Being Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair is a success for Slovenia

“I am very happy and proud to have had the opportunity to visit the stands of Slovenian publishers and the Slovenian Book Agency today," said the Slovenian President, highlighting the increase in the amount of Slovenian works that have been translated into foreign languages – a few years ago, we translated a few dozen works a year, but today, the number is approaching two hundred, which confirms the reputation of and interest in Slovenian authors abroad, to be further boosted by the opportunity Slovenia has been given as the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair and the international attention it will receive. This is indeed a great success for Slovenian publishing, but above all it is a great success for Slovenian writers and poets," commented President Pirc Musar, who also visited the exhibition of Slovenian illustrators.

"The Frankfurt Book Fair and being the Guest of Honour here is undoubtedly a success for Slovenia," she remarked.

Yesterday, the Slovenian President was a keynote speaker at the official opening of the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair, and she also visited the Slovenian pavilion and attended a reception hosted by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia to mark the fair’s opening. In the early afternoon, together with members of the Slovenian delegation, she visited City Hall, where Mike Josef, Lord Mayor of Frankfurt am Main, hosted a reception in honour of the Book Fair’s opening and of the high representatives from this year's Guest of Honour.

The status of Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair is the biggest opportunity ever to showcase Slovenian culture and creativity. Slovenia's guest programme and the presentation of our creativity centres on poetry, philosophy and deep reading, which emphasises the importance of reading books in the age of digitisation.

The President of the Republic of Slovenia was accompanied in Frankfurt by the Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko, the Minister of Economy, Tourism and Sport, Matjaž Han, the State Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Kaja Širok, and the State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Marko Štucin.