Every science fiction and fantasy writer is also active in fandom.

25. 6. - 29.6. 2025: Bojan at the Eurocon convention in remote Finland

At the initiative of Bojan Ekselenski, the Celje Literary Society (CLD) decided to actively participate in Eurocon, the annual European (science) fiction festival under the auspices of the European Science Fiction Society (ESFS). This year, the convention took place in Mariehamn, on the remote and fascinating Åland Islands of Finland, as part of the Finnish festival Archipelacon 2.

The Slovenian team was represented by Bojan Ekselenski and Dominik Lenarčič, the editorial team behind Supernova, the only Slovenian magazine dedicated to speculative fiction.

First, a few words about Eurocon!

The European convention is held in a different country each year, selected by a vote of ESFS delegates. Eurocon is always hosted alongside a local convention so that attendees from across Europe can experience the local flavor of the host nation. This year it was held in Finland, next year it will be in Germany (Berlin), and the following year, as decided at this year's ESFS meeting, in Lisbon (Portugal).

The convention featured a wealth of fascinating lectures, meetings, and presentations related to science fiction and fantasy. It also included official ESFS delegate meetings. Each country is represented by two delegates, who usually take part in discussions and votes on the work of the umbrella organization ESFS.

Slovenia also had its own promotional booth, presenting CLD, Supernova magazine, and the Fanfest festival.

The Guests of Honor (GoH) at the convention are usually prominent writers.

This year’s main guest was world-renowned author Jeff VanderMeer from the USA, whose work has also been translated into Slovenian. He was joined by two other GoHs: his wife, acclaimed editor Ann VanderMeer, and Finnish author Emmi Itäranta.

Since the guests often walk among the booths, it’s also a great opportunity to grab a selfie—you don’t meet world-famous authors every day!

What about the other attendees?

Over 900 people registered for the convention. They came from almost every European country, as well as from the USA, China, Canada, and Australia.

The Slovenian booth attracted quite a bit of attention, as we were newcomers there. Dominik and I made sure the promotion was handled professionally in English. On display was the English translation of Bojan Ekselenski’s book (Underspace – The First Bojan Dawn There), part of the literary project Podvesolje (Underspace), which will culminate in a Slovenian edition that will differ from the English one.

On Saturday, June 28 at 2 PM, we held a presentation of CLD (Supernova, Fanfest, collaborations) in the large conference hall of the Arkipelag Hotel. Attendees from ten different countries showed up, bringing lots of questions.

The English issues of Supernova quickly ran out, and we received a huge number of collaboration offers. We successfully promoted Slovenian authors to a broader European audience interested in speculative fiction.

As part of this growing European cooperation, Bojan Ekselenski now also features an English section on his personal website.

We’ll definitely see you next year in Berlin, at Metropolcon 2026!