2nd Press Conference of the 40th Vilenica Festival

Today, a press conference was held at the Slovenian Writers’ Association to present the 40th jubilee edition of the international literary festival Vilenica, which will take place from 8 to 13 September 2025 in various locations across Slovenia and neighboring regions.

At the press conference, the festival programme was presented by Marij Čuk, President of the Slovenian Writers’ Association; Gregor Podlogar, Chair of the Vilenica Jury; Miha Maurič, Programme Director of the Festival; Matej Krajnc, Vice-President of the Association; and Glorjana Veber, Head of the Association’s Office. In their addresses, they emphasized the importance of Vilenica as one of the central cultural events in the region, which each year helps to create a space for literature, dialogue, and reflection on contemporary social challenges.

This year’s Vilenica will offer eleven main events over six days, taking place in Ljubljana, Sežana, Koper, Nova Gorica, Trieste, and the mythical setting of the Karst cave Vilenica, which will once again host the festive closing ceremony featuring the presentation of the Vilenica Prize.

The main festival programme includes numerous literary readings, evening talks with acclaimed international and Slovenian authors, and a roundtable titled New Rules of Living, which will focus on pressing issues of our time – from geopolitical crises, wars, and climate change to the erosion of fundamental human rights and the deepening of social polarization. Participants will jointly explore what forms of coexistence are still possible in an age when solidarity, empathy, and respect for diversity seem increasingly under threat.

On this occasion, all of this year’s festival book publications were also presented. Highlights include:

• The Vilenica Anthology, edited by Aleš Učakar,

• An Anthology of Contemporary Catalan Literature, edited by Jaume Subirana and Simona Škrabec,

• An Anthology of Vilenica Prize Laureates of the Central European Initiative (CEI), edited by Miha Maurič and Matej Krajnc,

• And the Italian translation of Žalik pesmi (Fairy Songs), a poetry collection by this year’s featured Slovenian author, Maja Haderlap, translated by Martina Clerici and published in the Litterae Slovenicae series.

At the conclusion of the event, the Association’s President, Marij Čuk, announced that on the occasion of the jubilee edition, the Vilenica Honorary Crystal Award will be presented to the festival’s original initiator, Mr. Aleksander Peršolja.