SLOVENIA: ITS PUBLISHING LANDSCAPE AND READERS CONTENT FACTS ABOUT SLOVENIA A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLISHING LANDSCAPE IN SLOVENIA 3 • Location: southern Central Europe at a crossroads of AN OUTLINE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SLOVENE PUBLISHING 6 important European cultural and trade routes AUTHORS: WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS AND TRANSLATORS 8 PUBLISHERS 11 • Independence: 25 June 1991 THE SIZE OF THE BOOK MARKET IN SLOVENIA 20 YEARLY FIGURES FOR PUBLISHED BOOKS 21 • EU: member since 2004 BOOK PRICES 25 • Currency: Euro BOOK DISTRIBUTORS 25 BOOKSHOPS 26 • Area: 20,273 km2 PUBLIC LIBRARIES 28 E-BOOKS AND AUDIO BOOKS 32 • Population: 2 million BOOK STATISTICS 33 • Official language: Slovene REACHING OUT TO BOOK AUDIENCES 35 IMPORTANT BOOK EVENTS 36 • Capital and largest city: Ljubljana (population 300,000) LITERARY FESTIVALS 38 LITERARY EXPORT & TRANSLATION RIGHTS 40 • Nominal GDP per capita: 22,182 € GRANT PROGRAMMES FOR FOREIGN PUBLISHERS 42 PUBLISHERS’ FOREIGN RIGHTS DEPARTMENTS AND CONTACTS 43 SLOVENE BOOKS AND THE STATE 44 BOOK-RELATED LAWS 47 2 A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLISHING LANDSCAPE IN SLOVENIA Around 6000 book titles published every year or around 3000 book titles per million One of the best organized library systems in inhabitants (in range with Scandinavian Europe with around 12 borrowings per capita countries and the UK). per year (more than 23 million all together). 100 million EUR is the size of More than 1400 publishers with at the buying side of the book least one published book per year. market in Slovenia. 21 EUR is the average price of a printed book More than 150 bookstores and three (tax 9.5 %). bookstore chains (one bookstore for around 13,000 people). More than 3000 e-books in Slovene available for At least one translation of a Slovene book gets borrowing and buying. published per week. The Slovenian Book Agency has been the key public institution to support book Slovenia will be Guest of Honour at the book fairs production and promotion for more than in Bologna (2021) and Frankfurt (2022). 10 years (established in 2009). 3 AN OUTLINE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SLOVENE PUBLISHING HOW IT ALL BEGAN… grammar and the first secular collection of poetry – numerous newspapers were The first books in Slovene were also published in this period, including published in the mid sixteenth century, the first newspaper in Slovene,Lublan - by the Protestant preacher Catechismus ske novice. In the second half of the 19th Primož Trubar (1508–1586) in 1550 century the two oldest Slovene publish- and his Abecedarium a year later. The ing houses were established, both still first printing workshop was set up in active, Celjska Mohorjeva družba (The Ljubljana as early as 1575. The Bible Celje Hermagoras Society) in 1851 and was first published in Slovene in 1582 Slovenska Matica (The Slovene Soci- and is one of the earliest printed trans- ety) in 1864. The Alpine Association of lations of the Bible in general, translated Slovenia also began publishing books in by the Lutheran minister and reformer 1893 and continues to do so to this day. Jurij Dalmatin (1547–1589). The next At the end of the 19th century major step in the history of Slovene Lavoslav Schwentner opened his book- publishing was made by Baron Janez shop and publishing house in Ljubljana. Vajkard Valvasor who set up his own He is considered the founder of modern printing and engraving workshop at his The front page of the Slovene publishing in Slovenia and published translation of the Bible from 1582. castle and published his monumental over 200 books. Slovenia’s highest pub- work The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, lishing award for lifetime achievement is containing over 550 copperplate en- named after him. An important branch gravings. The period of Enlightenment of his activities was the publication of marked a growth in publishing. Beside children’s books that were previously books – among which the first Slovene almost unknown in Slovene publishing. 4 He paid great attention to illustration also appeared (Hamsun, Galsworthy, and the layout of his books and often Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Boccaccio and involved some of the most prominent others), systematically published by the artists of the time in his designs. It was publishing house Modra ptica, which Schwentner who made it possible for had over 5000 subscribers at the peak of Ivan Cankar, often considered Slovenia’s its activity. greatest writer, to live off writing, by publishing over twenty of his books. THE PERIOD OF COMMUNIST YUGOSLAVIA The first peak in Slovene publish- ing came in the period between the First When the Second World War and Second World Wars. A number ended, the nationalisation of private of publishing houses were established property began and around twenty pub- and the foundation of the University of lishing houses were founded through Ljubljana in 1919 encouraged people state acts and decrees, strategically to buy and read books in Slovene. As a located throughout Slovenia. A number The front page of Ivan Cankar’s Hlapec Jernej result, books were being published in of publishing houses in larger towns also published by Lavoslav Schwentner in 1907. relatively high print-runs even by today’s included bookshops in their organiza- The novella was translated into English by standards, the most prominent being the tional structure. Louis Adamic in 1928 as Yerney’s Justice and so-called Mohorjanke, Catholic booklets During this period a number of published by Vanguard Press in New York. that were published on a subscription publishing houses that continue to model with a circulation of close to operate today were created: Mladinska 100,000 copies. During this period Knjiga, Cankarjeva Založba, Državna numerous translations of world classics Založba Slovenije, Tehniška Založba, 5 AN OUTLINE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SLOVENE PUBLISHING (CONT.) Založba Kmečki Glas and the publish- TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE in the rules on business initiatives, ing house Obzorja. These publishers which ushered in a period when private were obliged to abide by the social-po- At the end of the 1980s the publishing houses were once more being litical guidelines of the time but over Companies Act brought a relaxation the years managed to increase their editorial freedom; generally speaking, Slovenia’s literary landscape was always up-to-date with the most influential world literature. The 1980s marked the rise of a va- riety of engaged social movements that united intellectuals of all kinds, reflected in the emergence of publishers with con- tents mainly from the humanities. The publishers Studia Humanitatis, Krtina, Sophia and ŠKUC Cultural Centre were founded at the time. The assembly room in the House of the Slovene Writers’ Association, where the so-called Writers’ Constitution was composed in the spring of 1988. This was the basis of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. 6 established. As well as publishers that This is testified by the key role individ- decade brought a downturn in growth were organised as private companies, in uals and professional organisations (the indicators. the 1990s a number of publishers were Slovene Writers’ Association, the Slovene On the other hand, existing set up with book programmes support- PEN Centre) played in the mid-1980, publishing houses that also include ed by public funding. The period after when Slovene cultural workers actively bookshops in their business structure Slovenia’s independence in 1991 was participated in writing the Constitution have consolidated their position. We the one when the majority of publishing of independent Slovenia (the so-called now have three central book systems: houses active today were established. Writers’ constitution). Throughout the Mladinska Knjiga with Cankarjeva 1990’s a number of established writers Založba and MK Trgovina (book- THE PUBLISHING were prominent politicians and some shops), the Učila Publishing House with LANDSCAPE TODAY were appointed to ministerial posts. its Felix bookshops and a wide selection After years of economic growth, of locations beyond bookshops where In the period prior and during Slo- book publishing in Slovenia reached its it promotes and sells its books, and the venia’s independence, writers, essayists, peak in 2008, both in the number of publishers Družina and Celjska Mohor- poets and in a broader sense authors and books published and their circulation, jeva Družba with a smaller selection of humanists in general, played an influen- but, as in many other book markets bookshops but a clearly defined (Catho- tial and inspiring role in state formation. around the world, the following lic) readership. 7 AUTHORS: WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS AND TRANSLATORS Writers in Slovenia are supported KRESNIK AWARD (best novel) by certain social mechanisms, from giving Year Winner Original Title Publisher public lending rights payments whenever 2015 Andrej E. Skubic Samo pridi domov Modrijan their books are borrowed from a library, 2016 Miha Mazzini Otroštvo Goga to work and creative bursaries, all of which relieve their economic situation, 2017 Goran Vojnović Figa Beletrina but the majority of authors are freelanc- 2018 Drago Jančar In ljubezen tudi Beletrina ers or work in other jobs, often making 2019 Bronja Žakelj Belo se pere na devetdeset Beletrina literary creativity their parallel activity. Very few writers can live merely off what they create. There are also a number of awards annually handed out to literary creators, from the Kresnik Award for best Slo- vene novel (bestowed by the newspaper publisher Delo) and the Kritiško Sito Andrej E. Skubic won the Prize (bestowed by the Slovene Liter- Kresnik award in 2015. The award was named ary Critics Association), to the Rožanc after a Slavic pagan deity Award for the best collection of essays, associated with the sun, the Veronika Award and the Jenko fire, and summer. The Award for the best poetry collections, winners are announced at the ceremony where and the Desetnica, Večernica and Levs- they receive a prize and tik Awards for best children’s and young are given the honour of adult literature.