The winner will have the honour to light the Midsummer bonfire on Rožnik hill above Ljubljana.

A five-member jury chaired by Mimi Podkrižnik has read over 170 novels, shortlisting two crime stories, an autobiographical novel, a novel which takes the protagonist back to the start of the 20th century and a coming-of-age novel about a football player.

The Kresnik award was introduced by newspaper Delo in 1991. Its name comes from a Slavic god associated with the summer solstice.

In the history of the award only one author - namely Drago Jančar - has won four awards, whereas only two women have so far become laureates of the award.