Info on the author

Anja Štefan (1969)  is a Slovenian writer, poet and storyteller. She has a degree in Slovene and English, and an MA in Folklore Studies. She is one of the most popular contemporary authors for children in Slovenia. She published 30 books of poetry, stories and adaptations of folk tales; her works have been translated to various languages.

She writes poems, fairy tales and puzzles. She puts into words the world as she sees it and the world as she would like it to be. She prefers to use fewer words rather than more, to see how they sound and to put them together so they speak to both children and adults. Her texts have been lucky: they have been taken on by the best Slovene illustrators and have often come to life on the puppet stage, while her poems have been set to music and sung at musical evenings, in schools and kindergartens. Her book Lonček na pike (A Pot with Spots, 2008) is the most popular book of poems for children in recent decades, while the story Bobek in barčica (Bobek and the Little Boat, 2005) is familiar to all Slovene children. Her books are very widely read and are frequently reprinted – in 20 years 260.000 copies of her books have been printed. She has received numerous awards for her work. Anja Štefan is an excellent performer and she makes frequent stage appearances, alone or with musicians. 

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The other area in which she works is folk tales. Years of research and cooperation with legendary Slovenian folklorist Dr. Milko Matičetov has given her a strong feeling of responsibility towards oral tradition. Since she understands that traditional tales are most alive when they resonate with those listening to them she tries to build bridges between past and present, between once upon a time and now. She is the pioneer of professional storytelling in Slovenia. She performs regularly since 1995. In 1998 she established the National storytelling festival Pravljice danes, which she has led for 20 years. Besides that she has influenced the development of Slovenian storytelling scene through numerous appearances, lectures and workshops. She has brought many folk tales to life in magazines, pictures books and anthologies. Her collection of Slovene tales Za devetimi gorami (Beyond Nine Hills, 2011) is a book of great literary and ethnological value. On its basis Anja told stories for a televised storytelling series with the same title on RTV Slovenija (2012) and published a CD with the musicians Boštjan Gombač and Janez Dovč (2013).

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Anja Štefan was awarded with:

• Levstik Award 2001 – Grind, Grind, Little Mill 

• Award for an Original Slovene Picture Book 2007 – One Hundred Puzzles

• Levstik Award 2007 – The Corner at the End of the World

• Golden Pear Award 2014 – A Swing for Everyone

• Večernica Award 2018 – Tunes from Mousedale Dunes

• Golden Pear Award 2018 – Tunes from Mousedale Dunes

• Levstik Award 2019 – Tunes from Mousedale Dunes