The Most Famous

WRITERS from Slovenia

This page contains a list of the greatest Slovene Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 7,302 Writers, 25 of which were born in Slovenia. This makes Slovenia the birth place of the 41st most number of Writers behind Serbia, and Latvia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Slovene Writers of all time. This list of famous Slovene Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Slovene Writers.

1. France Prešeren (1800 - 1849)

With an HPI of 69.75, France Prešeren is the most famous Slovene Writer. His biography has been translated into 63 different languages on wikipedia.

France Prešeren (pronounced [fɾanˈtsɛ pɾɛˈʃeːɾn] ) (3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages. He has been considered the greatest Slovene classical poet and has inspired later Slovene literature. He wrote the first Slovene ballad and the first Slovene epic. After his death, he became the leading name of the Slovene literary canon. He tied together the motifs of his own unhappy love with that of an unhappy, subjugated homeland. Especially after World War II in the Slovene Lands, one of Prešeren's motifs, the "hostile fortune", has been adopted by Slovenes as a national myth, and Prešeren has been described being as ubiquitous as the air in Slovene culture. Prešeren lived in conflict with both the civil and religious establishment, as well as with the provincial bourgeoisie of Ljubljana. He developed severe alcoholism and tried to kill himself on at least two occasions, facing rejections and seeing most of his closest friends die tragically. His lyric poetry dealt with the love towards his homeland, the suffering humanity, as well as his unfulfilled love towards his muse, Julija Primic. He wrote poetry primarily in Slovene, but also in German. He lived in Carniola and at first regarded himself a Carniolan, but gradually adopted a broader Slovene identity.

2. Ivan Cankar (1876 - 1918)

With an HPI of 61.07, Ivan Cankar is the 2nd most famous Slovene Writer. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.

Ivan Cankar (pronounced [ˈtsaːŋkaɾ], ) (10 May 1876 – 11 December 1918) was a Slovene writer, playwright, essayist, poet, and political activist. Together with Oton Župančič, Dragotin Kette, and Josip Murn, he is considered as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature. He is regarded as the greatest writer in Slovene, and has sometimes been compared to Franz Kafka and James Joyce.

3. Jernej Kopitar (1780 - 1844)

With an HPI of 60.67, Jernej Kopitar is the 3rd most famous Slovene Writer. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Jernej Kopitar, also known as Bartholomeus Kopitar (21 August 1780 – 11 August 1844), was a Slovene linguist and philologist working in Vienna. He also worked as the Imperial censor for Slovene literature in Vienna. He is perhaps best known for his role in the Serbian language reform started by Vuk Stefanović Karadžić, where he played a vital role in supporting the reform by using his reputation and influence as a Slavic philologist.

4. Alma Karlin (1889 - 1950)

With an HPI of 57.65, Alma Karlin is the 4th most famous Slovene Writer. Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Alma Maximiliana Karlin (October 12, 1889 – January 14, 1950) was a Slovenian traveler, writer, poet, collector, polyglot and theosophist. She was one of the first European women to circle the globe alone.

5. Sigismund von Herberstein (1486 - 1566)

With an HPI of 55.93, Sigismund von Herberstein is the 5th most famous Slovene Writer. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein; 23 August 1486 – 28 March 1566) was a Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his extensive writing on the geography, history and customs of Russia, and contributed greatly to early Western European knowledge of that area.

6. Drago Jančar (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 55.15, Drago Jančar is the 6th most famous Slovene Writer. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Drago Jančar (born 13 April 1948) is a Slovenian writer, playwright and essayist. Jančar is one of the most well-known contemporary Slovene writers. In Slovenia, he is also famous for his political commentaries and civic engagement. Jančar's novels, essays and short stories have been translated into 21 languages and published in Europe, Asia and the United States. The most numerous translations are into German, followed by Czech and Croatian translations. His dramas have also been staged by a number of foreign theatres, while back home they are frequently considered the highlights of the Slovenian theatrical season. He lives and works in Ljubljana.

7. Edvard Kocbek (1904 - 1981)

With an HPI of 54.29, Edvard Kocbek is the 7th most famous Slovene Writer. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Edvard Kocbek () (27 September 1904 – 3 November 1981) was a Slovenian Yugoslav poet, writer, essayist, translator, member of Christian Socialists in the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation and Slovene Partisans. He is considered one of the best authors who have written in Slovene, and one of the best Slovene poets after Prešeren. His political role during and after World War II made him one of the most controversial figures in Slovenia in the 20th century.

People

Pantheon has 26 people classified as Slovene writers born between 1486 and 1961. Of these 26, 2 (7.69%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Slovene writers include Drago Jančar, and Svetlana Makarovič. The most famous deceased Slovene writers include France Prešeren, Ivan Cankar, and Jernej Kopitar. As of April 2024, 1 new Slovene writers have been added to Pantheon including Fran Saleški Finžgar.