In recent time we are witnessing a sharp decline in leisure reading – reading in youth has an effect on reading in later life, and this round table will look at the question of how to attract teenagers, a key group in reading promotion, to reading and encourage them to keep the habit. A few successful projects in Slovenia will be discussed, demonstrating the positive effect of reading during teenage years. Together with authors of YA literature, we will also examine what teenagers need and expect within the context of literature – in short, what contributes to them becoming and remaining lifelong readers.
Moderator: Nika Pušlar
Nika Pušlar is a member of the team organising the festival of engaged writing for young people Itn. (Etc.). She studied Sinology and is now doing a degree in cognitive science. She grew up with books and is currently most interested in magic realism, socially critical literature and prose poetry. She is one of those people who in their spare time like to research and ask questions about everything and anything that can be researched and is always seeking to learn new things – about the world, meaning, society, humankind, and everything else, the existence and issues of which she is as yet unaware of.
Participants:
Growing Up With a Book: Tjaša Urankar
Tjaša Urankar works at the Slovenian Book Agency in the field of reading culture and literary events. She develops, organises and coordinates national and cross-sector projects promoting reading culture for all generations. She heads the national project ‘Rastem s knjigo’ (Growing Up With a Book) for seventh-grade and secondary school pupils, as well as the project and exhibition Pot knjige (A Book's Journey). She is the national coordinator in the field of cultural and artistic education, a member of the Slovenian National Council for Literacy, and a member of the commissions for projects of integrating reading into everyday life. Her interest in working with young people drives her to encouraging reading at all levels. In the past she was a book and magazine editor, a lecturer and basketball player. She is still active in sport and spends her days with books, and her motto is ‘There’s nothing better than combining books and sports.’
Golden readers, Reading Badge and older readers: Manca Perko
Manca Perko is the General Secretary of the Slovenian Reading Badge Society, heading in terms of professional guidance and organisation the preparations and execution of the Reading Badge programmes in Slovenia and internationally where the programme is active with Slovene minorities beyond its borders. She has been involved with children's and YA books and with promoting reading culture through her entire professional life.
YA fiction author: Janja Vidmar
Janja Vidmar is the author of over 50 books, numerous screenplays, theatre and radio plays, columns and articles. She has received several national and international awards for her work: the Večernica Award in 1998 and 2008, the Desetnica Award in 2006 and 2013, IBBY Honour List 2010, the Glazer Charter in 2007, the 1999 Medaglia d’oro 1999, the 2010 Zlata paličica, nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2013 and 2014. Her work has been translated into Albanian, Serbian, German, Croatian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, Italian and English. She lives and works in Maribor, where she continues to be inspired by the surrounding vineyards, her daughter and her cats.
Projekt GG4A: Barbara Pregelj
Barbara Pregelj is joint professor at the University of Nova Gorica and co-founder and editor-in-chief at Malinc publishing house, translator, interpreter, lecturer and researcher with bibliography of more than 700 bibliographical entries. At Malinc she designed reading promotion programmes and different projects at national and international level, including the project GG4A: Innovative Intercultural Reading Promotion.