Authors and Books

Barbara Simoniti

Barbara Simoniti (1963) is a poet, writer, and translator. She obtained a PhD in Literary Studies in 1995. She published four books of poetry: Zatišnost (Calmness,1997), Zlati dež (Golden Rain, 2000), Sončni obrat (Solstice, 2011), and Voda (Water, 2012); the volume of novellas Razdalje (Distances, 1998); a doctoral thesis adapted into a non-fiction book titled Nonsens (Nonsense, 1998); the children's book Močvirniki, Zgodbe iz Zelene Dobrave (Swampies - Stories from the Green Grove, 2012) with illustrations by Peter Škerl; and the picture book Andrej Nespanec (Sleepless Andrew, 2014), which also features illustrations by Peter Škerl . Her children's book Močvriniki (Swampies) was awarded the Levstik Award and the Golden Pear Seal, both in 2013. That same year, the book was also among the top 5 titles short-listed for the Večernica Prize. The International Youth Library in Munich listed Močvirniki (Swampies) among the 250 most noteworthy children's books from all across the world and included the title in the annual White Ravens Catalogue for the year 2013.

 

Clément Bénech

Clément Bénech (1991) is a French author of the younger generation.  He studied Contemporary Literature at the famous Sorbonne and spent six months as an exchange student in Berlin.  He notes that his motivation for writing was sparked by reading the novels of the recent Nobel Prize recipient Partck Modiano. He also writes a blog, which can be accessed at clementbenech.tumblr.com. He is also present on Twitter.  His debut book, a short novel titled L'été slovène (Slovenian Summer) was published in 2013. His second novel, Lève-toi et charme (Arise and Charm), is scheduled to be published next year.

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Desa Muck

Desa Muck (1955) is an actress, TV presenter, publicist, and a writer of books for children and young adults. She is known for her stories, feuilletons, novellas, columns, and audio plays. She is most famous though for her works of fiction. Her adult novels include Panika (Panic, 2003) and Peskovnik boga otroka (The Child God's Sandpit, 2006). She has also authored a string of highly popular children's books. Her book Lažniva Suzi (Lying Suzy, 1997) was awarded the Večernica Prize in 1998. She is also a recipient of the Levstik Award, which she won for her children's book series Anica (Annie) in 2005. The series was chosen as the most popular Slovenian book among young readers according to the Mojca Most Popular Slovenian Book of the Year survey no less than four times. Her series of books for young adults Blazno resno (Incredibly Seriously) is similarly popular as well.
 

Georgi Gospodinov

Georgi Gospodinov (1968) is a poet, writer, and playwright, known as one of the most translated Bulgarian authors after the year of 1989. He has a PhD in Bulgarian Literature. He is the editor-in-chief of the Literaturen vestnik weekly magazine for literature and culture and a Contemporary Bulgarian Literature lecturer at the New Bulgarian University. He lives and works in Sofia. He is the recipient of many national and international awards and prizes for literature. His debut novel Естествен роман (Natural Novel, 1999) was reissued an additional eight times and translated into 22 languages (the Slovene translation of the novel was published by the Študentska založba Publishing House in 2005 under the title Naravni roman). His novel изика на тъгата (The Physics of Sorrow, 2012) was awarded the "Bulgarian Novel of the Year" prize (2011/2012) commissioned by the Bulgarian National Endowment Fund 13, the national "Hristo G. Danov" prize for the best book of fiction (2012), the "City of Sofia" prize for literature (2012), and the "Helikon Flower of the Readers" prize (2012) for the best selling Bulgarian book of the year 2012.

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Janice Galloway

Janice Galloway (1955) is a writer already rightfully regarded as one of the classic Scottish authors and also considered as one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary Scottish literature. She published several novels and books of short stories and two autobiographies. Her stories are regularly featured in various anthologies.  In addition, she also writes for shows broadcast by BBC Scotland and frequently collaborates with musicians, as she is a musician herself. This is evident from her works, which are characterised by a rhythmic language, dark humour, and astringency, all of which she applies to her urban stories in order to tackle the daily trials and tribulations of the modern individual. Her writing is not focused on Scotland alone, which is why she is able to reach different kinds of readers throughout the world.

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Milan Dekleva

Milan Dekleva (1946) is a poet, writer, playwright, essayist, and translator. His first book of poetry titled Mushi, mushi (1971) is considered as the first Slovenian collection of haiku poetry. He writes plays, fiction, puppet plays, audio plays, poetry, stories, and musicals for children. Milan Dekleva has received many accolades for his work, among them the Jenko Award (1990) for the book of poetry Odjedanje božjega (Eating Away the Divine, 1988); the Rožanc Award (1999) for the collection of essays Gnezda in katedrale (Nests and Cathedrals, 1997); the Veronika Award (2003 and 2008) for the respective books of poetry V živi zob (Into the open Wound, 2003) and Audrey Hepburn, slišiš metlo budističnega učenca? (Audrey Hepburn, Can You Hear the Broom of the Buddhist Student?, 2008); the Kresnik Award (2006) for the novel Zmagoslavje podgan (The Triumph of the Rats, 2005); and the Prešeren Award (2006) for his lifetime achievement in poetry and writing. He was also honoured with the Desetnica Award for children's literature (2011) for the children's book of poetry Pesmarica prvih besed (Songbook of First Words, 2009) and included in the IBBY Honour List (2010) for his translation of Julia Donaldson's picture book Room on this Broom (Bi se gnetli na tej metli) to Slovene.

   

Mojca Kumerdej

Mojca Kumerdej (1964) is a writer and an arts critic focusing particularly on dance art. She studied Philosophy and Sociology of Culture at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana. She has been writing articles for various intellectual and arts-related Slovenian magazines such as Problemi, the former Razgledi and Maska, and for the daily newspaper Delo in particular. Her articles, columns, interviews, and critique published in Delo are considered as sophisticated records about modern dance, theatre, performance art, film, and literature. Her debut novel Krst nad Triglavom (The Baptism above Mount Triglav) was published in 2001. It was followed by a book of short stories titled Fragma (2003) and the collection of short prose Temna snov (Dark Matter, 2011). Her short stories have been translated into many languages and were also features in two anthologies of Slovenian short prose. She received the '"Crystal Vilenica" prize in 2006.
 

Stefan Hertmans

Stefan Hertmans (1951) is one of the most distinguished and prominent Flemish authors. He is a recipient of numerous accolades, both domestic and international. He is a poet, writer, and essayist with an enviable opus of works. He also lectures at some of the most prestigious European universities. The regular guest on international stages excites both domestic and foreign readers with his erudite, poetic literature, in which he often touches upon the topics of remembrance, childhood, and the relationship between fact and fiction. Despite a successful writing career spanning over three decades, the author finally achieved his breakthrough with his most recent novel titled Oorlog en terpentijn (War and Turpentine), which was published at the centennial of World War I and immediately sparked the interest of the most influential publishing companies around the globe.

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Žiga X. Gombač

Žiga X. Gombač (1976) began his career as a music journalist and soon found himself collaborating with numerous domestic and foreign media as a media-jack-of-all-trades.

He began to publish stories and poetry for children in various children's magazines in 2002. His first book, Jastrebov let (Flight of the Hawk), an eco-thriller for young adults and the first book of the series Kompanjoni (Buddies), was published in 2008. His second popular book series titled Živa iz muzeja (Živa from the Museum), which is being written as a joint project with the National Museum of Slovenia and is considered as an indispensable companion in the frame of the Slovene national literacy programme Megakviz (Megaquiz) during the current school year, was first published in 2012. His distinguished works also include the books in comic form Dnevnik legionarja Primusa (The Diary of Primus, the Legionaire) Primer Gala Matrice (The Case of Gal Matrix), and Tisa reši svet (Tisa Saves the World); the comic Dan ko je izginil ljubljanski Grad (The Day Ljubljana Castle Vanished); the picture book Skrivnosti mladih levov (The Secrets of the Young Lions); and the frequently sold out and several times reissued co-authored book for adult readers Ultrablues.

Today Žiga X. Gombač most definitely ranks among the most popular Slovenian writers of literature for young adults.