Update: 28 February 2011

Why is a web guide to Slovenian science fiction necessary?

In Slovenia, the SF scene is much livelier than it seems, although admittedly in sporadic bursts. Clubs come to life and fall apart, publishing companies spring up and fade away, authors of different generations, backgrounds and literary experience try their hand at this genre. However, research and conversations with the most persistent always bring up the same factors which thwart a spontaneous bloom of the scene. Most commonly mentioned is the small-sized Slovenian speaking market which makes it impossible to professionally specialise in writing SFF, and which has consequences for everyone from the publishing company down to the last link, the reader, as it effects the frequency, quality, number and luxury of copies, promotion and distribution of the editions. Many also feel that Slovenian authorship as such is not valued highly enough, particularly in this contemporary globalised information society which offers an inexhaustible supply of easily consumptible (pop)cultural goods, especially to generations which grew up with the English language.

Lately an increase of interest in SFF is becoming apparent, although it is one of a more superficial and less creative nature than in the 1980s, when the club scene was positively buzzing with activity. Usually, newcomers to the fandom initially become attracted to mainstream films and, less frequently, literature, which mostly educates them into passive consumers of simplified plots. A smaller number mobilizes, taking part in fan-based activities and only very rarely exploring its invidual authorial expression. The latter often reflects previously consumed content, on the level of impoverished vocabulary and English sentence structure, but especially thematically, which results in literature relying upon overused motifs. This is, naturally, not solely a Slovenian trend, but a global one. Rather, the local specificity is one of remembering mistakes instead of celebrating and building upon past successes; of defending the remains of one's territory instead of enriching it in cooperation with others.

Despite its existence on the margins of the global genre, we maintain that Slovenian SFF, in all its expressive forms, is well deserving of attention. We emphasise its rich tradition of early adventure novels, (dys)topia and hard SF, as well as its bold experimentation within more contemporary subgenres of soft SF. We are especially proud of its characteristic social relevance, as well as its critical, thoughtful and ingenious take on the current situation. A bibliographical survey reveals literary classics who have (deliberately or unwittingly, as pioneers) very successfully created within this genre, authors from different professions who have skillfully interwoven their themes with SFF fiction (robotics, ecology, politics, questions of gender, ethnic and other identities etc.), as well as a fair share of goodhearted, but sometimes awkward enthusiasts, and new authors, still forming.

The purpose of this guide is not to evaluate the quality of the works, which has often brought the community into conflict. Rather, it is to present the entire spectrum, the quantity and diversity of this preferred genre of ours. This is, naturally, not the first attempt to systematize Slovenian SFF production. Experienced theoreticians such as Drago Bajt, Boris Grabnar, Branko Gradišnik, Žiga Leskovšek et al., have written many essential analytical texts, the clubs have organised numerous interesting events and published many publications. Recently developed technologies allow us to collect these and other topical contributions, to synthesize them and offer them, easily accessible and regularly updated, to all interested parties – also in English, to make Slovenian SFF recognisable to the global public sphere and to enable analysis.

The Guide started out as a simple bibliography, but has – so far – expanded to listing works in other media, translations into foreign languages, Slovenian SFF translators, analytical texts, key events, and definitions of the genre. We only allow ourselves some editiorial freedom in the news section of the website, where a preference for sociological, psychological, subversive and somewhat didactic SFF shines through. Through this selection, we wish the project to function as a genre regulator by focusing on the innovative, overlooked and unjustly negatively represented subjects, themes and motifs in SFF. We list, of course, all known new editions and events in the genre.

Genre placement

The name The Guide to SF has stuck from when it only included science fiction. We agree with the viewpoint of Borivoj Jurković, editor of the cult Yugoslav SF magazine Sirius, that real SF has to meet certain criteria. As he put it in 1979, underwhelmed by amateurs' stories he received:

Well, here we are: far from science fiction. Such are most of your stories! You've wandered off into occultism, mysticism, ufology, dänikenism (and even urigellerism!), into the Old, New, and I don't know which other Testament, into black, white and beige magic, into propagandising spiritualism and spiritism (!), into satanism, prophetism and didacticism, into superheroism – and on top of that, into naive stereotypes of it all. Such a shame, such a shame... So much effort, and some very literate compositions... Maybe even originals, but not sufficiently inventive.

Thus in principle. In practice, due to the small size of the Slovenian scene and the blending of genre elements, we nevertheless take note of other subgenres of speculative fiction, but selectively (horror, e.g., belongs here only when mixed with a significant amount of fantasy and not just mindless violence), as well as SFF with dashes of adventure novel, parody etc.