Literatures of the World – Fabula Festival

Fabula Festival

Slovenia's main book festival produced by the Beletrina Publishing House in collaboration with Cankarjev dom, the Fabula Festival brings together world-class authors. Running since 2003, the festival has hosted some of the biggest names in literature, including Herta Müller, Irvine Welsh, Jonathan Franzen, Hanif Kureishi, David Grossman, Janice Galloway, Richard Flanagan, Taiye Selasi, Tatyana Tolstaya, Eric Vuillard, Rachel Cusk, Deborah Levy, Jokha Alharthi and Bernhard Schlink. The concept of the festival, which has evolved over the years, is today based on well-considered curatorship. Each year, the festival aims to select up to five writers, both established and up-and-coming literary names. The Fabula Hub devotes attention to promising, emerging authors. Festival Fabula - Literature of the World received EFFE recognition of excelency "EFFE Label 2024-2025" in 2024.

The Festival’s programme, focused on hosting top international writers, translating their works into Slovenian and establishing live contact between international literature and Slovenian audiences, also raises topical socio-critical issues and addresses contemporary challenges. In addition to the literary programme, the festival also features a theoretical focus addressing a relevant social issue every year. So far, the theoretical focus has hosted a variety of distinguished guests, including Slavoj Žižek, Terry Eagleton, Chantal Mouffe, Eva Illouz, Jean-Claude Milner, Patrick Boucheron and Umberto Galimberti.

The Fabula Festival also features an extremely diversified accompanying programme aimed at reading audiences of all ages and ranging from children’s and youth programmes (Young Fabula), interactive literary installations in public spaces (Fabula Polis), collaborations with Slovenian publishers and booksellers (Fabula’s Selection) genre-blending of literature, theatre and other genres (Fabula Beyond Literature) to projects establishing the festival as an incubator of new literary ideas and future literary orientations (Fabula Hub).