Austrian Ambassador to Slovenia Valentin Inzko conferred in Ljubljana on Thursday the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art on an acclaimed Slovenian author. Drago Jancar was awarded for his achievements in the field of literature and for promoting Austrian-Slovenian ties.
Inzko said he was happy to be giving the cross to Jancar, the winner of many Slovenian and international literature awards. The ambassador, who conferred the honour on behalf of Austrian President Heinz Fischer, stressed the importance of Jancar's literary contribution for Central Europe.
The ambassador moreover said that Jancar's work has helped bring Austria and Slovenia as well as other nations in Central Europe closer. Austria sees Jancar as one of the most active, important and socially-critically personalities of contemporary Slovenian literature.
Jancar (57), born in Maribor (NE), is a widely translated fiction writer, playwright and essayist. His novels "Northern Lights" and "Mocking Desire" have also been published in English.
He has received a number of literary and arts awards in Slovenia and abroad, including the Preseren Award for literature, three Grum Awards for drama, two Rozanc Awards for essays, two Kresnik Awards for novels, and the European Award for short prose.
Jancar has moreover made it to the big screen, as his novel "Zvenenje v glavi" (Headnoise), a portrayal of a prison uprising, was brought to the cinemas by Slovenian director Andrej Kosak in 2002.
His novel "Northern Lights", a major literary work about Maribor, will be staged by the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor in its 2005/2006 season.
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