Who's Writing Out There: Talks on Immigrant Literature

“While contemporary immigrant literature is already a well-developed genre in other parts of the world, contributing significantly to the development of multicultural reality, not merely in declarative terms, but also in practice, this type of literary theme is developing slowly and only fragmentarily in Slovenia,” wrote literary historian Aleksandra Gačić on the Dobre knjige web portal regarding the situation of immigrant literature in Slovenia in comparison to immigrant literatures around the world.  

The literary talks Who's Writing Out There are dedicated to immigrant literature in Slovenia – narratives reflecting the experience of immigration and acculturation and the associated uneasiness of these processes, how these authors get published, the language(s) they write in, whether they attend Slovenia’s main literary evenings and festivals, their views on immigrant literature and literary prizes in Slovenia, etc.  

Attention will also be paid to the importance of immigrant literature and questions raised as to what falls under this heading. More specifically, does immigrant literature represent authors with an immigrant experience, or literature thematising immigration, exploring the identity or the lives of immigrants and their ethnic minority status, the appropriation of a new language, religious affiliation, etc., or both?

The author and host of the series is Selma Skenderović.

Selma Skenderović (2001) is an MA student of Slovenian language and comparative literature, president of Young PEN Slovenia and editor of the anthology of contemporary Slovenian short stories by young authors (Polževi razmisleki, 2023). She publishes her poetry and prose on various literary platforms and in anthologies such as Poetikon, Mentor, Kralji ulice, Vrabec anarhist, and the literary supplement Latice published by the Bosnjački kulturni savez Slovenije. 

Her short fiction debut Zakaj molčiš, Hava? (Why are you silent, Hava?, 2021) has been translated into English, Montenegrin and Bosnian. 
In April 2023, she won the Best Young Author Award at the Sarajevo Book Fair.

The talks form part of the Danilo Kiš Cultural Centre's 2025 programme, produced by Dr Biljana Žikić and co-produced by Cankarjev dom.