Like Croatia, Slovenia is one of the countries to emerge from the former Yugoslavia. It lies a little further to the north, bordering on Italy and the Alps. Indeed, it more or less surrounds the Italian port city of Trieste, which is relevant because the first ever Eurocon was held in Trieste in 1972. There was also a Eurocon in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, in 1983. Now, however, Slovenia is a proudly independent country, and keen to take it’s place on the world stage in all aspects of life, including science fiction.

Because Zagreb is very close to the Slovenian border, a number of Slovenian fans were able to attend this year’s Eurocon. They produce a fanzine, Jashubeg en Jered, and a special edition has just been made available in English. I found it thanks to Austrian fan, Nina Horvath, who mentioned it on Facebook. The reason that is in English is that it contains a lengthy report on the Eurocon, and an interview with one of the GoHs, Tim Powers. English is, of course, the easiest way to share the material with the rest of Europe, as well as with the UK, USA and other English-speaking countries. There are only around 2.5 million people who speak Slovene (though since that Eurocon I am the proud owner of a book written in the language).

Also in the special edition are an article on the place of SF in Slovenian society, reviews of the movies, Troll Hunter and Battleship, a book preview, and some short fiction (some of which I’ll be adding to the eligibility list for the Translation Awards). You can find the fanzine’s website here, but it is in Slovene. The link to download the PDF is the one that says “Klikni name”, but just for you I’ll provide a direct link. Click here for the PDF. (Warning: contains me, and Aloysius Squid.)