Difference between revisions of "Vilenica International Literary Festival"

Latest revision as of 12:55, 12 January 2024

The first Vilenica International Literary Festival was organised in 1986 by the Slovene Writers’ Association and Veno Taufer, though its origins go back to 1980, when literary meetings were organised by the Municipality of Sežana in the karst cave of Vilenica, after which the festival takes its name. To date the event has developed into an important Central European gathering of writers and the biggest festival of this sort in Slovenia, hosting more than 100 guests every year in the early autumn. The main festival programme is held in Lipica and the Karst region, while a number of events are organised all over Slovenia.

Ilma Rakusa and Karl-Markus Gauß, Vilenica Prize Winners 2005

Organisation

In organising this event, the Slovene Writers’ Association and the KUD Vilenica Art Society cooperate with various organisations including the Municipality of Sežana, the Kosovel Culture House Sežana, the Sežana Caving Association, the Lokev Community Council, and the Tourist Association of Štanjel.

The Vilenica International Literary Festival is financially supported by the Slovenian Book Agency, the Central European Initiative (CEI), the Culture Programme of the European Commission, the Municipality of Sežana, private sponsors, and others.

Programme

The Vilenica festival features a wide array of literary and cultural events, readings, symposia, literature presentations, round-table discussions, a book fair, all with a view to promoting literature and authors among professionals and the general public. Some of them are aimed at authors, translators, publishers, and literary scientists, affording opportunities to discuss topical issues and arising trends, while others set a relaxed atmosphere perfect for informal meetings and networking. Every year a different literature and a Slovene author are put into focus, while the motto of the festival changes with regard to current topics in contemporary literature.

Awards

The highlight of the festival is the Vilenica International Literary Prize, which is bestowed upon a Central European author for outstanding achievement in literature or essay writing. The ceremony is held in the Karst cave Vilenica and is accompanied by music and dance performances.

The Crystal Vilenica is given to an author from Central Europe for the finest contribution to the Vilenica Almanac at a literary reading at the Štanjel castle.

Organised by KD Vilenica, the Young Vilenica Award is presented to authors up to the age of 15. The winners are given the opportunity to read their poetry at the festival.

The winner of the CEI Fellowship for Writers in Residence is a guest of the Vilenica festival, where the fellowship is awarded.

Publications

A programme booklet offers basic information and timetables on festival events, as well as information on the participating authors and other performing artists. The booklet is particularly useful as it contains an overview of the participants, their work, and contact information.

The central publication is the Vilenica Almanac, published since the very beginning of the festival. It features a presentation of the Vilenica International Literary Prize winner and a selection of poetry or prose by the participating authors (published in the source language, in Slovenian, and in English). The Almanac also includes the winning poems of the Young Vilenica Award.

The literature in the foreground, that is, a lesser-known European literature, is published in the Vilenica Anthologies series. The anthology features translated poetry and prose in Slovenian, as well as information on the authors.

In collaboration with Cankarjeva Založba Publishing House, a book by the previous year's recipient of the Vilenica International Literary Prize is translated into Slovenian and presented at the Štanjel castle.

A special festival publication features essays presented at the CEI Round Table Discussion.

Read Me Live, a live literature website, was launched as part of the 2011 Vilenica festival following a joint effort of four European festivals supported by the European Commission. Project was running in the framework of the European Commission’s Culture programme (2007–2013) – a project exploring and developing the promotion of reading culture through live literature.

Venues

Alongside the literary meetings organised in the karst cave of Vilenica, various readings and other events now take place at different locations in the Karst region: in Lipica, the old church in the village of Lokev, Kosovel Cultural House in Sežana, and the medieval castle of Štanjel. Accompanying events are also held in Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Koper, Trbovlje, Bilje, and Trieste (Italy).

External links

Gallery

Ilma Rakusa and Karl-Markus Gauß, Vilenica Prize Winners 2005

Dževad Karahasan, Vilenica Prize Winner 2010

Ana Blandiana, Vilenica Prize Winner 2002

Goran Stefanovski, Vilenica Prize Winner 2007

Peter Handke, Vilenica Prize Winner 1987

Claudio Magris, Vilenica Prize Winner 2009

Adolf Muschg, Vilenica Prize Winner 1995

Brigitte Kronauer, Vilenica Prize Winner 2004

Libuše Moníková, Vilenica Prize Winner 1993

Milan Kundera, Vilenica Prize Winner 1992

Mirko Kovač, Vilenica Prize Winner 2003

Slavko Mihalić, Vilenica Prize Winner 2000

Tomas Venclova, Vilenica Prize Winner 1990

Zbigniew Herbert, Vilenica Prize Winner 1991

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Article
+| status       = NEEDSUPDATE  INFOBOX TOPROOFREAD NIFERTIK!
+| maintainer   = Simon Smole
+}}
 {{Infobox
-|Name=Mednarodni literarni festival Vilenica
+| name                = Vilenica International Literary Festival
-|Street address=Društvo slovenskih pisateljev, Tomšičeva 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
+| localname           = Mednarodni literarni festival Vilenica
-|Telephone=386 (0) 1 251 4144
+| logo                = Vilenica International Writers’ Gathering (logo).svg
-|Fax=386 (0) 1 421 6430
+| street              = Vilenica International Literary Festival, Društvo slovenskih pisateljev, Tomšičeva 12
-|Website=http://www.vilenica.si
+| town                = SI-1000 Ljubljana
-|Proprietor=Slovene Writers’ Association, KUD Vilenica Art Society
+| telephone           = 386 (0) 1 251 4144
-|Contacts=
+| fax                 = 386 (0) 1 421 6430
+| email               = info@vilenica.si
+| website             = https://vilenica.si/
+| frequency = annual
+| dates and duration  = September, early, 5 days
+| duration weeks      = 36 (2012) 37 (2013) 36 (2014)
+| festival dates      = 1.9.2015 - 6.9.2015, 6.9.2016 - 11.9.2016, 5.9.2017 - 10.9.2017, 4.9.2018 - 9.9.2018, 10.9.2019 - 15.9.2019, 8.9.2020 - 13.9.2020, 7.9.2021 - 12.9.2021, 5.9.2022 - 11.9.2022, 5.9.2023 - 10.9.2023, 2.9.2024 – 7.9.2024
+| founded by          = Slovene Writers’ Association
+|organised by         = Slovene Writers’ Association
+|organised by 2       = KUD Vilenica Art Society
+|contacts =
+{{contact
+|name = Nana Vogrin
+|role = Project head, Producer
+|email = nana.vogrin@vilenica.si
+}}
 {{contact
- |Name=Miljana Cunta
+|name = Aljaž Koprivnikar
- |Role=Programme Director
+|role = Public relations
-|Email=miljana.cunta@guest.arnes.si
+|email = aljaz.koprivnikar@vilenica.si
+}}
+{{contact
+|name =
+|role =
+|email =
+}}
+| accounts            =  https://www.facebook.com/vilenica.si/
+https://twitter.com/vilenicaf
 }}
-|Dates and duration=Annual, Sep, 4 days
-|Photo=[[Image:Vilenica International Writers’ Gathering.jpg]]
-|Street=Tomšičeva 12
+{{Teaser|
-|Town=SI-1000 Ljubljana
+The first [[Vilenica International Literary Festival]] was organised in [[established::1986]] by the [[Slovene Writers’ Association]] and [[Veno Taufer]], though its origins go back to 1980, when literary meetings were organised by the [[Municipality of Sežana]] in the karst cave of Vilenica, after which the festival takes its name. To date the event has developed into an important Central European gathering of writers and the biggest festival of this sort in Slovenia, hosting more than 100 guests every year in the early autumn. The main festival programme is held in Lipica and the Karst region, while a number of events are organised all over Slovenia.
+{{Wide Image|Vilenica Literary Awards - Gauss Rakusa - 2005.JPG}}
 }}
+==Organisation==
+In organising this event, the [[Slovene Writers’ Association]] and the [[KUD Vilenica Art Society]] cooperate with various organisations including the [[Municipality of Sežana]], the [[Kosovel Culture House Sežana]], the Sežana Caving Association, the Lokev Community Council, and the Tourist Association of Štanjel.
+The Vilenica International Literary Festival is financially supported by the [[Slovenian Book Agency]], the Central European Initiative (CEI), the Culture Programme of the European Commission, the [[Municipality of Sežana]], private sponsors, and others.
-===History===
+==Programme==
+The Vilenica festival features a wide array of literary and cultural events, readings, symposia, literature presentations, round-table discussions, a book fair, all with a view to promoting literature and authors among professionals and the general public. Some of them are aimed at authors, translators, publishers, and literary scientists, affording opportunities to discuss topical issues and arising trends, while others set a relaxed atmosphere perfect for informal meetings and networking. Every year a different literature and a Slovene author are put into focus, while the motto of the festival changes with regard to current topics in contemporary literature.
-Launched in 1986, the Vilenica International Writers' Gathering is an independent event organised jointly by the [[Slovene Writers’ Association]] and the [[KUD Vilenica Art Society]]. It originated in 1980 with literary meetings organised by Sežana Municipality in the karst caves of Vilenica. The first international meeting in 1986 was organised by the Slovene Writers' Association and Veno Taufer, and this later developed into today's important Central European event which hosts more than 100 guests every year.
+==Awards==
-From the first Vilenica International Literary Prize in 1986 until today, over 1,500 guests from more than 50 countries have participated in the event. Many of them have been writers and essayists, as well as translators, editors, journalists, philosophers, publishers and others who are interested either privately or professionally in the literature of the Central European countries and the works they produce. Thoroughly Central European from the outset, the Vilenica Gathering has developed from the early days when it strove for political freedom to a 21st-century event involved in the resistance against linguistic and cultural uniformity in Europe.
+The highlight of the festival is the [[Vilenica International Literary Awards|Vilenica International Literary Prize]], which is bestowed upon a Central European author for outstanding achievement in literature or essay writing. The ceremony is held in the Karst cave Vilenica and is accompanied by music and dance performances.
-In organising this event, the [[Slovene Writers’ Association]] and the [[KUD Vilenica Art Society]] co-operate with various organisations including [[Sežana Municipality]], [[Kosovel Culture House, Sežana]], the Sežana Caving Association, the Lokev Community Council and the Tourist Association of Štanjel.
+The [[Vilenica International Literary Awards|Crystal Vilenica]] is given to an author from Central Europe for the finest contribution to the ''Vilenica Almanac'' at a literary reading at the Štanjel castle.
-The Vilenica International Writers' Gathering is financially supported by the [[Ministry of Culture]] of Slovenia, the [[Central European Initiative (CEI)]], [[Sežana Municipality]] and private sponsors.
+Organised by [[KUD Vilenica Art Society|KD Vilenica]], the [[Vilenica International Literary Awards|Young Vilenica Award]] is presented to authors up to the age of 15. The winners are given the opportunity to read their poetry at the festival.
+The winner of the [[CEI Fellowship for Writers in Residence]] is a guest of the Vilenica festival, where the fellowship is awarded.
-===Venue, Branch===
+==Publications==
+A programme booklet offers basic information and timetables on festival events, as well as information on the participating authors and other performing artists. The booklet is particularly useful as it contains an overview of the participants, their work, and contact information.
-Next to literary meetings organised in the karst caves of Vilenica various readings and other events now take place at different locations in the Karst region, in Lipica, in the old church in the village of Lokev; in the [[Kosovel Cultural House]] at Sežana; in the medieval castle of Štanjel and in [[Ljubljana Castle]].
+The central publication is the ''Vilenica Almanac'', published since the very beginning of the festival. It features a presentation of the [[Vilenica International Literary Awards|Vilenica International Literary Prize]] winner and a selection of poetry or prose by the participating authors (published in the source language, in Slovenian, and in English). The ''Almanac'' also includes the winning poems of the [[Vilenica International Literary Awards|Young Vilenica Award]].
-===Programme===
+The literature in the foreground, that is, a lesser-known European literature, is published in the Vilenica Anthologies series. The anthology features translated poetry and prose in Slovenian, as well as information on the authors.
-The ''Vilenica Almanac'' presents the programme of the event together with a list of all participants, information about the Vilenica International Literary Award winners and extracts from their work, a selection of poetry or prose by authors invited to the event (published in the original language, in Slovene and in one of the major languages) and a survey of how the Gathering has developed since the earliest days. A book of work by the previous year's winner translated into the Slovene language is presented at Štanjel Castle.
+In collaboration with [[Cankarjeva Publishing House Ltd|Cankarjeva Založba Publishing House]], a book by the previous year's recipient of the [[Vilenica International Literary Awards|Vilenica International Literary Prize]] is translated into Slovenian and presented at the Štanjel castle.
-===International cooperation===
+A special festival publication features essays presented at the CEI Round Table Discussion.
-The highlight of the event is the [[Vilenica International Literary Awards]] ceremony. In 2006 the Vilenica Grand Prix was conferred on Serbian poet Miodrag Pavlović, while Slovene writer Mojca Kumerdej received a Vilenica Crystal for best short story. In that year too a new € 5,000 CEI fellowship for writers in residence was awarded for the first time. Its first recipient in 2006, Macedonia's Goce Smilevski spent three months in the CEI member state of his choice (Slovenia) completing a writing project. The motto of Vilenica 2007 was 'Who is afraid of the truth of literature?' and the festival opened with the leading Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer. Next to the CEI Round Table, the 5th International Comparative Literature Colloquium took place there. The Vilenica Grand Prix went to Goran Stefanovski.
+Read Me Live, a live literature website, was launched as part of the 2011 Vilenica festival following a joint effort of four European festivals supported by the European Commission. Project was running  in the framework of the European Commission’s Culture programme (2007–2013) – a project exploring and developing the promotion of reading culture through live literature.
-In a bid to promote lesser-known literatures, the 2006 Vilenica Gathering featured a panel on Basque literature entitled 'To Write in Euskera: the Basque Language, Today and Tomorrow', and the organisers also published the first'' Vilenica Anthology'', dedicated on this occasion to contemporary Basque literature. Another panel scrutinised the historic, political and literary dimensions of relations between neighbours. Entitled 'Who Can Hear One's Neighbour's Story?', the debate, sponsored by the Central European Initiative (CEI), pointed to the need for self-criticism.
+==Venues==
+Alongside the literary meetings organised in the karst cave of Vilenica, various readings and other events now take place at different locations in the Karst region: in Lipica, the old church in the village of Lokev, [[Kosovel Culture House Sežana|Kosovel Cultural House]] in Sežana, and the medieval castle of Štanjel. Accompanying events are also held in Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Koper, Trbovlje, Bilje, and Trieste (Italy).
-===See also===
+==See also==
+* [[Vilenica International Literary Awards]]
+* [[KUD Vilenica Art Society]]
+* [[CEI Fellowship for Writers in Residence]]
+* [[Kosovel Culture House Sežana]]
-[[Vilenica International Literary Award]]
+==External links==
+* [https://vilenica.si/ Vilenica International Literary Festival website]
+* [http://www.lit-across-frontiers.org Literature Across Frontiers project website]
+* [http://videolectures.net/mlfv01_vilenica/ Vilenica 2001 poetry readings] video archive on [[VideoLectures.Net]]
-===External links===
+{{Gallery}}
 [[Category:Literature]]
 [[Category:Festivals]]
+[[Category:Festivals in September]]
+[[Category:Literature festivals]]

Difference between revisions of "Vilenica International Literary Festival"

Latest revision as of 12:55, 12 January 2024

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