720 Heartbeats

When Jaka was three years old, sitting in his grandfather's lap, he wanted to do what grandfather was doing. So he learned to read. Starting with obituaries.

He started writing at the age of four. Soon he realized he was better at writing than talking, and he still is today. He doesn't like small talk. But his characters like it, use it and they're quite good at it. Jaka believes that this is one of life's ironies.

"People assume you must be a smooth talker if you're a writer. That's why I'm a writer and not a politician or a stand-up comedian. I observe and I write. I let other people do the talking."

He published seven books so far. Four of them became bestsellers in Slovenia.

His first translated novel, 720 Heartbeats, won the 2018 Breakthrough Fiction Award in the Suspense/Thriller category.