Jan Balabán's Možná že odcházíme named the book of the decade

Jan Balabán's short story collection Možná že odcházíme (We Might Be Leaving), which was named the best prose according to the 2005 Litera, won the main category. The book was published in 2004 by the publisher Host and is currently available as part of the author's collection Povídky (Short Stories). Pavel Šrut's novel Lichožrouti (The Odd-Sock Eaters), illustrated by Galina Miklínová and awarded the best children's book in 2009, scored highest in the category Children's Book of the Decade. The book as well as its sequel Lichožrouti se vracejí (The Odd-Sock Eaters are Back) was brought out by the publisher Paseka, with the third part of the series already in the pipeline.

During the voting and selection of nominees, the procedure was similar to the annual Magnesia Litera awards. Three hundred personalities active in the publishing industry were approached - university professors, literary critics and historians, booksellers and librarians - who could choose from books that were awarded the main prize Book of the Year or winners of the original categories (Litera for Prose, Poetry, Non-Fiction or Discovery of the Year). In the first round, 105 votes were cast, in the second round the winner was selected by 101 voters.

The main objective of the Magnesia Litera awards is to promote original quality literature. This has proven successful in the last couple of years - the sale of the books that won in the first few years subsequently increased manifold, while the awarded titles from 2010 and 2011 became bestsellers (also thanks to the award) exceeding ten thousand sold titles. The best books of 2011 will be announced on 5 April 2012.

On the photo: Galina Miklínová and Miroslav Balaštík from the publisher Host which published Jan Balabán's works.