Vitan Mal (; born 25 October 1946) is a Slovene writer.

Life

Vitan Mal was born on 25 October 1946Golob, Berta. 1980. Znani obrazi. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, p. 65. in the Rožna Dolina neighborhood of Ljubljana. After graduating from secondary school, he studied Slavic studies and librarianship at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Education.Kos, Janko, Ksenija Dolinar, & Andrej Blatnik. 1996. Slovenska književnost. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, p. 277. He has worked as a camera operator, a journalist, and an editor for the children and young people's program at Slovene national public broadcasting organization, Radiotelevizija Slovenija.

Literary production Mal established his reputation with picture books, primarily storybooks for young people.Lutar Ivanc, Aleksandra. 2006. Album slovenskih književnikov. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, p. 251. These mostly include novels about the problems faced by young people growing up today. Among younger children, his series of crime stories for children about agent Žardna. Some of his books have been translated from Slovene into other languages. For his youngest readers he wrote for various Slovene children's magazines including Ciciban, Kurirček, Pionirski list, Trobentica, and Zmajček. The print run of all of Mal's books exceeds 300,000 copies and, as part of the Slovene Bralna značka ('reading badge') reading program, he has appeared at nearly 500 schools and libraries.

Mal is generally considered the first Slovene write of juvenile literature that wrote, as he put it, "about apparently banal things such as having to pee, throwing up, and masturbation." Slovene juvenile literature experienced a rebirth in the 1980s in part due to Mal's contributions and distanced itself from a moralizing approach to upbringing. Young readers were attracted to his portrayal of young people as they really are, with all of their good and bad qualities.

His works for adults—Ganimed in drugi (Ganymede and Others), Za metuljem še Rok, and Nedokončana zgodba (An Unfinished Story)—were intended for a small circle of readers because they explore homoeroticism.Možetič, Brane. 1990. Modra svetloba: homoerotična ljubezen v slovenski literaturi. Ljubljana: ŠKUC, p. 74.

Film and television

Mall worked as a professional camera operator and journalist for Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV), and then as an assistant cameraman for the series Erazem in potepuh (Erasmus and the Tramp) and the film Cvetje v jeseni (Autumn Blooms). He wrote several episodes for RTV for the series Kuhinja pri violinskem ključu (Cook on a Treble Clef), which was aired in 1974.

The film 1977 Sreča na vrvici (Happiness on a Leash) was based on Mal's 1975 story Teci, teci kuža moj (Run, Run, My Dog). This is Slovenia's commercially most successful film, with rights having been purchased in over fifty countries. Mal's book Ime mi je Tomaž (My Name is Thomas) was used by the director Tugo Štiglic (1946–) as basis for the screenplay for the films Poletje v školjki (Summer in a Shell) and Poletje v školjki 2 (Summer in a Shell 2), which became Slovene cult films in the 1980s.

Personal life Mal was investigated in 2012 for photographing children without permission at a Ljubljana elementary school and charges were filed against him."Skrivaj fotografiral otroke." 2012. Delo (17 January). "Je Vitan Mal oprezal za otroki in jih fotografiral?" 2012. Dnevnik (18 January). "Ubogaj me in lepo ti bo! … Zdaj pa sleci hlače!" 2012. Delo (21 January). He was charged with possession of child pornography in 2013,"Pisatelj Vitan Mal obtožen zaradi otroške pornografije." 2013. Dnevnik (17 October). and in 2014 he was found guilty and received a 2-year suspended sentence with a 5-year probation period."Vitan Mal obsojen posedovanja pornografskega gradiva." 2014. Siol.net (3 April). "Mladinski pisatelj Vitan Mal obsojen." 2014. Večer (3 April). "Obsojeni Vitan Mal: 'Žal mi je in ne bom več pisal o tem'." 2014. 24ur.com (3 April).

Works for children

Ime mi je Tomaž (My Name is Thomas), 1972 Teci, teci kuža moj (Run, Run, My Dog), 1975 Roki Rok, 1976 Mali veliki junak (The Little Big Hero), 1976 Vanda (Wanda), 1982 Sreča na vrvici (Happiness on a Leash), 1984 Baronov mlajši brat (Baron's Little Brother), 1985 Poletje v školjki (Summer in a Shell), 1986 Školjka svetega Sebastijana (St. Sebastian's Shell), 1990 Ledosned, 2006 Na ranču veranda, 1993 Hitro hitreje (Fast Faster), 1994 Nedelje nekega poletja, 1996 Ta grajski, 1998 Dvojni agent Žardna (Double Agent Žardna), 1999 Žigana (Ziggyanna), 2003 Žardna in hiša duhov (Žardna and the Haunted House), 2003 Žardna in ukradeni angel (Žardna and the Stolen Angel), 2005 Žardna in Četrtek (Žardna and Thursday), 2006

Works for adults

Za metuljem še Rok, 1976 Ganimed in drugi (Ganymede and Others), 1993 Nedokončana zgodba (An Unfinished Story), 1999 Napačna odločitev (A Wrong Decision), 2009

References