David Bandelj: Photo © MMB

Poet and musician David Bandelj was born in 1978 in Gorizia by the Slovene-Italian border, where he lives today. After obtaining a PhD in comparative literature at the University of Ljubljana, he was a university professor and researcher for some years. Today he teaches literary classes at schools with Slovene language in Gorizia and is the leader of two mixed choirs. He has written four poetry books, the latest being the bilingual Gorica – Gorizia (2014), and he has authored several monographs of literary history, mostly focusing on Slovene literature abroad.  

Primož Repar, Slovenia

Primož Repar: Photo © Jože Suhadolnik

Primož Repar (1967) is a poet, essayist, and a translator. He is a fervent researcher and translator of Søren Kierkegaard from the Danish original, he also established the Central European Research Institute Søren Kierkegaard. He is the editor of the Apokalipsa cultural magazine and is the founder of the publishing house that goes by the same name. He published nine poetry collections and a book of essays. Lyrical poems about love and the poet’s thoughts about the contemporary world prevail in his latest collection Trije dnevi v Istri in en dan prej (Three Days in Istria and One Day Earlier, 2017). 

Simona Semenič, Slovenia 

Simona Semenič: Photo © Tone Stojko

Simona Semenič (1975) is one of the most acclaimed and most radical Slovenian playwrights and performers; she is the recipient of all the most important Slovenian awards. Her plays have been staged in Europe, the USA, and the Middle East. She writes about taboo subjects and the wounds of the contemporary society, bringing attention to the marginalized, as well as exposing her intimacy, all while extending the limits of drama writing and staging. Among her most important plays are: 5fantkov.si (5boys.si), 24ur (24hrs), mi, evropski mrliči (we, the european corpses). She lives in Ljubljana.