we found some solace while engaged in collectively browsing through the repository at Jeller, one of the most charming independent bookstores in Vienna. The bookstore, maintained by the legendary book dealer Anna Jeller, has been a staple of the 4th district for several decades. Alas, unnerving thoughts about the domestic bookstore landscape cropped up unsolicited...

What can be learned from publishing peers when the rare opportunity arises to meet in the editorial departments and exchange experiences, ideas, questions and even numbers while not being restricted to exchanging common courtesies alone manifested itself in the scope of the face-to-face meetings with our distinguished colleagues at Zsolnay and Folio. The exchange was both beneficial and inspiring: from e-book market strategies, all the way to PR measures, challenges brought about by remission and scouting new authors ... (Valentina Smej Novak, Totaliteta)

During the evening, the focus fell on the "Alte Schmiede" cultural centre, where Aleš Šteger unveiled the 'freshly printed' German translation of his novel Odpusti (Archiv der toten Seelen, Schoeffling, 2016). The author read excerpts from the novel in both Slovene and German with the same intriguing panache. Meanwhile, Boris Pahor, who was actually born during Austro-Hungarian period, arrived in the capital of the late empire to grace the audience with his presence on Thursday at the headquarters of the distinguished Austrian Literature Society - one of the oldest literary institutions in Vienna. He spoke freely about the fallen dual monarchy and the current European Union, which appears to be coming close to sharing the abolished empire's fate. Boris Pahor was joined by his long-time friend, renowned philologist and co-translator of his novel Nekropola (Nekropoli) into German Thomas Poiss. What constitutes an "embarrassment to the German publisher", as Cornelius Hell, the host of the discussion put it, the book is out of print. Auspiciously, we had the rare privilege of listening to an excerpt from the book read by Boris Pahor himself.

As on Thursday, the sterling work of interpreter Amalija Maček was key for the enjoyment of the predominately German-speaking on Friday as well as all of the guests featured on stage at the "Hauptbücherei Wien" central bookstore spoke Slovene. The event featured appearances by Carinthian-Slovene ORF Culture Editor Katja Gasser as hostess; Carinthian-Slovene author Maja Haderlap, who was asked for autographs while on her way to the stage already; and Goran Vojnović, the guest of honour in light of the publication of the German translation of his novel Jugoslavija, moja dežela (Vaters Land, Folio, 2016) who adorned more than just a few covers of the newly-issued book with his personal signature. Crowds of several hundred people, stunned silence during the reading by translator Klaus Detlef Olof, and the upbeat discussion that followed may have, in addition to a fairly strong media presence and the author's mini-tour of Germany, contributed to the fact that Goran Vojnović's novel has been included on the monthly (May) recommended reading list of the German public radio and TV network Südwestrundfunk - SWR (http://www.swr.de/bestenliste).

Resonating show events in the most vibrant and influential places of Vienna's cultural life and articles in the most reputable newspapers reveal that our neighbours are very eager to hear about and read more Slovenian literature. The PHIL bookstore and café for example is a regular stop for us whenever we head to Vienna on a private visit, which is why it was even more exciting to be there with so many people in attendance during the inaugural Slovenian evening. It was a very special treat, since we are very much aware of the fact that it was anything but self-evident to be privy to the opportunity to attend a literary evening at a location at the heart of the Vienna cultural scene that is in such high demand. We would like to extend many compliments and our sincerest gratitude to the organizers (JAK RS, SKICA). Luka Novak, Totaliteta

Visitors of the Vienna events will be able to meet Slovenian authors Cvetka Lipuš, Ana Pepelnik, Maja Haderlap, Davorin Lenko, Aleš Šteger, Goran Vojnović  and Boris Pahor. The latter three will be discussing the newly published German translations of their respective works.

The events will be organized in collaboration with local partners and referential authors and hosts from the Austrian and German literary sphere. The Slovenian authors will be accompanied to Vienna by a number of compatriot publishers and editors. The string of literary events – collectively named À propos Slovenija - novosti pri sosedih [Apropos Slovenia – New Arrivals from the Neighbouring Side] – will take place between Tuesday and Friday at four different locations.

Tuesday, 26 April, at 8:00 PM (20:00) at the  PHIL bookstore (Gumpendorfer Straße 10-12)

Austrian author Robert Prosser will host the Slovenian authors Cvetka Lipuš, Ana Pepelnik, Davorin Lenko and the Austrian poet and writer Verena Mermer at the popular PHIL bookstore and café located in the centre of Vienna. The audience will hear readings of Slovenian prose and poetry both in Slovene and in German. The literary event will be followed by a performance by Slovenian DJ Teo P and a beer tasting courtesy of the Slovenian boutique breweries Bevog and Reservoir Dogs.

Wednesday, 27 April, at 9:00 PM (21:00) at the "Alte Schmiede" cultural centre (Schönlaterngasse 9)

The Austrian author Angelika Reitzer and Slovenian writer Aleš Šteger will discuss the newly published German translation (Archiv der toten Seelen, Schöffling, 2016) of the author's Slovenian-language novel Odpusti.

Thursday, 28 April, at 7:00 PM (19:00) at the "Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur" Austrian Literature Society (Herrengasse 5)

Slovenian literary great Boris Pahor will be a guest as part of the literary evening series "Behind the Glass Curtain" at the headquarters of the distinguished Austrian Literature Society. Boris Pahor will be discussing the newly published German translation of his novel Nekropola with the esteemed German philologist Thomas Poiss – the editor of the German translation of Boris Pahor's novel and expert on the author's literary opus. Host: Cornelius Hell.

Friday, 29 April, at 7:00 PM  (19:00) at the Hauptbücherei Wien central book store (Hauptbücherei am Gürtel, 1070 Urban-Loritz-Platz 2a)

Goran Vojnović and Maja Haderlap will discuss the newly published German translation (Vaters Land, folio, 2016) of Vojnović’s Slovenian-language novel Jugoslavija, moja dežela. Host: Katja Gasser (ORF). Excerpt in German read by the translator of the novel Klaus Detlef Olof.

The Slovenian Book Agency will host additional events, this time around focused on the Slovenian comic art and graphic novel in autumn of 2016 in collaboration with the Slovenian Culture and Information Centre (SKICA) and the "Literaturhaus Wien" literary institution. Further events are also planned for the near future. For example, a study visit to Slovenia, to which four German editors (respective representatives of the publishing houses  Wallstein, Suhrkamp, Ullstein and Transit) and three literary journalists (respective representatives of the German newspapers Tageszeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Süddeutsche Zeitung) will be invited, is namely scheduled to take place between 9 and 11 June 2016.

As part of the preparatory activities prior to the project "Slovenia – Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair", the Slovenian Book Agency hosts four literary events with male and female Slovenian authors in collaboration with the Slovenian Culture and Information Centre (SKICA) between 26 and 29 April 2016 in Vienna.

Literary Programme

Tuesday, 26 April, at 8:00 PM (20:00) at the PHIL bookstore (Gumpendorfer Straße 10–12)

Austrian author Robert Prosser will host the Slovenian authors Cvetka Lipuš, Ana Pepelnik, Davorin Lenko and the Austrian poet and writer Verena Mermer at the popular bookstore and café located in the centre of Vienna.  The audience will hear readings of Slovenian prose and poetry both in Slovene and in German. The literary event will be followed by a performance by Slovenian DJ Teo P and a beer tasting courtesy of the Slovenian Bevog brewery from Bad Radkersburg.

Wednesday, 27 April, at 9:00 PM (21:00) at the "Alte Schmiede" cultural centre (Schönlaterngasse 9)

Angelika Reitzer and Aleš Šteger will discuss the newly published German translation (Archiv der toten Seelen, Schöffling, 2016)) of the author's Slovenian-language novel Odpusti.

Thursday, 28 April, at 7:00 PM (19:00) at the "Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur" Austrian Literature Society (Herrengasse 5)

Thomas Poiss, editor of the German translation of Boris Pahor's novel Nekropola and distinguished expert on the author's literary opus will bid welcome to the Slovenian literary great. Host: Cornelius Hell.

Friday, 29 April, at 7:00 PM  (19:00) at the “Hauptbücherei Wien” central book store (Hauptbücherei am Gürtel, 1070 Urban-Loritz-Platz 2a)

Goran Vojnović and Maja Haderlap will discuss the newly published German translation (Vaters Land, folio, 2016) of the author's Slovenian-language novel Jugoslavija, moja dežela. Host: Katja Gasser (ORF). Excerpt in German read by the translator of the novel Klaus Detlef Olof. Partners: Folio Verlag, Schöffling & Co., Hauptbücherei am Gürtel bookstore, "Alte Schmiede" cultural centre and "Österreichische Gesellschaft für Literatur" Austrian Literature Society.

Representatives of nine Slovenian publishing houses attended the expert part of the Berlin events, which were focused on making acquaintances with German publishers and facilitating translations of works by Slovenian authors into German. The first positive results have yielded only a mere two weeks after the events. The Transit Publishing House is scheduled to publish the German translation of Miha Mazzini's short novel Nemška loterija (German Lottery) under the title Deutsche Lotterie in 2016, while the Wagenbach Publishing House has elected to publish the German translation of Dušan Šarotar's historical novel Biljard v Dobrayu [Billiards in Dobray] in the very near future as well. We are duly expecting a number of additional successful incarnations of this and similar events, which we plan to reinforce in the coming years. We are looking forward to future meet-and-greets between publishers and authors.

On Monday, 16 November 2015, the opening day of the Festival, Samira Kentrić presented her work together with four German female authors at the TAK Theater. The event also featured an exhibition of illustrations from her debut graphic novel Balkanalije [Balkanalia].

On Tuesday, 17 November 2015, the Literaturhaus Berlin welcomed Marko Sosič, Vlado Kreslin and Terezia Mora (DE). The event was hosted by Ernst Wicher, the Director of a publishing house.

On Wednesday, 18 November 2015, we visited the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Berlin and spent an exciting evening with Miha Mazzini, Andrej E. Skubic and Silke Scheuerman (DE). The authors read their works and answered sophisticated questions by Thomas Geiger, member of the Literarische Coloqium Berlin (LCB). The respective Tuesday and Wednesday events also featured readings of the German translations of works by the featured Slovenian authors conducted by translator Erwin Köstler.

On Saturday, 21 November 2015, the sold out auditorium of the Babylon cinema hosted a conversation between Jela Krečič, Slavoj Žižek and Matthias Göritz. On Sunday, 22 November 2015, the Festival ended with a reading by Drago Jančar, who was accompanied by a number of illustrious personalities (such as Herta Müller, C.H. Delius in many others). The final event took place at the Deutsches Theater.

During the Stadt Land Buch Readers' Festival in Berlin, the Slovenian Book Agency also organized meet-and-greets between German and Slovenian publishers. The following Slovenian publishing houses attended the programme workshop: Goga, Litera, Beletrina, Mladinska knjiga, Miš, Celjska Mohorjeva družba, Modrijan, Sanje and Forum slovanskih kultur. On Tuesday, 17 November 2015, representatives of the Slovenian publishing houses had the opportunity to present their programmes to 20 German publishing houses in the scope of various face-to-face meets that were conducted in accordance with the so-called speed-dating model. On Wednesday, 18 November 2015, we visited the offices of three of the largest German publishing houses based in Berlin – Suhrkamp, Aufbau and Berlin Verlag. We had the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with their respective headquarters and publishing programmes and exchange ideas and experiences with our distinguished German colleagues.

On Thursday, 15 October 2015, at noon, a Slovenian Book Agency delegation officially submitted a candidature file on behalf of Slovenia for the title of Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair to the Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Mr Jürgen Boos. Should the Slovenian bid succeed, the country would become only the third Slavic state in the thirty-year history of this distinguished title to receive the honour and the first in 15 years, since Russia. The Slovenian Book Agency, which has received a mandate from the government of the Republic of Slovenia to commence with the appropriate preparatory activities as early as possible, set out to follow the orders this year.

The Slovenian Book Agency will provide free transport to Berlin and cover the costs for the organization of the workshop. Participants are kindly asked to cover the costs for lodging in Berlin on their own. Due to a limited number of participants, preferential treatment will be accorded to publishers, who are obtaining funds from the multi-year public tender for international cooperation programmes "R1-PROGRAM-2013-2015".

Application deadline: 15 October 2015. Please submit your application to the following email address: ekrema.lipovic-crnigoj@jakrs.si

The concept of a study visit for a foreign delegation of experts represents an established form of international cultural exchange. Therefore, literary expeditions such as this year's shall become a staple for years to come.

Between 3 and 6 September 2015 we were privy to host editors from three German publishing houses: Sabine Baumann (representative of the Schoeffling Publishing House), Lena Luczak (representative of the Wagenbach Publishing House) and Herbert Ohrlinger (representative of the Zsolnay Publishing House, part of the Hanser Group). Andreas Breitenstein (journalist at the Swiss Neue Zuericher Zeitung), Terrance Albrecht (journalist at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk) and Detlef Bluhm (Managing Director of the Berlin-Brandenburg branch of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association and member of the Administrative Board of the Frankfurt Book Fair) also attended the study visit.

The visit featured a stop in Bled, where we conversed with Mojca Kumerdej and Amalija Maček. The Mayor of the Municipality of Bled, Mr Janez Fajfar welcomed the company and acquainted us with the local history. After an afternoon guided tour of Ljubljana Castle and a stop at the Slovenian House restaurant, where both the Slovenian experts and the interested public had been invited to as well, the guests attended a fine wine tasting at the Movia Vinery. The tasting of six assorted Slovenian wines was accompanied by a presentation of six Slovenian poets: Srečko Kosovel, Lili Novy, Dane Zajc, Edvard Kocbek, Tomaž Šalamun, and Stanka Hrastelj.

On Friday, we travelled from Bled to Solkan by train and welcomed literary historian and author Lado Kralj to join us on the journey. The discussion on the train was moderated by historian Manca Renko, who focused on acquainting the guests with Slovenian history in the context of literature. During the afternoon, we had the opportunity to stop in Prosek (Prosecco) above Trieste and meet with Boris Pahor, who introduced us to his life and work at the Boris Pahor Library at the local Cultural House accompanied by historian Marta Verginella. The library features the entire opus of his translated works. In Trieste, we embarked on a journey along the trail of Slovenian history. This was followed by a visit to the Goriška brda hills, where we spent noontime in Dobrovo listening to the wisdom of Jani Virk and enjoyed a wine tasting at the local Ščurek Wine Cellar. After spending the afternoon in the Karst region, we concluded the day at the Vilenica Cave, where Czech author Jachym Topol was presented with the 2015 Vilenica Prize - the grand prize of the 30th Vilenica International Literary Festival.

The literary programme, the geographical diversity, Ljubljana and Trieste, and personal encounters with various authors made a great impression on our guests. And the echo of the distinguished journalists who graced us with their presence still resounds in their respective local media spheres to this very day. The next study visit for expert guests from the German-speaking realm is scheduled for June 2016.