We live
literature here.

Ljubljana is among 53 UNESCO Cities of Literature.

Annual events
  • March

    World Poetry Day in the city

    On March 21, declared World Poetry Day by UNESCO, poetry is in full swing in Ljubljana with a 24-hour-long reading of poetry.

    Stories Today Festival

    The storytelling festival takes place in Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre and at other venues in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is the central event of this kind in Slovenia.

    Vzkrik Festival of Drama Writing

    The Vzkrik Festival of Drama Writing provides mentors for authors to develop their drama writing, and their resulting work is later presented in the form of reading performances, followed by discussions with the artists.

    Fabula

    Fabula, organised by the publishing house Beletrina, is the largest and most important literary festival, not only in Ljubljana, but in the whole country, if not an even wider region.

  • April

    Slovene Book Days

    Slovene Book Days is an all-Slovenian festival taking place in early spring in Ljubljana and partner towns.

    Book Night

    Book Night is the largest event aimed at popularising reading and reading culture in Slovenia. The national and international project is based on voluntary work and self-organisation and has marked every night of April 23, the World Book Day, for several consecutive years.

    Book Fair in Zvezda Park on World Book Day

    On April 23, the World Book Day, Zvezda Park hosted a traditional book fair, which in the recent years has changed its location as well as timing in the scope of the Slovene Book Days.

    Etc.

    Etc., a festival of socially engaged literature for young people, is conceived as a web of events, focused on a chosen collection of books, authors and topics. Every year, a wide team of high school pupils, students, experienced editors and other stakeholders in the field of literature strive to find new and fascinating approaches of presenting their books, authors and topics to the public.

  • May

    Liber.ac Academic Book Fair

    The fair calls attention to the variety and high quality of Slovenian academic publishing, the latest achievements in science and interdisciplinary development direction in higher education, while it also strives to introduce academic books to a wider audience.

    Library under the Treetops

    Library under the Treetops is a recognised and well-attended parade of free reading, browsing and enjoyment on different public spaces around the country, popular among all generations of Slovene and foreign visitors.

  • June

    Children’s Book Festival

    The one-day-long Children’s Book Festival is a day of books for children.
     

    Bookstore Night

    On the Bookstore Night, which has been taking place since 2014, bookstores keep their doors open long into the night, while the visitors can also enjoy a varied cultural programme and take advantage of special offers: for every book purchase they receive a book as a gift. The Bookstore Night includes bookstores from Ljubljana, with several bookstores from Koper, Celje and Maribor also taking part.

    Pranger Festival in Ljubljana

    The Pranger Festival is a unique confrontation of critics and poets which strives to strengthen a cultured yet critical dialogue about literature, with the aim of safeguarding the dignity of art and a professionally balanced reception.

    Ljubljana City Library Day

    During its open day, the Ljubljana City Library organises day-long socialising activities in the Oton Župančič Library, with guided tours from morning to evening, as well as a variety of workshops for all generations, reading actions, bestowment of recognition awards to all participants of the Reading City project, literary and other plays and a closing concert.

    Literature Alive (Živa književnost)

    This small, but charming and cherished international festival, blends literature with music.

    Kresnik Award Ceremony

    At midsummer, the Cankar peak of Rožnik hill in Tivoli Park is transformed into a magical
    celebration of literature.

  • August

    Summer on the Silver Screen and between the Book Covers

    The Poletje na platnu in med platnicami (Summer on the Silver Screen and between the Book Covers) Festival focuses on the meeting point of film and literature and has taken place at the open-air cinema of the Slovenian Cinematheque at the Metelkova Museum Plaza since 2018.

    Days of Poetry and Wine Festival in Ljubljana

    The largest and the most recognisable international poetry festival in this part of Europe has been successfully bringing together poetic verse and promotion of Slovenian wines of the highest quality for twenty years.

  • September

    Vilenica International Literary Festival in Ljubljana

    The Vilenica International Literary Festival is a traditional meeting of poets, novelists, drama and essay writers from Central Europe, organised since 1986.

  • October

    Tinta Comics Festival

    The Tinta Comics Festival brings together diverse authors from the Slovenian comics’ scene with the intention of popularisation of comics’ art, it presents the highest achievements and the diversity of contemporary Slovenian comics’ production, as well as project going beyond comics and entering the vivacious dialogue with simultaneous art.

    Ignor Festival

    The Ignor Festival connects literature, sound, visual arts and performance.

  • November

    Slovene Book Fair

    Since 1972, the fair has, in 35 editions, brought together more than a hundred publishers, tens of thousands of visitors, international guests, local and foreign authors, and schools.

  • December

    December Illustration Fair

    The sales illustration fair brings together illustrations of the most prominent Slovenian authors across generations and artistic styles.

PastUpcoming
  • Events | Thu, 0.0.0 | .

World Poetry Day in the city

Readings take place in numerous locations around the city, and as UNESCO city of literature, Ljubljana cooperates with other world cities of literature on this day.
News | Thu, 16. 5. 2024

Residency for French comic book artistsCall for applications



APPLY HERE: 
https://forms.gle/TMUhhxvfz6PxysWAA


General information
Ljubljana and Angoulême, both UNESCO Cities of Literature, the French Institute Slovenia, and the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image (Angoulême, France) have joined forces to support Slovenian and French creativity in comics by developing a three-year residency program from 2024 to 2026.

The 2024 edition will support two artists, one French and one Slovenian, to foster artistic creation, increase their visibility and create opportunities for encounters with local artistic communities, other artists and new audiences.

One French artist will be hosted in Ljubljana from October 1, 2024, to October 31, 2024 (dates are non-negotiable). They will be given the opportunity to explore the cultural scene, particularly the comic book scene in Ljubljana, and participate at the international Tinta Comic Book Festival, which will take place from October 9 to 13, 2024.
This residency is part of the Institut Français’ “La Fabrique des Résidences” program.

Requirements for applicants
This call for applications is aimed at French artists (either of French nationality or those who have resided in France for more than five years). 

  • They must be active in the field of comic books.
  • They have published at least one comic book with a publishing house (collective works will also be considered).
  • They should be able, and willing, to converse and fill out this form in English.

What the residency offers
  • Accommodation and workspace
  • A stipend in the sum of €1200 (including taxes, paid as a lump sum upon arrival by the French Institute Slovenia).
  • Roundtrip travel expenses from France to Slovenia (up to approx. €600, paid by the French Institute Slovenia).
  • Possibility to participate at the international Tinta Festival as well as optionally present an exhibition and conduct a workshop.

Schedule
Deadline for submission of applications: June 13, 2024.
Selection results: July 12, 2024. 
Information: andrej@ljubljanacityofliterature.com (Ljubljana), maisondesauteurs@citebd.org (Angoulême)
 

News | Thu, 25. 4. 2024

Do you speak a ‘big’ global language? Here’s what my tiny language can teach youAna Schnabl

Ana Schnabl, an editor and the author of a short story collection Disentangling and two novels, The Masterpiece and Tide, wrote for The Guardian on the significance of the Slovenian language as opposed to other world's dominant languages.

"What worries, or rather annoys, me is the lack of basic curiosity among large-language speakers towards small languages, their very common inability to consider small languages as realms and not mere deserts in which strange sounds travel from one dune to another. This bothers me, not because I want Slovene speakers to be graced with the attention of, say, English speakers or because I expect people to learn Slovene. No, this annoys me insofar as any type of ignorance of the privileged annoys me: I dislike seeing people choose to remain small."

The whole article is available on the Guardian's site.



Photo: Mankica Kranjec/Beletrina

News | Wed, 24. 4. 2024

Open Air Book FairSUN May 12 (10 AM-10 PM) City Centre / Zvezda park

Every year, on World Book and Copyright Day and on other occasions, we celebrate our love for literature with Open-Air Book Fairs in cooperation with the publishing community. Here in Ljubljana, a UNESCO City of Literature, these fairs are a fantastic way to experience the city's vibrant literary scene firsthand.

We set up stalls or tables in the city center, where publishers stack them high with their best wares – at discounted prices, of course. It's a great opportunity to meet the publishers themselves, network, and attend book launches. The fairs are also bustling with meetings, discussions, author signings, and music, making them a dynamic and engaging experience.

But the magic of these events goes beyond the books themselves. They provide an excellent environment for bringing Ljubljana's literary community together and fostering connections. Not only can you meet local publishing professionals, but you'll also have the chance to discover Slovenian authors, both established and up-and-coming, many of whose works are translated into English and available for you to explore and buy. So come along, delve into the world of literature, and discover a whole new side of Ljubljana!

Let's gift each other books! More than 60 publishers and a dedicated stand with books in English.

See you on May 12th!

Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/s6ncD8cf1AXeqPyp9




News | Tue, 6. 2. 2024

Writer in the Park 2024: Herlina Suhesti and Valeska Angelo Torres

The Ljubljana UNESCO City of Literature is thrilled to announce the two writers selected for this year’s Writer in the Park residency: Herlina Suhesti (Jakarta) and Valeska Angelo Torres (Rio de Janeiro). The two writers were chosen by a selection committee from an impressive pool of 100 applicants from 30 cities of literature. As the committee mentioned, the overall quality of applications was rather remarkable. The Ljubljana UNESCO City of Literature office and the selection committee would like to express their delight in being able to invite a writer from Jakarta, which stood out as one of the cities with the highest number of submissions, and Rio de Janeiro, a recently added member city of the network.

 





Herlina Suhesti, Jakarta, Indonesia

 

Herlina Suhesti (1982), pen name Herlinatiens, is a writer from Indonesia. She has published several novels and volumes of poetry. Her first novel, The Edge of a Lesbian (2003), is considered transgressive of sexual and religious norms in Indonesia. It is a controversial “coming out” of Indonesian gay and lesbian writing, becoming a local bestseller and a reference source for researchers from other countries studying LGBT groups in Indonesia. Her poetry debut was nominated for the best book of poetry in Indonesia in 2020.

 

Herlina Suhesti is also a dedicated researcher, particularly interested in identity politics. Her unique background in Indonesian culture, coupled with solid training in social movements and Indonesian literature, allows her to navigate seamlessly between Western and Indonesian perspectives, as well as between social movements and cultural contexts. She has been active in the Witness and Victim Protection Agency of Indonesia and is currently a consultant for the Manuwani Foundation, which provides assistance to sex workers in Indonesia with the support of Women’s Fund Asia.

 

“I have always been interested in art, culture, and women and social issues,” she says. “I saw how Eastern women looked at European women. How women in our country consider the standards of intelligence, prosperity, and beauty to be in Europe. Therefore, I am interested in doing research to write a novel about how European women view women in the East, especially Indonesia.”

 

*

 

Valeska Angelo Torres, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

Valeska Angelo Torres (1996) is a poet, writer, performer, assistant editor at 7Letras, educator, curator at the CEP 20.000 (Centro de Experimentação Poética) poetry collective, and Library Science student at UNIRIO. She participated in the Poetic World Championships in Montevideo (Uruguay) and in the International Poetry Festival in Rosario (Argentina), where she was a writer-in-residence. In 2017, she was a finalist of the Slam das Minas. She is the author of O coice da Égua (7Letras, 2019) and Plutônio-239 (7Letras, 2022). Her work is featured in the anthology 29 Poets of Today (Companhia das Letras, 2021).

 

O coice da égua presents itself with the urgency of poetry that translates the urban reality of the outskirts and exposes the experience faced with everyday violence in a naked and raw perspective. Valeska Angelo Torres describes it as “a strong and faithful portrait of our contemporary society, the brutality of the streets, and the experience of moving through the city of Rio de Janeiro as a black woman.”

 

Plutônio-239, on the other hand, captures scenes from an inflamed world. In Valeska Angelo Torres’ words, “the reader is faced with a harsh reality from the great fire in Australia to the oil spill on the coast of northeastern Brazil, passing through groups that live on the social margins both in the outskirts of Rio and in the cities of Rwanda.”

 

Like the hybrid beings (half human, half machine) in her writings, Valeska Angelo Torres uses a language that is, in her own words, “at the same time raw like flesh and refined like metal, describing surveillance by drones, the voluntary incorporation of mechanical parts into human bodies, and even a call for a cyborg army.” Her poetic narrative visualizes climate change and social issues in the coming future, in which an ongoing war puts the poor population at risk. Her writing, including elements of cyberpunk, is very sensory because she chooses “not to spare the reader from the smells, sounds, and tastes of the dystopia that knocks on the door,” as she puts it.

 

“I was raised in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro,” Valeska Angelo Torres says. “At the age of 26, I started living in the city center, where I witnessed experiences related to territory, such as living close to the sea. Rio is my biggest inspiration in writing, as the city invites me to a dichotomy between brutality and beauty which I feel daily. In my works, I write about violence, landscapes, friendship, romantic and spiritual relationships. Currently, history and temporal aspects involving my ancestral relationship with the city are my interests, being the theme of my next book of poems.”