Programme of the 41st Vilenica International Literary Festival

The programme of the 41st Vilenica International Literary Festival brings a diverse series of literary evenings, conversations, and encounters with Slovenian and international authors at venues in Ljubljana, the Karst region, Koper, Trieste, and Austrian Carinthia.

This year’s literary guests include the main prize laureate Serhiy Zhadan, the featured Slovenian author Tone Škrjanec, as well as Ann Cotten, Velibor Čolić, Stefan Feinig, Said Khatibi, Joanna Łępicka, Ana Marwan, Natalija Milovanović, Robert Rybicki, Natalka Suszczyńska, and Neven Ušumović. The festival will begin on 31 August with events at the Peršman Homestead and in Koper, followed by the official opening on 1 September at Cankar Hall in Ljubljana.

In the days that follow, events will take place at various venues, including the National Gallery, Cukrarna, the LUD Literatura Bookshop, and Cankar Hall in Ljubljana, as well as in Trieste, at the Kosovel Homestead in Tomaj, and in Sežana. The programme features literary readings, round tables, presentations, and accompanying events, including an international student comparative literature colloquium.

This year’s festival focuses on the theme of the fluidity of identities, which will shape both the round table at Cankar Hall—where authors will reflect on contemporary transformations of identity in literature and society—and the international student comparative literature colloquium.

The highlight of the festival will be the traditional closing events in the Karst region: on Saturday, 5 September, a literary matinee and the presentation of the Crystal Vilenica Award will take place in Štanjel, followed in the evening by the Vilenica Award ceremony in the Vilenica Cave, which will this year be presented to the Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan.

The full festival programme is available here.

You are warmly invited to join us and take part in the festival experience of outstanding literature – all events are free of charge and open to the general public.