Fantasy Laboratory

Workshop leader

The workshop leader is Zoran Krušvar, a psychologist, journalist, famous and award-winning Croatian writer, translated abroad and the leader of various multimedia projects. He is the author of three collections of short stories, two novels for children, two novels for adults and picture books for children. He is a member of the writing collective “Fluminati” and the informal literary group “Ri Lit”. His works have been translated into English, Polish, Romanian and French.

Workshop methods

Each workshop covers some of the basic elements of writing a literary text, such as the opening and closing of a story, plot, characters, narration, etc. Each meeting includes a theoretical part, practical examples, concrete tasks, as well as mutual reading and mutual constructive criticism of written tasks. Some workshops also feature guest mentors, famous domestic writers.

Publishing works

The second part of the activities that will be carried out in the project concerns the collection and editing of produced materials with the aim of publishing a collection of the best works of the participants. The collection will be published in electronic form and available to the public for download also in digital form. Publishing the participants' works completes their participation in the program, rewards their efforts and values the progress achieved through continuous writing.

Significance for the development of Rijeka's culture

In addition to the development of library activities, this program represents an investment in the cultural future of Rijeka. On several levels, it contributes to the development of the culture of writing and laying the foundations of the future young literary scene. Also, in addition to developing writing skills, the Fantasy Laboratory provides a model of enjoyable and useful activity that productively fills the free time of children and young people. The city of Rijeka thus gains not only a generation of future writers, but also a generation of healthy and creative children and young people, actively involved in the cultural life of the community.

About the project

The project has been held on several occasions and has produced several published, award-winning, and successful writers.

In the period from 2008 to 2012, more than 20 young people attended the workshops, and the participants at that time are today active and published writers: Tamara Crnko, Antonija Mežnarić and others.

The laboratory is based on the participants' interests in fantasy literature and speculative fiction content in general (SF, Fantasy, Horror, etc.) and, through a series of educational workshops under the mentorship of the facilitator and guest workshops under the mentorship of recognized local writers, teaches participants various tools and methods of creative expression through the written medium. The focus of the project is to encourage the creativity and imagination of the participants and the creation of literary content.

This program represents an extremely valuable extra-institutional supplement to the activities intended for young people of secondary school age, which are carried out within the Rijeka City Library. In addition, the program promotes the development of literacy and literary creativity of young people, and especially the culture of reading, thereby enriching their upbringing and education. Furthermore, by creating new generations of young authors, it contributes in the long term to the development of the Rijeka cultural scene and literary, publishing and library activities.