Mate Dolenc

Mate Dolenc (born 5 October 1945) is a Slovene writer and translator. He writes novels, collections of short stories, children's books, travelogues and articles.

Dolenc was born in Ljubljana in 1945. He started studying comparative literature at the University of Ljubljana but never completed his studies. He worked at Mladina for a few years in the early 1970s. Since 1973 he works as a free-lance writer. He has written over thirty books, several screenplays and numerous articles. He is also known for his juvenile fiction. His passion for scuba diving is often reflected in the subject matter he chooses for his writing. The Adriatic and its islands have marked many of his books both for adult and young readers. In 2008 his two most successful novels The Gorjanci Vampire and The Sea at the Time of the Eclipse were made into feature films.

In 1986 he won the Levstik Award for his novel for young readers Morska dežela na železniški postaji (The Land of Sea at the Railway Station). In 1995 he won the Prešeren Foundation Award for his novel Pes z Atlantide (The Dog from Atlantis) and his collection of short stories Rum in šah (Rum and Chess).

Published works

Menjalnica (The Exchange), short stories, 1970 Peto nadstropje trinadstropne hiše (The Fifth Floor of a Three-Storey House), satirical novel, co-authored with Dimitrij Rupel, 1972 Aleluja Katmandu (Hallelujah Katmandu), novel, 1973 Razkošje v glavi (Luxury in the Mind), satire, co-authored with Slavko Pregl, 1974 Nenavadna Slovenija (Unusual Slovenia), satire, co-authored with Slavko Pregl, 1974 Potopljeni otok (The Sunken Island), short stories, 1976 Vampir z Gorjancev (The Gorjanci Vampire), novel, 1979, 2004 Gorenčev vrag (Gorenc's Devil), short stories, 1977 Vloga mojih škornjev v angolski revoluciji (The Role of My Boots in the Angolan Revolution), short stories, 1985 Morska dežela na železniški postaji (The Land of Sea at the Railway Station), youth literature, 1986 Velika ptičja zadeva (A Great Matter for Birds), youth literature, 1987 Praznik republike ali abrakadabra (Republic Day or Abracadabra), short stories, 1987 Golo morje (The Bare Sea), youth literature, 1988 Strupena Brigita (Poisonous Bridget), youth literature, 1989 Njen modri dežni plašč (Her Blue Rain Coat), novel, 1990 Podmorski svet in mi (The Deapths of the Sea and Us), diving manual, 1991 Pes z Atlantide (The Dog from Atlantis), novel, 1993 Rum in šah (Rum and Chess), short stories, 1993 Ozvezdje Jadran (The Adriatic Constellation), 1998 Z masko v podvodni svet (Into the Depth with a Diving Mask), educational picture book, 1999 Morje v času mrka (The Sea at the Time of the Eclipse), novel, 2000 Leteča ladja (The Flying Boat), youth literature, 2002 Morski portreti (Portraits of the Sea), educational, 2003 Potapljanje Na Vdih & Podvodni Ribolov (Free Diving and Underwater Fishing), manual, 2004 Morsko dno pripoveduje (The Seabed Tells), youth literature, 2004 Golo morje (The Bare Sea), youth literature, 2005 Kako dolg je čas (how long is time), short stories, 2019