Slovenia Observes Its First Book Night
Book Night, which has been observed on World Book Day in several countries, including Germany, Great Britain and also Croatia for several years, will be a success because the project was joined by authors as well as publishers, book shops and libraries, Rugelj told the press at the recent presentation of the project.
A book offers a better insight into horrors and beauties of life, author Aleš Debeljak stressed. "A book is not a report about a world, it is a world. Enter them to discover new worlds," he added.
The bulk of the happening will take place in the capital of Ljubljana, where the project will be joined by the National and University Library, which will organise a panel on books, words and their importance, and the Public Fund for Culture (JSKD).
The JSKD will set up a One Thousand and One Nights bazaar at the Metelkova museum district, which will serve as the gateway to the times of the Arabian Nights.
Visitors will be for instance able to browse books at the bazaar until 1 AM as well as listen to an Indian music concert, watch a puppet-theatre show and "a magic dance", and take part in a workshop, according to Barbara Rigel of the JSKD.
The Slovenian Book Night will also be carried out elsewhere in Slovenia as well as in Italy's Trieste and Austria's Klagenfurt and Eisenkappel.
Book shops will also play an important role as they open their doors for longer and offer discounts on books, with Aleš Šteger of the publisher Beletrina stressing that they wanted to highlight the symbolic importance of books.
He added that they would try to make visitors think about what it meant to go home with a book in their hands.
Apart from that, the event will also have a charitable note.
Amnesty International Slovenije urged Slovenian schools to present Roma culture to their pupils through a picture book "Jagoda" (Strawberry), which had been created in a Roma settlement. The NGO also asked schools to collect books for Roma children, who are often left out of the education system.