The Another Story festival (, tr. ''Druga Prikazna''), is an annual three-day literary event, taking place in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. The name of the festival refers to the idea of affirming the local and global faces of ''

other Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

ness'' in

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. At its inauguration in 2016, the festival's topic was ‘Literature and Activism’, and was inspired by the “ Colorful Revolution” protests in the county.

Origin and history

The inauguration of the festival corresponded with the mass protests, organized by the civil sector in Macedonia, against alleged

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

within the country's political elite. The idea behind the festival is to "harvest" the creative energy from the street protests and transform them into

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

istic expressions of the desire for democratization and

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

. Another objective of the festival is to popularize

and

, both of which, according to the organizers, have been quite marginally maintained in the country due to a widespread

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and poor cultural demand.

Themes

The phrase ‘Another Story’, selected as a name of the festival, aims at affirming the ''

ness'' in culture and literature, as well as of the many faces of local and global otherness. The main message of the Another Story Festival is tolerance and the desire to create another, different kind of

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

- one more open and accepting towards to

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

. The main subject of Another Story is

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, however, the festival also covers hybrid literature forms, as literary forms that combine written word with music, graphics, media, theory, etc.

Guests

Every year the festival gives out a grand prize. In 2016 the winner was

David Albahari David Albahari (, ; 15 March 1948 – 30 July 2023) was a Serbian writer. Albahari wrote mainly novels and short stories in the Serbian language. He was also an established translator from English into Serbian language, Serbian. He was a member of ...

, a renowned

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

writer from

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

References

# "Скопски книжевен фестивал за мали фикции ДРУГА ПРИКАЗНА". Портал ОКНО. Скопје, Македонија. 14 јуни 201

# "Зошто Друга Приказна?". Official prospect for the festival. Templum publishing. SKopje, R. Macedonia. February 2016 # "Време е за Друга приказна". Centar News. 27 јуни 201

# {{note, B2 "Стартува новиот скопски книжевен фестивал „Друга приказна“". B2 News. Јуни 201

Annual events in North Macedonia Festivals in Skopje