Evald Flisar

Evald Flisar is a multi-award-winning Slovenian author and internationally performed playwright. He has written 18 novels, 16 plays, three books of essays and numerous short stories. Various works of his have been translated into 40 languages (270 translations so far). Flisar is the winner of the Prešeren Foundation Prize, the highest state award for literature, the Župančič Award for lifetime achievement, three awards for Best Play of the Year and, in addition, 18 nominations for literary awards. Among foreign awards are the Italian La Magna Capitana and the North Macedonian International PROZART award. He is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

NEBOJSHA LAPCHEVIC, SERBIA

Nebojisa Lapcevic was born in 1966 in Krusevac. He has published up to now thirteen books (poetry, prose, documentary - publicist, drama ). Among other titles , he published the novel “Incarnation”, "Lake in the Cells", “Scenario for Woody Allen”, “Sower”, the poems "The Arrival of Christ at Manhattan","Stanzas in Prototypes", "The Cross of St. Emperor Constantine", “Pollen collectors”, the book of stories "Entrance to the South Gate", “Manuscript in terracotta”, prose "A Game for the Red Star", a book for children "Why does a Stork Walk in the Sky" etc. He also wrote three opera libtrettos, highlightening the performance of the first Krusevac opera "Lazar's Transmission" composed by MIroljub A . Rasinski. Translated into several foreign languages and represented in several anthologies and literary journals. Winner or several literary award, including the Đura Jakšić award, Slavoljub Mitić award, The golden badge, The seal of prince Lazar, Radoje Domanović award, and for the travel poetry “The philatelist”, The book of the year award “Meša Selimović” which was also published in Poland . ,,Member of SLA *and President of Bagdala Literary Club , works as an editor in Milic from Macva's Legacy Gallery.*SLA (Serbian Literary Association)

Jana Bauer

Jana Bauer is a Slovene editor and acclaimed author of children's literature. She grew up in Kočevje, a small town in southern Slovenia, spending summers with her grandmother by the Kolpa River near the Croatian border. Her father, a passionate storyteller, filled her childhood with tales of witches, ghosts, and smugglers—stories that sparked her imagination and continue to inspire her writing for readers of all ages. She holds a degree in dramaturgy from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) in Ljubljana. Her breakout book, Scary Fairy in Wicked Wood (Groznovilca v hudi hosti), became an international success and has been translated into 19 languages. Her books have received numerous awards and nominations, both in Slovenia and abroad. In 2020, she received the main prize at the Macedonian International Literary Festival (Another Story) and the Desetnica Award for Ding Dong Stories. Her picture book How to Hug a Hedgehog won the Kristina Brenkova Award for Best Slovene Picture Book in 2022

Lidija Dimkovska

Lidija Dimkovska Lidija Dimkovska (b. 1971, Skopje) has published seven collections of poetry, four novels, one American diary, one short stories collection, and edited four anthologies. Her books have been translated into 17 languages.

For poetry, she received the Macedonian award for debut poetry, the German prize »Hubert Burda« , the Romanian prizes “Poesis” and “Tudor Arghezi”, the European prize “Petru Krdu”, the Slovenian prize “The Glass of Immortality”, the Macedonian/Albanian prize “Naim Frasheri” and the Macedonian prize for the best poetry book for “Boundary Situation” “Brothers Miladinov”.

Her novels “Hidden Camera” (2004) and “A Spare Life” (2012) received Writers’ Association of North Macedonia Award for the best prose book, and “A Spare Life” received the European Union Prize for Literature (2013). Her third novel “Non-Oui” was shortlisted for the Writers’ Association of North Macedonia Award, as well as for “Balkanika Prize” (2016) and is currently nominated for the National Translation Award in Prose by the American Literary Translators Association. Her short stories collection “When I Left Karl Liebknecht” was shortlisted for the Writers’ Association of Macedonia Award (2020) and five stories from that book received the Special Mention for European Cultural Heritage (2018). Her last novel “Personal Identification Number” (2023) that so far has three editions, received the “Novel of the Year Award”, for best novel in North Macedonia, the Regional post-Yugoslav feminist prize “Stefica Cvek” (2024) and in Slovenia it entered the Fabula Festival of World Literatures Selection as one of the best Slovenian literary works in the last two years. Her works were also nominated for Best Translated Book Award (the USA, twice), Poet of the Freedom (Poland), Brucke Berlin Prize (Germany) and Specimen Prize (Switzerland). She has participated at numerous international literary festivals and residences.

Her first novel for children and youth “The month, the month…” is in print.

Hana Korneti

Hana Korneti (1992, Skopje) is the author of the short story collection Milk Teeth (2021, Ili-Ili), the children’s fantasy novel Ilina and the Forest Trolls (2023, Ili-Ili), the sequel of which is forthcoming in autum of 2025, the nonfiction book Croprising: Good Weeds & Bad Gardeners – A Guide, co-written with Ivana Čaloska and Dimitar Samardziev (2023, Private Print), and Where Do You Fly Off to, Julia?, another short story collection for adults (2025, Ili-Ili).

Readers and critics describe Hana’s writing as humorous, insightful, perceptive, fresh, and marked by lively language. She has received awards for short fiction and playwriting, while Ilina was shortlisted for several novel prizes. In her free time, she writes amateur music, with one album out called “Goli Pesni” (2023, Sharla) and gardens—generally without much success (though the plants, crucially, survive).