Slavko Pregl, a Slovenian writer for children and teenagers whose books won three literary awards, died Aug. 10, 2026, at age 80, RTV Slovenija reported.
Pregl worked for Mladinska knjiga from 1969 to 1991 and published his first book, Odprava zelenega zmaja, in 1976. He later ran EWO, an independent publisher, through 2002. Two of his books were later adapted as television serials.
His youth fiction won three Slovenian awards for children’s and young-adult literature. Geniji v kratkih hlačah won the Levstik Award in 1978. Srebro iz modre špilje won the Večernica Award in 2004, and Usodni telefon won the Desetnica Award in 2005.
Pregl served as president of Bralna značka, a Slovenian reading-badge program that encourages children and teenagers to read, from 2004 to 2008. He helped secure sponsorship for 300,000 books, which were distributed as gifts to young readers.
In February 2009, Pregl became director of the Slovenian Book Agency, the national public agency that supports books, authors and reading culture. From 2010 to 2011, during his tenure, the national Growing Up with a Book program for secondary-school students selected Geniji brez hlač and distributed a reported 24,500 copies. He held the post until retiring in 2012.
