From September 30 to October 8, the fourth Festival of Slavic Literature took place, held for the first time in three cities – Ljubljana, Nova Gorica, and Maribor. The main guests of this year’s festival were Serbian writer and director Vida Ognjenović and Croatian author Nada Gašić, who are also included in the collection of 100 Slavic Novels.

A recent addition to the series is the Slovenian translation of The House of Dead Scents by Vida Ognjenović, translated by Aleksandra Rekar. This marks the first work by the acclaimed theatre director, playwright, prose writer, professor, and diplomat available in Slovenian. Ognjenović has played an active role in developing the 100 Slavic Novels collection in her role as president of the Serbian PEN Centre.

Her novel, centered on a collector of rare bottles and fragrances from a small Vojvodina town marked by “the narrow orbit of provincial life and the eternal numbness of its people,” invites readers to reflect on their own experience of time and memory. Through a mysterious house where scents intertwine with recollections and illusions, the author crafts a remarkable contemporary story about utopia.

Nada Gašić, a Croatian author and translator born in Maribor, presented her novel Water, Cobweb, translated into Slovenian by Mateja Komel Snoj. In conversations with Zora A. Jurič and Gašper Stražišar, she presented the novel, which opens with the story of the 1964 Zagreb flood, transforming the Trešnjevka neighborhood into a metaphor for the world.

At a round table held at Villa Zlatica, the headquarters of the Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK), Vida Ognjenović, Andreja Rihter, and Vlado Žabot reflected on the 20-year history of the 100 Slavic Novels collection, recalling its beginnings and expressing satisfaction that the initiative has so far produced over one hundred translations into Slavic languages. The series has brought together 58 translators from nine countries and seven publishing houses, creating a unique cultural bridge among Slavic nations and languages.

Organized in cooperation with Maribor Public Library, Ljubljana City Library, the University Library Maribor, and France Bevk Public Library Nova Gorica, the Festival of Slavic Literature remains a place for meeting, dialogue, socializing, and connecting, where literature transcends national and linguistic boundaries, while inviting joint reflection on the importance of literature, literary contacts, and the power of words.