The Slovenian Book Agency (Slovene : Javna agencija za knjigo Republike Slovenije often abbreviated to JAK or JAKRS) is an autonomous government agency in Slovenia that was created to promote the importance of books and reading in Slovenia and beyond.
The Agency was created in 2008 and began to function on 1 January 2009, fulfilling the provisions of a presidential decree signed in December 2007. Its main aims are to provide the necessary conditions for top quality creativity in the field of literature and scientific publications, for greater accessibility to Slovene books, for raising the awareness of the importance of books and reading in the development of the individual and society and for increasing the international presence of authors of literary and scientific publications from Slovenia. [1] The agency provides funds for a variety of literary projects and authors, promotes Slovene literature and the publication of quality literary and scientific works. It also promotes Slovene literature internationally through encouraging cooperation, assisting with representation at international book fairs and funding translations for publications abroad. [2]
From 2009 to 2012 its director was Slavko Pregl. [3]
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in southern Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest. Slovenia is mostly mountainous and forested, covers 20,271 square kilometres (7,827 sq mi), and has a population of 2.1 million. Slovenes constitute over 80% of the country's population. Slovene, a South Slavic language, is the official language. Slovenia has a predominantly temperate continental climate, with the exception of the Slovene Littoral and the Julian Alps. A sub-mediterranean climate reaches to the northern extensions of the Dinaric Alps that traverse the country in a northwest–southeast direction. The Julian Alps in the northwest have an alpine climate. Toward the northeastern Pannonian Basin, a continental climate is more pronounced. Ljubljana, the capital and largest city of Slovenia, is geographically situated near the centre of the country.
Taja Kramberger is a Slovenian poet, translator, essayist and historical anthropologist from Slovenia. She lives in France.
The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members of the academy.
The World Book Capital (WBC) is an initiative of UNESCO which recognises cities for promoting books and fostering reading for a year starting on April 23, World Book and Copyright Day. Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out activities with the aim of encouraging a culture of reading in all ages and sharing UNESCO’s values. The nomination does not provide a financial prize.
Tomaž Šalamun was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo-avant-garde poetry in Central Europe and an internationally acclaimed absurdist. His books of Slovene poetry have been translated into twenty-one languages, with nine of his thirty-nine books of poetry published in English. His work has been called a poetic bridge between old European roots and America. Šalamun was a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He lived in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and was married to the painter Metka Krašovec.
Slovene culture is the culture of the Slovenes, a south Slavic ethnic group. It is incredibly diverse for the country's small size, spanning the southern portion of Central Europe, being the melting pot of Slavic, Germanic and Romance cultures while encompassing the Eastern Alps, Adriatic sea, Panonian plain and a part of Balkan peninsula.
Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, East Slovene, or Wendish, is a Slovene dialect belonging to a Pannonian dialect group of Slovene. It is used in private communication, liturgy, and publications by authors from Prekmurje. It is spoken in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia and by the Hungarian Slovenes in Vas County in western Hungary. It is closely related to other Slovene dialects in neighboring Slovene Styria, as well as to Kajkavian with which it retains a considerable degree of mutual intelligibility and forms a dialect continuum with other South Slavic languages.
The Slovene Society is the second-oldest publishing house in Slovenia, founded on February 4, 1864 as an institution for the scholarly and cultural progress of Slovenes.
The Literature Translation Institute of Korea was founded in 1996 by the Government of South Korea with the aim of promoting Korean literature and culture overseas.
Milena Mileva Blažić is a Slovenian literary historian and university professor. Since 2006, she has been a councillor in the City Council of Ljubljana. She was elected as member of the Zoran Janković List.
Vilenica International Literary Festival is a festival dedicated to literature that was founded in 1986 in Slovenia. It takes place annually in several locations on the Karst Plateau in the Slovene Littoral, including inside Vilenica Cave. It is arranged by the Slovene Writers' Association together with the Cultural Centre Vilenica from Sežana. The highlight of the festival is the awarding of the Vilenica International Literary Prize to a Central European author for "outstanding achievements in the field of literature and essay writing."
Kresnik is a literary award in Slovenia awarded each year for the best novel in Slovene of the previous year. It has been bestowed since 1991 at summer solstice by the national newspaper house Delo. The awards ceremony is normally held on Rožnik Hill above Ljubljana where the winner is invited to light a large bonfire. The winner also receives a financial award.
The Slovene Writers' Association is a non-profit association of Slovene writers based in Ljubljana.
Slavko Pregl, full name Vekoslav Pregl, is a Slovene writer, editor and publisher best known for his youth literature. He is the current director of the Slovenian Book Agency.
The Levstik Award is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established by a Slovene publishing house after the Second World War. It includes a prize for original works of literature, original illustrations, and non-fiction books for children. Up until 1989 it was awarded annually. Since then it has been awarded biannually. In the prize category for books only books published by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House are eligible for entry, but since 1999 the award for lifetime achievements in children's literature is the most prestigious award of its kind in Slovenia. The award is named after the 19th century Slovene writer, political activist and playwright Fran Levstik who also wrote works for children.
Mate Dolenc is a Slovene writer and translator. He writes novels, collections of short stories, children's books, travelogues and articles.
Book fairs and literary festivals are held throughout South Africa each year to promote literacy among children and adults. A country's literacy rate is often a key social indicator of development. In 2005, UNESCO Institute for Statistics reported a literacy rate of 94.37% among the population aged 15 years and older. The literacy rate among the male population in this age group was 95.4% and 93.41 for female counterparts. According to Statistics South Africa, functional illiteracy among those aged 20 years or older, was recorded at 15.4% in 2005. This has improved from 2002's 27.3%. Women are more likely to be functionally illiterate across all age groups, apart from those aged between 20 and 39 years old.
Jana Kolarič is a Slovene author and translator. She is the author of plays and novels for both children and adults, and has been recognised as an exceptional artist by the Ministry of Culture. She has won a number of literary awards.
Lucija Čok is a Slovene linguist, senior researcher in the field of multilingualism and a professor of multilingualism and intercultural communication. Throughout her career, she has held several important positions, including that of the Minister of Education, Science and Sport (2000-2002) of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. In her role as the Minister, she contributed to the establishment of higher education institutions in the Slovene region of Primorska and in 2003 she was elected as the first rector of the newly established university. She participated in European Commission high expert panels that have shaped linguistic policies and strategies of higher education and research. She has facilitated the preparation of the formal basis for Slovenia’s integration into the European Research Area. She was an expert of the Institutional evaluation program board and member of the Council of the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. Her research work and publications focus on the formation of models of bilingual education in areas of linguistic and cultural contact, sociolinguistic and didactics of intercultural communication. In 2013, the University of Primorska named her professor emeritus. The same year, she received a lifetime achievement award for her work in the field of Higher Education by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.
Beletrina Academic Press is a Slovenian publishing house, originally founded in 1996 by students of the University of Ljubljana as the Študentska Založba. Co-founders include notable Slovene authors such as Aleš Šteger and Mitja Cander. It has operated the Beletrina Bookshop, which opened in Ljubljana in 2010, since 2014. In addition to physical books, it also publishes the online magazines AirBeletrina and Versopolis, and hosts two literary festivals, Days of Poetry and Wine Festival and Fabula Festival, since 2004. Through the AirBeletrina literary journal, it hosts a short-story contest; the publishing house also organizes creative writing courses. In 2013, Beletrina launched Biblos.si, the first Slovene eLibrary and eBookshop. Beletrina also issues recordings of authors reading from their own work. As a non-profit publisher, it receives funding from the Slovenian government with an aim to "foster a literary atmosphere throughout Slovenia". Beletrina also receives subsidies from the European Union, the Slovene Public Agency for Books (JAK), and different ministries of culture in Slovenia.