World Literatures - Fabula Festival

The Fabula Festival – Literature of the World is the biggest and most visited literary festival in Slovenia and the wider region. Produced by the Beletrina Publishing Institute in collaboration with Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre, the festival brings together world-class authors through well-considered curatorship. Each year, the festival aims to select five distinguished writers, while the Fabula Hub devotes attention to promising, up-and-coming authors. In addition to hosting renowned writers and establishing live contact between international literature and Slovenian audiences, translated works of the chosen five are also published as part of the festival. The festival also features a theoretical focus addressing a relevant social issue every year, raising relevant sociocritical issues addressing contemporary challenges.

Background

Founded in 2003, Fabula Festival has hosted many modern classics: Herta Müller, Irvin Welsh, Jonathan Franz, Hanif Kureishi, David Grossman, Janice Galloway, Richard Flanagan, Taiye Selasi, Tatiana Tolstoy, Eric Vuillard, Rachel Cusk, Deborah Levy, Jokha Alharthi, Bernhard Schlink, Vladimir Sorokin, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and many others. Reflecting an evolving concept, the festival is now based on a curator’s pick of five authors, who are already considered literary classics or who have made a significant mark on world literature in recent years with their work.

The virtual Q&A between Mieko Kawakami and Nagisa Moritoki Škof that was accompanied by a butoh performance by Darinka Pillari took place at the Cankarjev dom Club in 2022. It presented Summer Stories, the latest novel by Japanese author Mieko Kawakami - a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan.

Accompanying Programme

Each year, the festival's theoretical focus questions a different social topic. So far, Slavoj Žižek, Terry Eagleton, Chantal Mouffe, Eva Illouz, Jean-Claude Milner, Patrick Boucheron, Umberto Galimberti, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and others have been guests.

The festival's highly varied accompanying programme is intended for all generations of readers. It brings everything from children's and youth programmes (Young Fabula), interactive literary installations to the public space (Fabula polis), collaborations with Slovenian publishers and bookstores (Fabula selection), projects at the intersection of literature with theatre and other art genres (Fabula outside literature), to projects establishing the festival as an incubator of new literary ideas and future literary trends (Fabula Hub), thus strengthening the space of the wider literary and social community.

The award-winning British writer, academic and long-time fighter for greater inclusivity in literature Bernardine Evaristo joined the 2023 edition of the festival at the so-called Itn's literary breakfast (hosted by Fabula Festival and Itn.). Photo: Nina Pernat

The 2021 Fabula book collection lives through the illustrations of the designer and illustrator, Jure Brglez, aka Brglesita, which were presented at an exhibition at the City Hall Atria in Ljubljana. Here, the artist is accompanied by the festival's artistic director Aljaž Koprivnikar. Photo: Jaka Gaser

Fabula Festival's artistic director Aljaž Koprivnikar at the senior citizens home DSO Fužine, where he presented FabulaFotelj, a special project of the festival's 2022 edition. The interactive and movable armchair equipped with audiobooks was created together with ProstoRož.

External links

Gallery

Israeli author David Grossman during World Book Capital Ljubljana 2010 in May 2010

Gašper Troha & Sebastijan Pregelj's Ljubljana Literary Trail book cover, 2010

NiccolÃ² Ammaniti's Jaz in ti [You and Me] book cover, 2010

Authors City, Daniel Kehlmann: Vienna. In honour of the visiting author the World Literatures - Fabula Festival introduces the culture of the his home city Vienna, 2010

Literary event with American author Jonathan Franzen at Cankarjev dom during World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2010

Herta Müller, 2009 Nobel Laureate is honoured guest at the opening ceremony of the festival World Literatures - Fabula Festival, Slovene National Theatre Drama Ljubljana in 2010

Portraits of authors by Ljubljanica river by Borut Kranjc, World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2010

Prešeren's Coat, by Andreja Brulc, art installation using passages from the poet's longest poem Krst pri Savici[Baptism at Savica] on a new robe dressing Prešeren's monument, World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2010

Guest author, Australian writer Richard Flanagan in Trieste, World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2010

Comparative essay topics, a seminar about the Secondary School Graduation Essay led by Professor Nada Barbarič at Cankarjev dom, World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2010

Young choristers performing at Song is the Voice of the Heart: Slovenian choirs sing Slovenian poets in Tivoli Park, Ljubljana World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2010

One of several pleasantly shady open air reading spots created for The Library Under the Trees project, World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2010

World Literatures - Fabula Festival poster, 2011

Alenka Zupančič and Slavoj Žižek at the panel Who's the One Lying Here?, World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2015

Clément Bénech, a guest of the World Literatures - Fabula Festival in 2015. His debut book, a short novel titled L'été slovène (Slovenian Summer) was published in 2013. Moderated by Agata Tomažič.

Georgi Gospodinov, a Bulgarian poet, writer, and playwright, was a guest at the World Literatures - Fabula Festival in 2015. His novel The Physics of Sorrow, which was awarded the Bulgarian Novel of the Year prize was translated into Slovenian in 2015.

Janice Galloway, the Fabula opening ceremony guest. World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2015

Philosopher Robert Pfaller's lecture White Lies, Black Truths at the World Literatures - Fabula Festival, 2015

A discussion The Thuth or Challenge, Literature among lies, truth and life, with Manca G. Renko, Zdravko Duša and Vesna Milek, World Literatures - Fabula Festival, Trubar Literature House, 2015

Vili Rezman (second from the left) presenting his awarded work in Konzorcij, at Mladinska knjiga Bookstores during Fabula Festival of Stories, 2009

The 2021 Fabula book collection lives through the illustrations of the designer and illustrator, Jure Brglez, aka Brglesita, which were presented at an exhibition at the City Hall Atria in Ljubljana. Here, the artist is accompanied by the festival's artistic director Aljaž Koprivnikar. Photo: Jaka Gaser

Under the guidance of mentors (Anja Koželj, Anja Koželj, Petra Stanišič), the children went on a literary treasure hunt, which took them to museums, libraries and bookstores, where they were given hints to continue the hunt. The event was part of the Young Fabula at the 2021 edition of the festival. Photo: Jaka Gaser

Fabula Festival's artistic director Aljaž Koprivnikar at the senior citizens home DSO Fužine, where he presented FabulaFotelj, a special project of the festival's 2022 edition. The interactive and movable armchair equipped with audiobooks was created together with ProstoRož.

The virtual Q&A between Mieko Kawakami and Nagisa Moritoki Škof that was accompanied by a butoh performance by Darinka Pillari took place at the Cankarjev dom Club in 2022. It presented Summer Stories, the latest novel by Japanese author Mieko Kawakami - a portrait of contemporary womanhood in Japan.

The award-winning British writer, academic and long-time fighter for greater inclusivity in literature Bernardine Evaristo joined the 2023 edition of the festival at the so-called Itn's literary breakfast (hosted by Fabula Festival and Itn.). Photo: Nina Pernat

Opening event of Fabula Festival 2023 hosted the Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabužko, author of the novel Field Research of Ukrainian Sex, that was interpreted by drama actor Mario Dragojević. The conversation with the author was led by Ksenija Horvat.

World Literatures - Fabula Festival

Contents

Background

Accompanying Programme

See also

External links

Gallery

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