Julija Lukovnjak: We don’t notice thousands of good writers living normal, unsuccessful lives

Julija Lukovnjak is a young Slovenian writer who recently published her first fantasy trilogy. For her debut book, she received a Slovenian prize. Recently, as a member of the CELA program, she visited Kyiv Book Arsenal to meet Ukrainian colleagues and possible publisher-partners.

We talked with Lukovnjak about dragons in Ljubljana and the Serpent`s Wall in Kyiv, Slovenian fantasy fiction writers, and the challenges of finding your own voice.

This article was produced with the support of the International Festival Book Arsenal in the framework of the CELA program.

Chytomo: How did you imagine yourself as a writer? And how is it going now?

Julija Lukovnjak: I started writing when I was 15 because I was a huge fantasy fan. Reading numerous books and watching movies gave me a vivid imagination, so I started writing.

I began circulating the manuscript of my first book when I was 19. It took me two years to be published. I don’t know how it is in Ukraine, but in Slovenia, you have to be very patient.

But I wasn’t, of course. I wanted to make my books fast – to become a bestseller. I expected that I would make the whole series much faster and even could make a living from writing, but now I think that’s just not the reality. 

Chytomo: Why so?

Julija Lukovnjak: Because in Slovenia, it is enormously hard to live only of writing. 

Also when you’re an emerging writer, all the writers you see are these huge names. You don’t know that there are thousands of smaller authors who are just as good, but they are less successful, so they are living normal lives.

As an averagely popular writer, you can still have many privileges, like visiting festivals and having your books translated, but it’s a very slow process, and it’s not nearly as dramatic as I thought. 

Chytomo: Is there a big demand for fantasy books in Slovenia? How many publishing houses, for instance, are interested in publishing this?

Julija Lukovnjak: When I was looking for a publisher, I sent my book to three different ones. And to my observation, Slovenia is really closed to original fantasy.

Of course, in the early 2000s and slightly before, there were self-published Slovenian fantasy writers, but they usually didn’t complete their series and were soon forgotten. 

RELATED: Magdalena Sodomkova: All my work is trying to make people active

So it’s me and a couple of new fantasy writers who started this era again in Slovenia. 

Chytomo: Can you tell a bit more about other fantasy writers?

Julija Lukovnjak: There are so many different types of fantasy evolving in Slovenia right now. 

One of those writers is Jakob Konda. He wrote a book based on Slovenian mythology –  Skrivnost srži (Secret of the Heart). Also, a good young adult writer is Davorka Štefanec. She wrote a book – Strašilka (Scarecrow) – about a girl who travels from a fantasy land to Slovenia.

I think that generally, writers are interested in incorporating Slovenia into their writing. 

Chytomo: What is so particular about Slovenia that can be described in fantasy novels? 

Julija Lukovnjak: Ljubljana is a city with dragons, inspiring plenty of people.

There is a Dragon Bridge, lots of other statues of dragons, mosaics with dragons, and other art. It’s a protective geist of the city.

Lukovnjak with illustrator of her book, Maja Poljanc

And then the fan club of our football team is named Green Dragons.

Another very prevalent issue is war. But as you may know, this is a universal fantasy topic, not necessarily related to ongoing wars in the world.

Chytomo: Do you organize events with other young fantasy writers? On which events in Slovenia can you present your books?

Julija Lukovnjak: Sadly, there are no meetings, clubs, or even awards for fantasy in Slovenia.

But there are some big events. We have a Comic Con, and usually there are presentations of new fantasy authors every year. All festivals in my country are quite open for young authors, I think, because we are so small. 

For instance, there is the National Book Fair, which happens every November (it is like your Book Arsenal). Also there is the Summer Book Fair and the Spring Book Fair that are shorter and held outside. All these events are in Ljubljana.

Chytomo: Do you also have this trend with publishing in English? 

Julija Lukovnjak: Sure, it would be so much better if I wrote it in English.

In general, books originally written in English at the Slovenian book market have better chances to find readers than books written in Slovenian.

Lukovnjak and Rina Pleteršek (actress and translator) in Kyiv

For example, a book is trending in English, and to have it translated and published in Slovenian, we would need to wait at least one year. So, more readers are just inclined to find the books in their original language.

Also, plenty of readers in Slovenia are not much interested in their own literature. Especially young people, they rarely read books in Slovenian. 

So the number of books that are being translated in Slovenia is very limited. And yes, information from foreign countries travels much faster than information from here. I don’t think many young people in Slovenia are even aware of my book.

They are well-versed in the latest international books. 

Chytomo: Why is it so? How do young people in Slovenia receive information about trending books? BookTok or Bookstagram – which works better?

Julija Lukovnjak: In Slovenia, we don’t actually have BookTok. We only have Bookstagram, but that is primarily used by people 25 years old. So the Bookstagramers are usually very engaged in Slovenian literature, and they do great work by promoting these books, speaking about them, and sharing their opinions.

However, it is really hard to get to younger people (15-25 years old) because they don’t use the book Instagram at all, and we don’t have any BookTokers – or if we do, we don’t know because they post in English about English books.

So there is a motivation for my book to be translated into English.

Chytomo: Do you have many Slovenian authors who write in English? 

Julija Lukovnjak: We have one very successful romance writer who self-publishes and sells on Amazon – Kaja Bucik Vavpetič (Zoe Ashwood).

Younger generations of authors start their careers writing in English. They want to skip the Slovenian stage of being published and just getting out. Our fantasy market is not well-connected to other fantasy markets. 

Chytomo: What did you think about your perspectives being published in Ukraine then?

Julija Lukovnjak: I enjoyed participating in pitching my novel, all of which were made by my translator — Julia Stankevych. I think that at least one publisher sounded interested. However, I don’t know if there will be any offers. Anyway, I’m really grateful for that opportunity.

It’s a young adult fantasy, and it has some very inconvenient protagonists who maybe happen to be dislikeable. 

This main character, who is the only human being there, is the only one immune to this “splitting souls” process (which is happening to most of the characters in the book), and he becomes responsible for the people fantasy beings to save them. 

Lukovnjak and Julia Stankevych, her Ukrainian translator, IBAF

That said, he doesn’t feel the responsibility because he is not one of them. I think it is something universal that can attract different readers.

Chytomo: Did you enjoy staying in Kyiv? Here there are no Dragons, but we do have our Serpent`s Wall and mythology around that.

Julija Lukovnjak: Oh, that’s interesting! 

Overall, I chose to visit Ukraine because of Kyiv – I was deeply interested in the city. 

I knew the danger and everything, but I also knew that you have a superb protection system. So, I was ready to take a risk.

I was really grateful for being invited to this program – this was huge for me. This was my first festival outside of Slovenia. It was a big pleasure – being surrounded by music, people, and readings.

RELATED: What young translators and writers in Europe are focusing on: A summary of the CELA Program in Prague

Copy Editing: Ben Angel, Terra Friedman King