Brigita Orel is a Slovenian author and translator. She has published numerous short stories and poems in online and print journals. Her picture book, The Pirate Tree (Lantana, 2019), was honoured as a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Derby Children’s Picture Book Award in 2020 in the UK. Additionally, her other works have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and recognised in competitions such as the Mslexia Novel Award and Cinnamon Press Literary Competition.
She holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Swansea University and currently resides in Slovenia, where she works as a literary translator and researcher of children’s literature.
I am involved with Climate Fiction Writers Europe because I believe we must change our view of the planet as it only being a treasure trove of resources to seeing it as our only home. And what better way to achieve the shift in mindset than through storytelling.
In the valley where the river is drying up, the air is filled with smog, and people’s health is increasingly at risk, 12-year-old Jonas must believe that even the smallest acts can make a difference. But this isn’t easy when he faces bullying at school and worries about his little brother’s health as well as his father’s declining job situation.
When Jonas decides to investigate the ancient mystery of the river, he finds himself caught up in an exciting adventure.
To find herself, Nina must first unravel her past.
After eight years abroad, twenty-nine-year-old Nina returns home to Slovenia to attend to her ill father. Plagued by painful childhood memories, poor health, and a broken heart, she struggles to reconnect with her father. When she discovers her birth certificate, she realises her parents were not who they claimed to be. On top of that, she’s pregnant with the child of the man with whom she’s ended things twice. Searching for her biological parents, does Nina have it in her to be a mother when she doesn’t know who she really is?
Lyrical prose, a vivid sense of place and compelling characters who remain with us combine in this outstanding debut novel from Slovenian writer, Brigita Orel.