Švicarija as the New Venue to Host the Kresnik Award Ceremony

From 2026 onwards, Švicarija will become the new venue for the Kresnik Award ceremony, presented by the national newspaper Delo for the best Slovenian novel. Following more than two decades at Rožnik, this landmark event in Slovenian literary life is relocating to the creative hub in Tivoli.

At MGLC, we are delighted to welcome the Kresnik Award to Švicarija, which has served as an international residency and centre for creative production since its renovation in 2017. As MGLC Director Nevenka Šivavec noted on this occasion: “Hosting the Kresnik Award ceremony in what was once a refuge for the poor, bohemians and artists, and today thrives as a dynamic place of artistic exchange, presents a wonderful symbolic connection. Švicarija offers just the right, somewhat irrational retreat for art to come alive as a direct experience. Its inspiring spirit, shaped by Ivan Cankar and many other Slovenian artists, will in this sense enter a new chapter.”

The new location will maintain the Award’s connection to nature, literature and Cankar’s legacy, while also making the event more accessible to the wider public. The organisers have announced that they will retain key traditional elements of the ceremony in the new setting, including the fireflies and the ceremonial lighting of the bonfire.

The first Kresnik Award ceremony at Švicarija will take place on 23 June 2026.