The memorial plaques are inscribed with the names of Slovenia’s most famous children's literature writers. According to Mladinska knjiga, Slovenia’s largest publishing house, Levstik’s Arcade symbolizes their commitment to children’s and young adult literature. The plaques honour authors who have received the most prestigious award for children’s literature in Slovenia, i.e. the Levstik Award.

The project was developed in close cooperation with the Ljubljana Municipality. According to Deputy Mayor Janez Koželj, the idea was not new: “We wanted to build an alley that is similar to Composer’s Alley on Vegova Street. It took some time for the plans to materialize.”

“Our nation was not born on the battlefield. The bedrock of this nation is not the economy but culture, language and poetry,” the CEO of Mladinska knjiga Peter Tomšič said, quoting the Slovenian poet and Levstik Award laureate Miroslav Košuta. The ceremony to mark the opening of the arcade coincided with the 70th anniversary of Mladinska knjiga. So far, the publishing house has released 25,500 titles with a total print run of 117 million copies. “We are tremendously proud of this. It’s a source of inspiration for our future,” he added.

A number of Levstik Award laureates were on hand for the event, including Niko Grafenauer and Svetlana Makarovič. “Mladinska knjiga has been my employer for all my life. I’m so glad,” Marjanca Jemec Božič said. “I’ve been working as an editor for Mladinska knjiga for 23 years. Each time I walk on these memorial plaques, I will gladly step on my own,” Niko Grafenauer said to much laughter.

Ksenja Tratnik; translated by D. V.