At the book fair in Ljubljana the publishers got an opportunity to visit the stands of the publishers, who introduced them to their highlights at a B2B meeting, and meet some of the acclaimed Slovenian illustrators at the Illustrators’ corner. The publishers also visited the Vodnik Homestead in Ljubljana, home to various exhibitions of illustration, a specialised bookshop for comics, a festival and some of the best children’s literary events in town, such as Storytelling Variety shows. 

Two days were dedicated to trips outside Ljubljana – to the town of Celje and its Children’s Museum, as well as to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle, where participants met the author and street theatre performer Andrej Rozman – Roza, visited the atelier of Lila Prap and listened to the much-awarded author, narrator and collector of folk tales, Anja Štefan. Back in Ljubljana they also met the author of books for children with different disabilities, Aksinja Kermauner, and an author and translator Barbara Simoniti.

In the perspective of our Guest of Honour appearances at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in 2021 and at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022, our Book Agency organises yearly study visits for foreign publishers since 2015 in order to enhance the translational potential of Slovenian literature. The next study trip will be aimed at publishers of fiction and humanities again and will take place in August 2019. Interested already? Let us know – anja.kovac@jakrs.si

Participants’ impressions:

“I got the best impression from both your authors/illustrators/people involved in culture, and from your country. I look forward to establishing interesting contacts with the Slovenian publishers that I either met or had the opportunity to discover on my own and to continuing being in contact with you.”

• Lucia Borrero, Ravensburger Buchverlag

“Slovenia is beautiful country with an incredibly exciting and inspirational children’s book market, and I do hope that there will be possibilities for collaborations in the future. I’ve come back with some great memories and acquaintances, and I really appreciate you making that possible.”

• Tanya Rosie, Walker Books

“I really enjoyed the storytelling at the Vodnik Homestead. No acting, no puppets, just the story, music, illustrations and the storyteller. This type of performance was new for me and I liked it very much.”

• Romana Bartáková, Albatros Media, Czech Republic

“I didn’t expect such a rich variety of authors and illustrators. I’m also very much impressed by the work done at Vodnikova Domacija. It was so nice that you arranged the storytelling performance for us. Great as well that we went to visit the studio of Lila Prap.”

• Markus Weber, Moritz Verlag