With the award season at its end, we prepared a short overview of the titles, which received the most important Slovenian literary awards. It is an exciting list!

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