Ela Peroci

Who is Ela Peroci?

Ela Peroci was a Slovene children's writer, author of numerous children's stories that are considered classics in Slovene children's literature. Her best known story is Muca Copatarica, illustrated by Ančka Gošnik Godec, which has seen numerous reprints and has sold over 140,000 copies.

Peroci was born in Sveti Križ pri Rogaški Slatini in 1922. She trained as a teacher and started teaching in 1945. In 1948, she started working as a journalist for children's publications such as Pionir, Ciciban and Mladi Svet. She graduated from the University of Ljubljana in 1954 and then worked at the national radio broadcaster until her retirement in 1978. She wrote short stories for children but also published two poetry collections for adults. She died in Ljubljana in 2001.

She won the Levstik Award twice, in 1955 for Moj dežnik je lahko balon and in 1956 for Tisočkratlepa. In 1971 she won the Prešeren Foundation Award for her collection of stories Na oni strani srebrne črte.