Research Activities
Her research interests include Anglo-American and world literature, literary theory, literary journalism, graphic novels, intercultural studies, and film in relation to literature. She places particular research emphasis on questions regarding the relationship between fact and fiction, narrative truth, and documentary and hybrid narrative forms. She is also interested in literary production in foreign-language environments and short prose. She explores the latter as an author as well.
Selected Publications
In press, 2026: co-editor and co-author (with Rob Alexander) of the foreword in the academic monograph Comics Journalism and the Art of Truth: Framing the Facts (Routledge, 2026). I will also have a chapter in the book on the work of Hinko Smrekar (together with Žiga Valetič) (Hinko Smrekar’s Pioneering Graphic Novel Črnovojnik (The Black Soldier) Rediscovered: Journalistic Travelogue and Reportage of Imprisonment).
Scholarly monograph: Factual Fictions: Narrative Truth and the Contemporary American Documentary Novel. Cambridge Scholars, November 2010.
FLIS, Leonora. The narrative of social (in)justice, feminism, and migration in Slavenka Drakulić's selected works. Dve domovini : razprave o izseljenstvu. [Tiskana izd.]. 2023, [št.] 58, str. 127-144. ISSN 0353-6777. https://ojs.zrc-sazu.si/twohomelands/article/view/13203/11576, Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si, DOI: 10.3986/2023.2.07. [COBISS.SI-ID 160461571], [SNIP, Scopus]
FLIS, Leonora. Nan Shepherdʹs holistic world - an intimate triangle : nature, body and mind in the living mountain. V: DUŢU, Carmen (ur.). Representations, scenes and scenarios of intimacy in women’s writing. Bucureşti: Pro Universitaria, 2023. Str. 81-95. ISBN 978-606-26-1415-7. Repozitorij Univerze v Novi Gorici - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 159100419]
FLIS, Leonora. Social engagement and multiculturalism in Louis Adamic's literary journalism and documentary prose. Dve domovini : razprave o izseljenstvu. [Tiskana izd.]. 2020, [št.] 51, str. 59-75. ISSN 0353-6777. Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si, DOI: 10.3986/dd.2020.1.04. [COBISS.SI-ID 45984557], [SNIP, Scopus]
FLIS, Leonora. Grafične pripovedi in pripovednost. Primerjalna književnost. [Tiskana izd.]. maj 2020, letn. 43, št. 1, str. 51-74, ilustr. ISSN 0351-1189. Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si, DOI: 10.3986/pkn.v43.i1.03. [COBISS.SI-ID 18156803], [SNIP, WoS, Scopus]
FLIS, Leonora. Profiling war : managing trauma in reporting horror : the case of Boštjan Videmšek. V: JOSEPH, Sue (ur.). Profile pieces : journalism and the "human interest" bias. New York; London: Routledge, cop. 2016. Str. 226-239. Routledge research in journalism, 13. ISBN 978-1-138-93805-2. [COBISS.SI-ID 4114171], [Scopus]
FLIS, Leonora. Joe Sacco in literarno novinarstvo v podobi stripa - žanrski preplet literature, stripa, novinarstva in zgodovine. V: ZORMAN, Barbara (ur.), et al. Literatura in gibljive slike : tematski sklop = Literature and moving images : thematic section. Ljubljana: Slovensko društvo za primerjalno književnost, 2014. Letn. 37, št. 2, str. 195-225, [245], ilustr. Primerjalna književnost, letn. 37, št. 2. ISSN 0351-1189. Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si. [COBISS.SI-ID 55123042], [SNIP, WoS do 14. 6. 2020: št. citatov (TC): 2, čistih citatov (CI): 1, čistih citatov na avtorja (CIAu): 1.00, Scopus do 5. 9. 2015: št. citatov (TC): 1, čistih citatov (CI): 1, čistih citatov na avtorja (CIAu): 1.00]
FLIS, Leonora. Obraz postkomunizmu Europy Wschodniej i Bałkanów w pisarstwie Slavenki Drakulić. V: GRACZYK, Ewy (ur.). Białe maski / szare twarze : ciało, pamięć, performatywność w perspektywie postzależnościowej. Kraków: Towarzystwo Autorów i Wydawców Prac Naukowych Universitas, cop. 2015. Str. 151-166. Seria Wydawnicza Centrum Badań Dyskursów Postzależnościowych, t. 5. ISBN 978-83-242-2695-5. Repozitorij Univerze v Novi Gorici - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 4171259]
FLIS, Leonora. Nonfiction comics as a medium of remembrance and mourning and as a cosmopolitan genre of social and political engagement. V: CORNIS-POPE, Marcel (ur.). New literary hybrids in the age of multimedia expression : crossing borders, crossing genres. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2014. Str. 230-250, ilustr. A comparative history of literatures in European languages, vol. 27. ISBN 978-90-272-3463-6. ISSN 0238-0668. [COBISS.SI-ID 3660795]
FLIS, Leonora. Louis Adamič : Slovene-American literary journalism avant la lettre. Slovene studies : journal of the Society for Slovene Studies. 2011, vol. 33, no. 2, str. 115-132. ISSN 0193-1075. [COBISS.SI-ID 2404091]
FLIS, Leonora. The blending of fact and fiction in three American documentary (crime) narratives. Acta neophilologica. [Tiskana izd.]. 2010, letn. 43, št. 1/2, str. 69-82, 171-172. ISSN 0567-784X. Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si, DOI: 10.4312/an.43.1-2.69-82. [COBISS.SI-ID 44265058]
FLIS, Leonora. Documentary narratives in postmodern times : the United States and Slovenia. Slovene studies : journal of the Society for Slovene Studies. 2009, vol. 31, no. 1, str. 31-49. ISSN 0193-1075. [COBISS.SI-ID 39872098]
FLIS, Leonora. Vznik ameriškega dokumentarnega romana in njegove postmoderne razsežnosti. Primerjalna književnost. [Tiskana izd.]. 2007, letn. 30, št. 1, str. 153-166. ISSN 0351-1189. Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si. [COBISS.SI-ID 5924126], [WoS do 17. 3. 2018: št. citatov (TC): 1, čistih citatov (CI): 0, čistih citatov na avtorja (CIAu): 0.00, Scopus do 18. 3. 2018: št. citatov (TC): 1, čistih citatov (CI): 0, čistih citatov na avtorja (CIAu): 0.00]
FLIS, Leonora. Literary journalism in Slovenia. Literary journalism. Winter 2012, vol. 6, no. 1, str. 8-10. ISSN 1941-1030. Repozitorij Univerze v Novi Gorici - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 2196731]
FLIS, Leonora. Evropski Woody Allen - vnovično iskanje smisla in/ali premagovanje dolgčasa. Dialogi. 2011, letn. 47, št. 1/2, str. 161-165. ISSN 0012-2068. [COBISS.SI-ID 1851131]
FLIS, Leonora. Domačnost izpraznjenega bivanja in ljubezenske slutnje : pregled pripovednega opusa Janija Virka. Literatura. jul.-avg. 2010, letn. 22, št. 229/230, str. 202-218. ISSN 0353-5622. [COBISS.SI-ID 43532386]
FLIS, Leonora. Slovenia's contemporary poetic endeavors. Bricolage : Fordham University's journal of literary studies. May 2006, no. 1, str. 29-39. [COBISS.SI-ID 39895650]
FLIS, Leonora. Cultural shades of Slovenia : a brief outlook of Slovenia's literature: discovering the literature of Europe's Terra Incognita. Zarja : uradno glasilo Slovenske ženske zveze. Jan./Feb. 2006, vol. 78, issue 1, str. 6-7. ISSN 0044-1848. [COBISS.SI-ID 39852386]
FLIS, Leonora. Med leposlovjem in poročanjem. Sodobnost. okt. 2021, letn. 85, št. 10, str. 1279-1292, portreti. ISSN 0038-0482. Repozitorij Univerze v Novi Gorici - RUNG, Digitalna knjižnica Slovenije - dLib.si. [COBISS.SI-ID 84567555]
FLIS, Leonora. On recognition of quality writing. Literary journalism studies. Spring 2015, vol. 7, no. 1, str. 7-14. ISSN 1944-897X. [COBISS.SI-ID 3977211]
Biography
Dr. Leonora Flis has a BA degree in English and a BA degree in Comparative Literature; she earned both at the University of Ljubljana. She received her Ph.D. in literary studies from the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana in 2009 with a dissertation on the contemporary American documentary novel. She has been affiliated with the University of Nova Gorica since 2010. She pursued further research at Fordham University in New York and, as a Fulbright postdoctoral fellow, at Columbia University.
At the University of Nova Gorica, she is involved in the development of programs and curricula. She has designed numerous courses at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels, which she also teaches; among them are Selected Topics in World Literature, Literature and Film, Literary Journalism as a Hybrid Discourse, Literary Production in a Foreign-Language Environment, and Research Seminars I and II. In addition to her work at UNG, she also teaches at the University of Ljubljana (as an English language instructor) and at the Slovenian Third Age University. She writes literary, theater, and film reviews, essays, forewords, and radio literary programs. She collaborates with Radio Slovenia and other cultural media, hosts discussion series and creative writing workshops, and actively contributes to the dissemination of literary and humanistic culture in the broader public sphere.
She is active in the international research community, particularly in the fields of literary journalism and graphic novels. She regularly attends international conferences, summer schools, and guest lectures, including at the University of Gdańsk, the University of Malta, Charles University in Prague, Brock University in Canada, and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. For many years, she has been an active member of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies (IALJS), where she serves on the awards committee for research in literary journalism. Her research is distinctly transdisciplinary, as it connects literature, journalism, visual culture, and humanistic reflection on the contemporary world.
Scholarships and Awards
2005–2006 - Ambassadorial Academic Year (2005/06) International Scholarship (Rotary Foundation) – one-year study program in the U.S.; Fordham University, New York.
2011–2012 - Fulbright Postdoctoral Research Fellowship – 9-month study in the USA; Columbia University, New York.
2015 – Cultural Grant, U.S. Embassy, Ljubljana (recipient of a scholarship under the auspices of the LUD Literatura association).
2018, 2019, 2020 - JAK - Creativity Grant from Library Compensation Funds (fiction; research grant)
Mentorship
Advisor for master’s theses
BELINA, Mateja. The Influence of Transcendentalism and the Philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the Poetry of Miriam Drev: Master’s Thesis. Nova Gorica: [M. Belina], 2019. V, 66 pp. http://repozitorij.ung.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=4779,University of Nova Gorica Repository - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 5465083]
Supervisor of bachelor’s theses
TRINKO, Nina. Rooster’s Breakfast: From Novel to Film: Bachelor’s Thesis. Nova Gorica: [N. Trinko], 2013. IX, 64 pp., ill. http://www.ung.si/~library/diplome/SLOVENISTIKA/60Trinko.pdf, University of Nova Gorica Repository - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 3222267]
BRANKOVIČ, Lara. The Theme of Captivity in Gabriele Babnik’s Novel Intimno : thesis. Nova Gorica: [L. Brankovič], 2016. X, 45 pp. http://repozitorij.ung.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=2600, University of Nova Gorica Repository - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 4510971]
ŠTAKUL, Demi. The Theme of Emigration in the Short Prose of Anna Praček Krasna: Thesis. Nova Gorica: [D. Štakul], 2021. VIII, 55 pp. http://repozitorij.ung.si/IzpisGradiva.php?id=7068, University of Nova Gorica Repository - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 100349187]
Doctoral dissertation advisor
ZARIF KEYROUZ, Laure. Mobility and identity in contemporary Lebanese literature and art : dissertation. Nova Gorica: [L. Zarif Keyrouz], 2026. 187 pp., ill. University of Nova Gorica Repository - RUNG. [COBISS.SI-ID 268297475]
Memberships
Memberships at the University of Nova Gorica:
Scientific Council of the Doctoral Program in Humanities
Senate of the Faculty of Humanities
IALJS (International Association for Literary Journalism Studies)
DSKP (Association of Slovenian Literary Translators)
DSLK (Association of Slovenian Literary Critics)
PEN and MIRA (Women’s Committee of the Slovenian PEN Center)
SDUTSJ – Slovenian Association of Teachers of Foreign Professional Languages
Committee for the Kritiško sito Award (DSLK)
Awards Committee (IALJS – International Association for Literary Journalism Studies)
Committee for the SEP Vilenica Award
Artistic Work – Selection
Collection of short prose: Enakozvočja, Miš Publishing House, 2022
Collection of short prose: Upogib časa, LUD Literatura, November 2015.
Essay: Palermo – a city you smell and taste. LUD Literatura, August 14, 2025. https://www.ludliteratura.si/esej-kolumna/palermo-mesto-ki-ga-vonjas-in-okusas/
Essay: Contemporary Bohemia. LUD Literatura, January 15, 2024, https://www.ludliteratura.si/esej-kolumna/sodobna-bohemija/
Story: Heritage. Sodobnost. 3, 2025. https://www.sodobnost.com/izdelek/sodobnost-3-2025/
Story: The Straw Hat Maker. Sodobnost. 1-2, 2024, https://www.sodobnost.com/leonora-flis-slamnikarica/
Review: Traces of Moonlight (Tanja Badalič Volk, Fran Publishing House, 2022), October 9, 2023, KMCS Media; https://homocumolat.com/2023/10/09/tanja-badalic-volk-sledi-mesecine-zalozba-fran-2022/
Story: Spring. LUD Literatura. 362, August 2021, 71–77.
Story: An Ordinary Day (Fiametta). LUD Literatura. 362, August 2021, 78–81.
Short Story: Reža. Sodobnost, 6. Vol. 85, June 2021. 713–718.