Stanko Kotnik (23 June 1928 – 3 July 2004) was a Slovene

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Slavic studies who taught methods of teaching

Slovene language Slovene ( or ), or alternatively Slovenian (; or ), is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic language, a sub-branch that is part of the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family ...

and literature at the

University of Maribor The University of Maribor ( sl, Univerza v Mariboru) is Slovenia's second-largest university, established in 1975 in Maribor, Slovenia. It currently has 17 faculties. History The university's roots reach back to 1859, when a theological semin ...

. Together with Leopold Suhodolčan he was one of the conceptors of the ''Reading Badge of Slovenia'' competition that still runs today as a motivation for primary school children in reading and literacy. Kotnik was born in Maribor in 1928. He studied

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...

and literature at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...

and graduated in 1954. He worked as a teacher in

Prevalje Prevalje (; German language, German: ''Prävali'') is a settlement in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Prevalje. It lies in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia, Slovenia, Carinthia. Prevalje lies in a valley wh ...

Slovenian Carinthia Carinthia ( sl, Koroška ; german: Kärnten), also Slovene Carinthia or Slovenian Carinthia (''Slovenska Koroška''), is a traditional region in northern Slovenia. The term refers to the small southeasternmost area of the former Duchy of Carinthi ...

and from 1968 to his retirement in 1988 lectured at the University of Maribor. He died in Maribor in 2004. He won the

Levstik Award The Levstik Award ( sl, Levstikova nagrada) is a literary award in Slovenia awarded for achievements in children's literature. It has been bestowed since 1949 by the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House, making it the first literary award established ...

in 1969 for his book ''Po domovih naših pisateljev'' (In the Homes of Our Writers).The Levstik Award on the Mladinska Knjiga Publishing House site
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References

Slovenian editors Slovenian illustrators Slovenian literary critics 1928 births 2004 deaths Levstik Award laureates University of Ljubljana alumni Academic staff of the University of Maribor {{Slovenia-writer-stub