Since 2012, Malinc Publishing House has been publishing quality children’s literature, striving at the same time to expand the literary diversity of the Slovenian book market.

We are devoted to publish authors from Spanish-speaking countries, as well as distinctive ones representing minority literatures linked to Spanish culture, such as Basque, Catalan and Galician writers. We also publish in Slovene authors and books from less known literatures from Europe and beyond. Through our program of reading promotion projects, we put academic knowledge into practice. Besides all this, we develop courses for reading mentors and organize literary events and visits of foreign authors.

We promote and raise this way general reading literacy and intercultural and linguistic competences, while focusing on inclusion and involvement of vulnerable groups, especially dyslexic readers.

The picture book tells the story of Master Reza, a painter who has mastered precision through the movement of circling his hand in the air – a skill he learned from his grandfather as a boy. This practice, which steadied his hand, became essential in his work, where he applies paint to the canvas with extreme accuracy at just the right moment. But this is also the story of the narrator, who, by mimicking the boy’s movements, seeks to unlock the secret of drawing circles in the air. Through the poetic metaphor of circling, the text beautifully expresses the pulse of life in eternity. Peter Svetina’s lyrical storytelling is accompanied by the exceptional illustrations of Peter Škerl, who has collaborated with the author on several occasions.

Text: Peter Svetina

Peter Svetina is a writer, professor and translator from Slovenia. He writes for children, young adults and adults, but his work often crosses the borders between different target audiences. Svetina’s works often play with occurrences and images arising from his everyday life, and have been translated into English, German, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Latvian, Estonian, Portuguese, Basque and Lithuanian. His books have received some of the most prestigious national and international awards and are immensely popular among literary critics and young readers alike. His name was included in the shortlist of the 2020 and 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Illustration: Peter Škerl

Peter Škerl is an illustrator of picture books, children’s and young adult literature, textbooks, and manuals, and his work is featured in children’s magazines. He has illustrated more than a hundred books and has received numerous awards for his work, including the Hinko Smrekar Award in Slovenia. His illustrations have been showcased in the international exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair, and he has been nominated three times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and twice for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Lucy Hereandthere is a story about a little girl coming from a bilingual, intercontinental family. Lucy has a grandmother and an abuela, she speaks a language spoken by millions, and a secret language that she only uses with her mom. But sometimes others see her as only ‘half’ here. That’s when she likes to wrap herself in a blanket and listen to stories in different languages ​​with her parents and her sister. She’s not just half, she is twice: here and there.

Barbara Vuga’s second picture book is a reflection on how we perceive and treat people coming from diverse social contexts. The illustrations by Marko Rop beautifully blend the vibrant colours of Slovenia and Mexico, bringing Lucy’s world to life.

Barbara Vuga was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where she lived until 2000, when she moved to Mexico. In Slovenia, she became interested in literature and various foreign languages, a passion that she continues to cultivate in Mexico. She lives between Mexico and Slovenia and likes to spend her free time with her family, in her garden. Lucy Hereandthere is her second picturebook.

Marko Rop is best known for his cute children’s book illustrations and character design. He was born 1983 in Slovenia and later studied stage design and intermedia art in Vienna and Prague. Passion for illustration, curiosity and dedicated work opened up many doors that seemed locked 4 years ago, when he decided to become an illustrator. He has a long client list, stretching over 20 countries so far, from small local businesses to well-known publishing houses like Oxford University Press.

Awesome! is a collection of seventeen stories of women who have amazed, shocked and astounded with their courage, knowledge and talents, like cavewomen, Marie Curie, Hellen Keller and Malala Jusafzaj. Unfortunately, sometimes their achievements have been unjustly overlooked. Lučka Lučovnik presents their stories and astonishing achievements in an interesting and entertaining way, with Maruša Žemlja’s illustrations completing the narratives. Each chapter is complemented by a useful glossary, a fun fact and simple instructions for an amusing interactive activity.

Awesome! is the second publication from the No Way! series by the same author.

Text: Lučka Lučovnik

Illustration: Maruša Žemlja

Architect Maruša Žemlja works in the field of graphic design and illustration, architecture (interior design), in the field of visual design communications (as a graphic designer and illustrator) and as a workshop leader for children and adults. 

A Giant Frog’s Day Out is a witty story about a little frog and its beautiful day. It is also a story about the people, about big news, many rumours, and big expectations. On one sunny morning, the frog decided that she would go on a trip and see the city. Word spread like the wind and got to the city. A big, huge, terrible frog was coming to them. People were initially scared, but then, hoping for a solemn and famous meeting with the famous frog, they rolled up their sleeves and cooked, decorated the city, and waited and waited …

Ana Duša graduated from the Department of Comparative Literature and Literary Theory at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. Since 2002, she has worked with fairy tales as a member of the Radio Student storytelling collective as co-editor, co-author of shows, and narrator. Since 2010, she has led the Storytelling School at the Storytelling Variety Association, focusing on folk tales. As an author of lyrics and songs and a translator, she works mainly in theatre. She began writing fairy tales in 2016. From 2015 to 2018, she was a member of the executive board of the FEST network of European storytelling organizations and the international storytelling laboratory led by French storyteller Abbi Patrix.

Marta Bartolj is an illustrator. She graduated from the School of Drawing and Painting in Ljubljana with a degree in painting in 2011. During her postgraduate studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Ljubljana, she fully immersed herself in the field of illustration and design. She exhibits her illustrations both individually and in group exhibitions in libraries and galleries. She enjoys visiting kindergartens and schools, where she presents her work and leads workshops for children. Her illustrations of poems, puzzles, and stories are often featured in prominent children’s magazines such as Ciciban, Cicido, and Mavrica. She received several awards for her work, including several Golden Pears in Slovenian and the international White Raven Award.

The Happy Frog is a tale about a frog who is delighted by a beautiful, sunny day. She screams and jumps carelessly around and, when she falls, she cries out loudly in pain. Her cry attracts the least expected animals, who come to help. But how will the day end?

This is a fun tale about joy, courage and friendship, but also about pain and loneliness.

Mateja Črv Sužnik is a writer, translator, proofreader, and editor at Zala Publishing House. After graduating in Slovene Language and Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana in 1985, she began working as a Slovene language teacher. While teaching, she also led a drama club, the Open Book Reading Club in Radovljica, and regularly collaborated with the Slovenian Writers’ Association by hosting one of the Slovenian authors at the school every year. She was also a mentor to student researchers, and the editor of the school newsletter and the poetry collection Nemir. She is the author of articles, a YA novel and several picturebooks.

Marta Bartolj is an illustrator. She graduated from the School of Drawing and Painting in Ljubljana with a degree in painting in 2011. During her postgraduate studies at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Ljubljana, she fully immersed herself in the field of illustration and design. She exhibits her illustrations both individually and in group exhibitions in libraries and galleries. She enjoys visiting kindergartens and schools, where she presents her work and leads workshops for children. Her illustrations of poems, puzzles, and stories are often featured in prominent children’s magazines such as Ciciban, Cicido, and Mavrica. She received several awards for her work, including several Golden Pears in Slovenian and the international White Raven Award.

The Miraculous Trees is a rich collection of fairy tales, fables, and legends from around the world, all centered around the timeless symbolism of trees. As co-author Breda Podbrežnik Vukmir notes in the introduction, “people and trees are alike. We stand tall, rooted to the earth, with our heads or canopies held high. Every person, like every tree, is unique, different, and special.” The magical world of fairy-tale canopies was beautifully shaped into words by the poet and translator Klarisa Jovanović and brought to life with the enchanting illustrations of Marko Rop.

Breda Podbrežnik Vukmir started her career as a Slovenian language teacher and continued as a professor of the Slovene language. She has been the director of France Balantič Library in Kamnik for 28 years and has participated in various professional organizations and meetings. She is the author of several articles, co-author of important articles on strategies and standards of general libraries and winner of the Čopova award. She is also interested in folk science and is the co-author and editor of several fairy tale books. Besides, she is the organizer of the Križnik Fairy Tales Festival, one of the most recognisable Slovenian cultural heritage festivals.

Klarisa Jovanović is professor of French and a comparative literature graduate. She translates mainly from Greek, but also from Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Italian and French. She has published three books of poetry. In 2007, she published the poem Zgiban prek Mure, which was nominated for the best debut next year. Her poem Izgnana was nominated for Veronikina nagrada, the literary award given to the year’s best collection of poems. She is also an interpreter of poems set to music and folk songs.

Marko Rop is best known for his cute children’s book illustrations and character design. He was born 1983 in Slovenia and later studied stage design and intermedia art in Vienna and Prague. Passion for illustration, curiosity and dedicated work opened up many doors that seemed locked 4 years ago, when he decided to become an illustrator. He has a long client list, stretching over 20 countries so far, from small local businesses to well known publishing houses like Oxford University Press.

Brilliant! is a sparkling collection of short notes in which Lučka Lučovnik presents some of the quirkiest ideas mankind has come up with. From the airplane as an ice cream maker to the curious world of restrooms, stock markets, and even chocolate, the author skillfully combines informative prose with humorous inputs and practical crafty ideas for readers to create after reading.  The delightful narratives are complemented by Maruša Žemlja’s charming illustrations.

Brilliant! is the first part of the No Way! series by the same author.

Text: Lučka Lučovnik

Illustration: Maruša Žemlja

Architect Maruša Žemlja works in the field of graphic design and illustration, architecture (interior design), in the field of visual design communications (as a graphic designer and illustrator) and as a workshop leader for children and adults. 

Winter is approaching and a large tree growing at the edge of the village has already lost all its leaves. One cold autumn day, a boy named Milo decides to do something to stop the tree from being so lonely. There are various people who help him. First the little girl Vita, then Mrs Zala, then the shopkeeper Rupert… The mysterious artistic feat in the workshop soon attracts the interest of all the villagers. What are they creating in the workshop? The picture book is a warm story about what we can achieve together when we stop blindly accepting what we take for granted.

Text: Barbara Vuga

Barbara Vuga was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where she lived until 2000, when she moved to Mexico. In Slovenia, she became interested in literature and various foreign languages, a passion that she continues to cultivate in Mexico. She lives between Mexico and Slovenia and likes to spend her free time with her family, in her garden.

Illustration: Marko Rop

Marko Rop is best known for his cute children’s book illustrations and character design. He was born 1983 in Slovenia and later studied stage design and intermedia art in Vienna and Prague. Passion for illustration, curiosity and dedicated work opened up many doors that seemed locked 4 years ago, when he decided to become an illustrator. He has a long client list, stretching over 20 countries so far, from small local businesses to well known publishing houses like Oxford University Press.

Words have a lot of power. Sometimes they are so powerful that they make us unrecognizable. The picture book Čudežne besede (Miraculous Words) talks about the pressure we put on children through our expectations and our responsibility for the message we give them.

Text: Miha Mazzini

Miha Mazzini was born in 1961. He works as a writer, director, columnist, screenwriter, filmmaker and lecturer. He completed his postgraduate studies in screenwriting at the University of Sheffield, UK, and his PhD in anthropology of everyday life at the Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis in Ljubljana. Mazzini has written more than 30 literary books, which have been published in 11 languages. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the prestigious Kresnik Prize for his novel Childhood (Otroštvo) in 2016. His short stories have appeared in international anthologies (Best European Fiction, Bristol Short Story Prize
Anthology) and he was awarded the American Pushcart Prize in 2012 for his short story collection Ghosts (Duhovi). He has also won awards in the field of film as a director and screenwriter and has also worked on interactive and multimedia projects.

Illustration: Štefan Turk

Štefan Turk graduated in art history from the University of Trieste and studied painting with the renowned Trieste painter and educator prof. Nino Perizi. He is a painter, an illustrator and a fine arts teacher. He works as a co-mentor in various children artists’ colonies and runs art workshops for children. He regularly publishes his illustrations in the magazine Seagull and has collaborated with Ciciban and Mavrica.

Sixteen-year-old Tomaž lives a normal teenage life: he likes to stare out of the window during school hours and hang out with his friends after school. When a family from Italy moves into his block, he meets Teresa, who becomes his classmate and with whom they quickly become close. Things get complicated when it turns out that Teresa is being bullied by a gang of intolerant thugs. Suddenly, Tomaž and his friends are forced to think about things they previously believed they were not yet ready to deal with. What is intolerance, what is friendship, what are the consequences of war and how to act responsibly? The suspenseful story of growing up in an environment where borders have violently interfered with the course of history is cleverly spiced up with the use of Italian and dialect speech.

Text: Samanta Kobal

Samanta Kobal is a dramaturg. She researches dramaturgy mainly within storytelling, theatre direction, dramatic writing and clown art, which she studied for three years with the clown master Emmanuel Gallot Lavallee in Rome. She taught her skills to the students of the Nova Gorica High School. She is the co-founder of the Talia Theatre School. In Gajbla, the house of creative stories, she explores storytelling and weaves the theatrical, visual and storytelling worlds into new and new forms and patterns. She is the chief editor and author of the theatre pages in the children’s newspaper Svetilnik, which has been published by public institutions in the field of culture. As a PhD student at the Faculty of Education in Koper, she actively researched the broad field of storytelling and the interaction between storytelling and the visual world. She works as a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education of the University of Primorska.

Illustration: Francisco Tomsich

Francisco Tomsich is an artist and author born in Uruguay in 1981. He produces exhibitions, publications, works for the stage, research models and pedagogical devices since 2003, operating with different media, languages and tongues.

The protagonists of Two Wise Hippos, Huberto and Marcelo, use to sit under a London pane’s shadow and spend a lot of time throwing mud balls into the brook. They talk to other animals, though (Carmela the elephant and Tanami the giraffe are among them) and sometimes try to do important things, like helping grasshoppers and commissioning paintings. They like to pose grave questions: How to make a bouquet of rhymes? How wide is the summer? Who is fundamental in this world? Why should we read a lighter book? How long does a downpour last? How to count penguins? The 21 short stories comprised in Two Wise Hippos are clear and short, poetic and tender, hilarious and wise.

Text: Peter Svetina
Peter Svetina is a writer, professor and translator from Slovenia. He writes for children, young adults and adults, but his work often crosses the borders between different target audiences. Svetina’s works often play with occurrences and images arising from his everyday life, and have been translated into English, German, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Latvian, Estonian, and Lithuanian. His books have received some of the most prestigious national and international awards and are immensely popular among literary critics and young readers alike. His name was included in the shortlist of the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Ilustration: Francisco Tomsich
Francisco Tomsich is an artist and author born in Uruguay in 1981. He produces exhibitions, publications, works for the stage, research models and pedagogical devices since 2003, operating with different media, languages and tongues.

The collection of fairy tales, myths, and legends Kako so rože prišle na svet (How the Flowers were born: Tales About Flowers From All Over the World) connects different cultures and continents and illustrates the similarities and differences between them. Even though the stories are international, the Slovenian environment is the heart of the collection, not only because of the authors but also because it is the international perspective that can makes us see the richness of the tales, including Slovenian ones.

Text: Klarisa Jovanović, Breda Podbrežnik Vukmir

Illustration: Mojca Sekulič Fo

Klarisa Jovanović is professor of French and a comparative literature graduate. She translates mainly from Greek, but also from Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Italian and French. She has published three books of poetry. In 2007, she published the poem Zgiban prek Mure, which was nominated for the best debut next year. Her poem Izgnana was nominated for Veronikina nagrada, the literary award given to the year’s best collection of poems. She is also an interpreter of poems set to music and folk songs.

Breda Podbrežnik Vukmir started her career as a Slovenian language teacher and continued as a professor of the Slovene language. She has been the director of France Balantič Library in Kamnik for 28 years and has participated in various professional organizations and meetings. She is the author of several articles, co-author of important articles on strategies and standards of general libraries and winner of the Čopova award. She is also interested in folk science and is the co-author and editor of several fairy tale books. Besides, she is the organizer of the Križnik Fairy Tales Festival, one of the most recognisable Slovenian cultural heritage festivals.

Mojca Sekulič Fo was born in Ljubljana, where she graduated at the Faculty of Architecture. She started working as an architect but continued her creative path in the field of illustration and design. She works for different clients, masters different art techniques and intertwines them in a completely unique way: in acrylic technique and in combinations with metal and wood. She has participated in more than 30 group and solo exhibitions.

Author: Juan Kruz Igerabide
Illustrations: Elan Odriozola

This book is an invitation to play with the rain, to play with the life that rains into the world and carries us towards our own sea.

The interactive box consists of:
• the book (the text is in Slovenian and designed for readers with dyslexia),
• clear sheets with Spanish text so that readers can read it simultaneously in both languages,
• individual illustrations on cards,
• illustrations of raindrops on clear sheets.

Juan Kruz Igerabide Sarasola is a poet, an author of numerous stories for children and teenagers and one of the most well-known contemporary authors who write in Basque. In 2018 he received the National Prize for Children’s and Young Adults Literature, the most prestigious Spanish award in its field.

Elena Odriozola, born in Donostia – San Sebastián is an illustrator of books for children and young adults. For her lasting contribution to children’s literature she received the Golden Apple of the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava (2015) for her work illustrating in 2013 Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus.

Nikolaj the Gymnast is Klarisa Jovanovič’s first picture book. It tells the story of a gymnast who detects a thief while doing his exercises in the park. The scene makes him so angry that he decides to catch him. The thief steals a baby’s rattle and, on another occasion, a magnifying glass from an old lady who visits the park. The thief’s third criminal attempt in a row consists in trying to steal the tablecloth which a poor man puts on his table to embellish it on Sundays. This time, Nikolaj  will catch him and recuperate all the stolen items. Nikolaj the Gymnast is written in verse, in a humorous and very skilful way. Even if posing the ethical question of whether stealing is acceptable or not, it does it without moralizing.

Text: Klarisa Jovanovič
Klarisa Jovanović is professor of French and a comparative literature graduate. She translates mainly from Greek, but also from Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Italian and French. She has published three books of poetry. In 2007, she published the poem Zgiban prek Mure, which was nominated for the best debut next year. Her poem Izgnana was nominated for Veronikina nagrada, the literary award given to the year’s best collection of poems.  She is also an interpreter of poems set to music and folk songs.

Illustration: Štefan Turk
Štefan Turk graduated in art history from the University of Trieste and studied painting with the renowned Trieste painter and educator prof. Nino Perizi. He is a painter, an illustrator and a fine arts teacher. He works as a co-mentor in various children artists’ colonies and runs art workshops for children. He regularly publishes his illustrations in the magazine Seagull and has collaborated with Ciciban and Mavrica.

Time is always precious, especially when you spend it with those people who you miss the most, even if you still have to get to know them. When they knock on your door, the world turns upside down. Even those things that you could not understand until today, eventually start making sense.

Text: Patricija Peršolja
Patricija Peršolja works as a speech and language therapist and deaf educator and is the author of many stories for children and young adults. She started publishing stories in magazines for children and wrote a series of children’s stories for the Slovene National Radio. In 2013 she was nominated for the Veronikina nagrada, the literary award given to the year’s best collection of poems, with her first book of poetry, Gospodinjski blues.

Illustration: Polona Lovšin
Polona Lovšin is an illustrator and a painter. She has illustrated numerous of picture books and textbooks, and regularly collaborates with the most important Slovenian children’s magazines such as Zmajček, Cicido, Ciciban and Kekec. She lives and works in Ljubljana, but often travels due to her exhibitions abroad and collaborates with important publishing houses such as Pan Macmillan, Penguin Books and Templar Publishing.

In Donostia there lived a boy who everyone called Jan Littlecross. When he still lived with his grandmother, she went with him to see the waves that approached the city from the open sea. These weren’t little waves, foamy curls. No, they were waves that reached a height of three, four, five, sometimes even eight meters, and broke against the sand of the shore, in front of the city.
Text: Peter Svetina

Peter Svetina is a writer, professor and translator from Slovenia. He writes for children, young adults and adults, but his work often crosses the borders between different target audiences. Svetina’s works often play with occurrences and images arising from his everyday life, and have been translated into English, German,
Spanish, Korean, Polish, Latvian, Estonian, and Lithuanian. His books have received some of the most prestigious national and international awards and are immensely popular among literary critics and young readers alike. His name was included in the shortlist of the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Illustration: Jokin Mitxelena

Jokin Mitxelena was born in San Sebastian in the Basque Country. He studied painting in Bilbao and worked as a teacher for ten years. During his teaching career he began illustrating. He has lived and worked in Germany since 1995 and has collaborated with major Spanish and other international publishers, not only as
an illustrator, but also as an author. He has received several awards for his work. Slovenian readers can get to know him as the illustrator of The Girl who Delivered the Bread, the picture book written by Peter Svetina.

Text: Juan Kruz Igerabide Sarasola

Juan Kruz Igerabide Sarasola is a poet, an author of numerous stories for children and teenagers and one of the most novel authors who write in Basque nowadays. In 2018 he received the National Prize for Children’s and Young Adults Literature, the most prestigious Spanish award in its field.

Illustration: Mikel Valverde

Mikel Valverde was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, where he also lives. His dedication to illustration started from comics. He has published various picture books on his own and illustrated many others. In 2005, he was awarded with an international prize for his work as illustrator by Santa María Foundation.

El despertador de Jonás

Ever since his little sister was born, Jonás’s house has been smelling different. Even sounds have been different as Jonás has a new alarm clock. Its night ticking wakes Jonás up. Does the alarm clock measure only time? What if its ticking means something completely different?

Jonás en apuros

Jonás goes to the candy shop with his mother. He really wants his mother to buy him a chocolate egg, but does not say anything. Luckily, his hand is not so shy and takes it by herself. Will the other hand let him do that?

Jonás tiene un problema muy gordo

Approximately since his little sister was born, Jonás has been having a problem. Sometimes his problem disappears. Jonás is as worried as his parents. Will they be able to solve it despite the cunning witch?

Adiós Jonás!

It is aunt Paula’s birthday and Jonás wants to give her a present. Right now. When his mother hurries to the store, Jonás hurries to his aunt Paula. He wants to come back before his mother does, but suddenly all the streets start looking the same. Adios Jonás is the sixth picture book in a collection that puts the protagonist in more or less common situations by adding a humorous note. Besides, it discusses common feelings such as fear, sadness, happiness, anger…

The collection of poems Con un dedo en la luna takes the shape of the children’s game hopscotch. Through reading, the poetic games move from the body and the physical to sounds, words, sensations and feelings. Poetry is a tool for imagination and it gives us an opportunity to explore different shapes of thoughts, feelings and sensations. Juan Kruz Igerabide invites children to understand and see themselves and the world around them in a completely new way through the lens of poetry.

Text: Juan Kruz Igerabide Sarasola

Juan Kruz Igerabide Sarasola is a poet, an author of numerous stories for children and teenagers and one of the most novel authors who write in Basque nowadays. In 2018 he received the National Prize for Children’s and Young Adults Literature, the most prestigious Spanish award in its field.

Illustration: Mojca Sekulič Fo

Mojca Sekulič Fo graduated from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Ljubljana, but works as an illustrator and a designer. She masters various techniques. Using acrylic colours and combining them with metals and wood, for instance, she does not only illustrates, but also writes texts in dialogue with her images. She has participated in more than 30 individual and group exhibitions.