Next week, the international book fair begins in Leipzig, Germany, running from March 21st to 24th. The Leipzig Book Fair, featuring over 2,500 exhibitors this year, is renowned as one of the largest and most significant book fairs in Europe. Its hallmark is its focus on Central Europe and its emphasis on authors rather than rights and licensing. Alongside the fair, the largest European reading festival, Leipzig liest (Leipzig Reads), is also taking place, promising nearly 3,000 events this year.

Following last year's successful presentation of Slovenian authors at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Slovenian literature returns to German fairs. Slovenian Book Agency will be present with natinal stand (D401) in Hall 4. The latest books from Slovenian publishers and current translations of works by Slovenian authors into German will be presented. Also, 10 Slovenian authors will be featured at the fair: Nina Dragičević, Erica Johnson Debeljak, Gaja Kos, Nataša Kramberger, Ida Mlakar Črnič, Pino Pograjc, Dušan Šarotar, Jernej Šček, Aleš Šteger, and Suzana Tratnik. They will be presenting their latest translations into German and participating in various thematic discussions at different events during the fair and in the city.

Slovenian Book Agency is organising its program in collaboration with the Traduki network, SKICA Berlin, the literary house in Leipzig, and the Czech literary center. Events with Slovenian authors are also organised by the Forum of Slovenian Cultures and various German publishers.

You can read the full program with Slovenian authors below. You are warmly welcome to visit us!

You can read the complete program featuring Slovenian authors below, while the program poster in German can be viewed at the link.


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THURSDAY, April 21, 2024

1:00 PM–2:00 PM | Lesebude (Hall 3, B408)
Close To Here
A tale of divergence and the unequal share of luck
With: Ida Mlakar Črnič
Moderator: Katja Stergar

2:00 PM–3:00 PM | Café Europa (Hall 4, E401/E403)
Tutto „Bella ciao“?
Italian fascism and the Slovenian minority in Italy - then and now
With: Federico Tenca Montini, Jernej Šček, Kaja Širok
Moderator: Barbara Anderlič
Organiser: TRADUKI

2:30 PM–3:00 PM | Lesebude (Hall 3, B408)
The Visit
With Tapir and Sloth about friendship and diversity
With: Gaja Kos

4:00 PM–5:00 PM | TRADUKI Kafana (Hall 4, D403)
Never Forget: Holocaust, Memory, Literature
A search for traces that leads from the family album to literature
With: Dušan Šarotar, Saša Šavel Burkart
Moderator: Erwin Köstler
In cooperation with SKICA Berlin and TRADUKI

5:00 PM–7:00 PM | Frauenkultur (Windscheidstraße 51)
The Pontoon Bridge
Queer activism, affairs, and rave parties in Ljubljana shortly after Slovenia's independence
With: Suzana Tratnik, Zuzana Finger
Organiser: konkursbuch Verlag


FRIDAY, April 22, 2024

11:00 AM–12:00 PM | Forum Weltweit (Hall 4, E350)
The Other as the Foreign
A conversation about what is foreign and unfamiliar, and how to deal with the discomfort of foreignness in literature
With: Aleš Šteger, Radka Denemarková
Moderator: Thomas Geiger
In cooperation with SKICA Berlin and CzechLit

3:00 PM–4:00 PM | TRADUKI Kafana (Hall 4, D403)
Cities, the Countryside and Grandma
Nature and the Past
With: Nataša Kramberger, Liza Linde
Moderator: Kristine Listau
Organiser: TRADUKI

3:00 PM–4:00 PM | Café Europa (Hall 4, E401/E403)
On the Edge of Insanity
Slovenian writer and longstanding LGBTQ activisit Suzana Tratnik presents her work
With: Suzana Tratnik
Organiser: The Forum of Slavic Cultures


SATURDAY, April 23, 2024

11:00 AM–12:00 PM | TRADUKI Kafana (Hall 4, D403)
Over the Pontoon Bridge. To the Dowry!
Queer (her)stories from Slovenia and Croatia
With: Antonela Marušić, Suzana Tratnik
Moderator: Barbara Anderlič
Organisers: TRADUKI, The Forum of Slavic Cultures

11:00 AM–12:00 PM Literaturhaus Leipzig | Haus des Buches (Gerichtsweg 28)
Close To Here
A tale of divergence and the unequal share of luck
With: Ida Mlakar Črnič
Moderator: Katja Stergar
In cooperation with Literaturhaus Leipzig

1:00 PM–2:00 PM Literaturhaus Leipzig | Haus des Buches (Gerichtsweg 28)
The Visit
With Tapir and Sloth about friendship and diversity
With: Gaja Kos
In cooperation with Literaturhaus Leipzig

4:00 PM–4:30 PM | Forum Worldwide (Hall 4, E350)
Written on Site
A unique endeavor to capture places, stories, and feelings
With: Aleš Šteger
Organiser: Haymon Verlag

4:30 PM–5:00 PM | TRADUKI Kafana (Hall 4, D403)
A Widow in a Foreign Land
A memoir on sudden death and female self-determination
With: Erica Johnson Debeljak
Moderator: Doris Akrap
In cooperation with TRADUKI

7:30 PM–8:30 PM | Mendelssohn Remise (Goldschmidtstraße 12)
Written on Site
A unique endeavor to capture places, stories, and feelings
With: Aleš Šteger
Organiser: Haymon Verlag

8:00 PM–10:30 PM | UT Connewitz (Wolfgang-Heinze-Straße 12a)
Balkannacht
Literature and music at UT Connewitz
With: Alexandru Bulucz, Rene Karabash, Nataša Kramberger, Barbi Marković, Bojan Savić Ostojić
Moderator: Amir Kamber, Vivian Perkovic
Organisers: TRADUKI, Ministry of Culture of Romania, Residenz Verlag

9:00 PM–11:00 PM | Passage Kinos (Hainstraße 19a)
Love Bites - The Erotic Revue at the Leipzig Book Fair
An evening for all senses, exploring love's spectrum, from passion to the ordinary
With: Anna Breitenbach, Suzana Tratnik, Stormy Heather, Eleonore Hochmuth, Foxic Poison, Kali Drische, Sigrun Casper
Moderator: Claudia Gehrke
Organiser: konkursbuch Verlag


SUNDAY, April 24, 2024

11:00 AM–12:00 PM | Forum Weltweit (Hall 4, E350)
Poetry of the Body
Reading and discussion with award-winning voices of Slovenian poetry
With: Pino Pograjc, Nina Dragičević, Liza Linde
Moderator: Amalija Maček

1:00 PM–2:00 PM | Forum Weltweit (Hall 4, E350)
New Works of Slovenian Literature in German Translation
A discussion about current publications
With: Amalija Maček, Liza Linde, Erwin Köstler, Katja Stergar
Moderator: Marie Luise Knott


Program Partners:
TRADUKI, SKICA Berlin, Literature House Leipzig, CzechLit, Beletrina Academic Press, Beltz Verlag, Edition Thanhäuser, Haymon Verlag, Heyn Verlag, Marix Verlag, Mladinska knjiga, Schenk Verlag, Sodobnost International.