STA, 27 February 2020 - The 17th Fabula festival of world literatures, running from 28 February until 8 March, will revolve around the topic of power. Bringing the Slovenian language editions of selected books by five authors hosted by the festival, Fabula will so feature a diverse side programme.
Representatives of the publisher Beletrina, which organises the festival, said they sought to highlight books that deal with major topics and can be brought under a single umbrella - this year's theme is Power Games - as well as excellent books that fall more into the niche category.
The authors featured this year include French writer Edouard Louis and his The End of Eddy, a book Fabula's artistic director Manca G. Renko says speaks about power - the power of prejudice, physical power, the power of family, as well as the power of original expression.
Another highlight, Gypsy, But the Fairest of Them All by Croatian writer Kristian Novak, was described by Renko as one of the biggest European novels of the recent years. The story features four leading characters that seem to be in a state of free fall, lacking anything to hold on to. Renko said having the latter is a privilege that is often left unappreciated.
Motherhood by Sheila Heti on the other hand experiments with form while examining the usually ignored question of what motivates people to be parents. The Canadian writer shows that what is seen as just a natural decision that has not been given any intellectual component is actually a grand topic that deserves a grand treatment.
Also falling into the niche category is Beckomberga by Sara Stridsberg. Considered one of the best Swedish novels of the last decade, Beckomberga deals with sadness, with mental illness and addiction.
Meanwhile, the Beletrina Fabula novel that is meant to reach wider audiences this year is Bernhard Schlink's Olga, which Renko said will have readers in its grip from start to finish.
The festival will also feature a number of side events, including an opening panel dedicated to the cities of the future. Renko highlighted several events taking place on 8 March, including a children's programme, a mini book fair at Ljubljana's flea market and a guided tour entitled The Mystery of Women's Literary Ljubljana.
The festival website can be found here
