Drago Jančar (1948) was born in Maribor, studied law and worked as a journalist, editor and freelance writer. In the 1980s he lived abroad for some time, including as a Fulbright scholar in the United States in 1985 and in Germany in 1988. One of Slovenia’s most prominent authors, Jančar has been described as a “seismologist of a chaotic history”. His novels and short stories have been translated into 30 languages. His plays have also been performed abroad several times. In 2003 he was awarded the Herder Prize for Literature, in 2007 the Jean Améry Prize for Essays, in 2009 the Hemingway Prize, in 2011 Le Prix Européen de Littérature, in 2014 the Prix du Meilleur livre étranger, and in 2020 the Austrian State Prize for European Literature. He has also recieved the Kresnik Award, Slovenia’s prize for best novel, four times. His works include the novels Ob nastanku sveta (At the Beginning of the World) (Beletrina, 2022), In ljubezen tudi (And Love Itself) (Beletrina, 2017), To noč sem jo videl (I Saw Her that Night) (Modrijan, 2010), Katarina, pav in jezuit (Katarina, the Peacock and the Jesuit) (Slovenska matica, 2000), and the collection of short stories Joyceov učenec (Joyce's Pupil) (Mladinska knjiga, 2008).