We live
literature here.

Ljubljana is among 42 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 | .

Tinta Comics Festival

By hosting acknowledged foreign comics’ authors and experts from the field the festival opens a window into the international scene and trends in the field of contemporary original comics, as well as spreading the creative net and exchange beyond Slovenian borders.
Chief organiser of the festival: Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture
Co-organisers and partners: Stripburger/Forum Ljubljana, VigeVageKnjige, Stripolis Institute, Azil Bookstore, Alkatraz Gallery/KUD Mreža, Vodnik Homestead, Slovenian Cinematheque, Radio Student, 3rdHand Association/Independent Biennial, Homo Narrans Institute, Kultura in prosveta Institute, Glavan Antique Bookshop, National Gallery, Piran Coastal Galleries, Kranj City Library, Pekarna Magdalena Network, Narodni dom Maribor
News | Sat, 20. 11. 2021

THE 37TH SLOVENIAN E-BOOK FAIR STARTS SOONFrom November 22nd to December 5th

Slovenian publishers are inviting people to buy books with friendly prices straight from their homes. Due to the pandemic, the book fair will again take place online.
Some links to online publisher stores can be found here.

https://knjizni-sejem.si/
 

News | Fri, 12. 11. 2021

International competition for the best poetry and short stories!Manchester Writing Competition 2021 has started 

The best poetry and short stories of up to 2,500 words will be awarded with £10,000. The texts should be unpublished. 

The competition is international, for writers aged 16 and over, and the language of submitted works must be English.

The cost of registration is £18, by the end of November the price is lower. 

Deadline for applications: January 28, 2022.
More online!
 

News | Wed, 10. 11. 2021

Three new cities in the UNESCO Cities of LiteratureJakarta, Vilnius and Gothenburg 

Ljubljana was awarded the permanent title of UNESCO City of Literature (which unites cities where literature has a special role) in 2015, and today we are pleased to announce that three other cities joined the fast-growing international network of cities of literature.

The number of literature cities committed to promoting the sustainable development of literature and reading culture has increased from 39 to 42, with Jakarta (Indonesia), Vilnius (Lithuania), and Gothenburg (Sweden).
 

News | Wed, 13. 10. 2021

THIS COULD BE A FILMat the Slovenian Film Festival

13. 10. / 15.30 / Portorož

Filmmakers are looking for ideas also in literature. With the desire for a more structured connection between the two worlds (film and literature) the office of Ljubljana, UNESCO City of Literature together with the Slovenian Cinematheque in June 2021 announced a competition for the stories that could become a movie. 

A three-member commission - Luka Marčetič, Matjaž Ivanišin and Marina Gumzi - reviewed the applications and selected the works of Ana Svetel, Matjaž Jamnik, Sara Štern, Jedrt Lapuh Maležič and Luna J. Šribar. 

They were presented on the stage of Slovenian Film Festival by Boštjan Napotnik - Napo!
For the event, we prepared a booklet which contains all five stories, presentations of their authors and the justifications of the commission. We added texts of Marcel Štefančič jr. who writes about writing with film and filming with words, and Urša Chitrakar, who writes about the copyright aspect of the use of literary works in films.