The Society of Slovenian Writers has awarded this year’s ten award for the best original work of children’s or youth fiction. It was awarded to Andrej Predin for the book Arlan under the carpet, illustrated by Peter Škerl.
As the jury wrote in the justification, among other things, Arlan is an “unusual, successful literary act” under the carpet.
According to the jury, the story of the boy who forgot his name gives a wonderful message that with courage, courage, justice and self-belief everything can change for the better and joy overcomes fear, even more, everyone can once again believe in a wise man or wise men, their advice. And what’s more: everyone can afford to take a guess, which conveys the message that things exist, even if they are hidden from view or we pretend they aren’t there.
Predin tells the story with associations to a world that is somewhere else, a world in which a two-year-old boy of a refugee family was found drowned on the shore, and Peter Škerl accompanies it with a suggestive image of unsympathetic creatures and places.
The hard truths of the world“After reading Arlan under the carpet, it seems that the careful, precise diction of the story does not want to be written in the style of the feel good genre, but invites to another way of thinking, tries to lead the young reader to ask questions about a world that is significantly different from the classic fairy tale world. And yet, even facing big, sometimes grueling topics and challenges can have a happy ending filled with joy, acceptance of differences, friendship and love.” the jury also wrote in the justification of the award for the book, which was published last year by Morfemplus.
After three nominations, Predin’s first corporal Andrej Predin (1976) is a publicist, an editor at the cultural editorial office of Dela and a writer who writes especially for children. For a realistic young adult novel On the green branch (2007) was nominated for the Večernica award in 2008. He intended novels for adults Teachers (2010) and Future doo (2014). In 2013, he published a work Disgusting bastard (illustrated by Adrijana Janežič), which presents environmental issues in a humorous way. This was followed by a series of short fantastic stories about the preschool girl Mica, illustrated by Marjan Manček.
In 2015, he published a poem Onion Grdulathe picture book was illustrated by Rok Predin. Little aliens (2020), just like most of the author’s works, belong to fantastic prose; illustrations were also contributed by Rok Predin. So far, three of his works have been nominated for the top ten: in 2014 Disgusting bastardin 2015 Grandma’s Mica: The Magic Cylinder and in 2021 Little aliens.
Ten for tenThis year, there were also nominees for the ten prize, which is worth 2,000 euros Tina Arnuš Pupis for the book Something is shining above the forest, Jana Bauer for a picture story How to hug a hedgehog, Cvetka Bevc and for a youth novel FA K.. Vinko Möderndorfer this year, he competed for the tenth with songs Romeo and Juliet from Next Street: Songs and One Tragedy with a Hollywood Ending, Sebastian Pregelj but with The stories of the Duchy of Carniola or Copernicus under the castle.They were still in the game for ten Maša Ogrizek with a book Parents and children of all varieties, Andrej E. Skubic with the eighth book of the Trio Golaznikus collection entitled An attack on a secret base, Bina Štampe Žmavc with picture text Blue Poppy Casket, Anja Štefan but with Bears and hats.
Dragica Haramija prepared the selection of works that comply with the ten award rules, and the nominated works were decided by the jury consisting of Aksinja Kermauner (president), Igor Bratož, Nataša Konc Lorenzutti, Majda Koren and Magdalena Svetina Terčon.
Source: Rtvslo
