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Jan De Kinder stokes Slovenian audiences’ interest in reading

Jan De Kinder is a writer and illustrator. His prize-winning book Red (‘Rood’) has been translated into over ten different languages. The publisher of the Slovenian edition, Sodobnost International, invited De Kinder to come and give a series of readings and workshops for children. Asked about this experience, made possible partly through the support of Flanders Literature, the author’s enthusiasm is unmistakeable.

“The schools and library where I was invited had already taken part in the project ‘Our Little Library’, aimed at promoting books and reading among children. The Slovenian version of ‘Red’ was one of the seven books selected for that project."

"During my four-day visit I gave ten readings and workshops based on the books Red and ‘Are You Afraid in the Forest, Big Wolf?’ The children were extremely well prepared. The size of the groups varied from twenty to eighty kids, and even two hundred in one case! There was also attention from the press and a final reading for children and adults during the Ljubljana Children’s Literature Festival. Here I got the chance to give an extensive presentation of my work to a group of around twenty people.

"The reactions I got from the library and the participating schools were very positive. Many thanks to Flanders Literature for making this unique and fascinating experience possible for me.”

Photos © KUD Sodobnost International