World Book Day – Slovenia will celebrate for nearly a week

23 April is the date of the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare, while in 1995 the UNESCO organisation declared this day to be World Book Day. Slovenia is one of the rare countries that celebrates World Book Day over several days within the framework of `Slovenian Book Days`, this year held for the 18th time between 22 and 26 April. In 2013, Slovenia also celebrates some important anniversaries of the most relevant Slovenian artists.

Slovenian Book Days are not exclusive to those with invitations. In only Ljubljana, the events attract more than 12,000 visitors, while all over Slovenia more than 100,000 visitors are attracted; this event is considered to be a very popular meeting point on town streets. Through its mission, the Slovenian Book Days connect various generations of book lovers, teachers, librarians, authors and publishers in a direct and interesting way – in order to promote the reading culture. At the same time, this event opens the doors for thinking about the position of books and authors of books and other related subjects. The event includes readings, presentations of books, an open-air book fair, literature and music events. This year`s Slovenian Book Days will take place in accordance with the slogan ‘And All Is Possible’.

Last year, the Slovenian Writers` Association celebrated its 140th anniversary during World Book Day; in 2013, several active Slovenian writers, publicists and culture workers celebrate their life anniversaries. The actress Štefka Drolc and Rapa Šuklje will celebrate their 90th birthdays, writer Veno Taufer, the president of the Slovenian Writers` Association, will turn 80 this year, while the Slovenian-Trieste writer Boris Pahor will celebrate his 100th birthday. Moreover, we must also mention the 120-anniversary of the recognized Slovenian writer Prežihov Voranc.

Boris Pahor is considered to be one of the most important living writers in the Slovenian language and is also the most translated Slovenian author, having been mentioned several times as a candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. He enjoys a huge reputation in Europe and in the world due to his literary opus.

Taking first place among his translations is Nekropola, a novel about the writer`s life in the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, for which he received the prestigious Premio Napoli award in 2008, awarded in Italy for the best foreign novel. The book was first published in 1967 in Trieste for Tržaški tisk publishing house; in 1990, it was translated to French with the title Pilgrim among Shadows and later to numerous other languages.

The Slovenian cultural house, Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana, will host the international symposium at which scientists, artists and friends of Boris Pahor from Slovenia, Italy and France will participate on 18 April; at the end of the April meeting, Cankarjeva založba will publish their thoughts in a collection. Moreover, Cankarjeva založba has prepared a reissue of Nekropola, while a biography work will also be published for Boris Pahor`s 100th birthday.

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