Writer and publishing editor, scriptwriter, author of radio plays and texts for children. Her books have been published in English, French, German and Russian. She has been nominated for a Magnesia Litera and a Golden Ribbon award. She was born on 28 August 1960.
| Title | Publisher | Year | Selected published translations | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Wishy (Ryba Chyba) | Havran | 2012 | ||
| Rat the Great (Krys Veliký) | Dybbuk | 2010 | ||
| Sunday Landscape (Krajina nedělní) | Kniha Zlín | 2010 | ||
| Hlupýš the Slug (Hlupýš) | Mladá fronta | 2009 | ||
| Mystery no. 28 (Záhada č. 28) | Havran | 2007 | ||
| Karel or the Tale of Our Umbrella (Karel aneb Pohádka o našem deštníku) | Dybbuk | 2006 | ||
| A Grain of Sand (Zrnko písku) | Plot | 2006 | ||
| Paper (Papíří) | Dybbuk | 2005 | ||
| Žabina & co. (Žabina a spol.) | Brio | 2005 | FR | |
| Pomegranate Tree (Strom s granátovými jablky) | Havran | 2004 | ||
| Dog is Wiser Than Man (Pes moudřejší člověka) | Plot | 2004 | ||
| Fairy Tales from the Deep (Pohádky z vodních hlubin) | Brio | 2004 | ||
| Fairy Tales from the Sea (Pohádky z moře) | Brio | 2004 | ||
| Spider on Sage (Pavouk na šalvěji) | Dybbuk | 2003 | ||
| Appleton (Jablečňák ) | Brio | 2003 | ||
| Here´s Why! (Proto!) | Havran | 2002 | ||
| The Heart of Fairy Tales (Srdce pohádek) | Plot | 2002 | ||
| A Blue Fairy Tale or Duck a la Blue (Modrá pohádka aneb Kachna namodro) | Mladá fronta | 2002 | ||
| Why? (Proč?) | Havran | 2001 | ||
| The Adventures of the Water Goblin (Vodníčkova dobrodružství) | Aventinum | 1995 | ||
| Tales from Under the Pillow (Pohádky pod polštář) | Volvox Globator | 1992 |
Wagnerová has created a distinctive children’s book, whose spontaneous, natural style of storytelling is tamed only by the sophisticated, numerically-based composition (using the favourite fairytale number twelve). In addition, she grabs child readers’ attention with humour, not underestimating their ability to be led and playfully subverting the conventions of specialist literature, while their grown-up parents will particularly appreciate the cheerful allegory of human ambitions, aspirations, toil, good and bad decisions.
She studied television screenwriting and dramaturgy at FAMU, and she has written several scripts for television and radio. She co-founded the Havran publishing house, where she is in charge of an edition of modern European prose.
She debuted with the book Pohádky pod polštář (Tales from Under the Pillow, Volvox Globator, 1992), followed by Vodníčkova dobrodružství (The Adventures of the Water Goblin, Aventinum, 1995) and Proč? Pohádky o rybách, ptácích a jiných zvířatech (Why? Stories about Fish, Birds and Other Animals, Havran, 2001), Modrá pohádka aneb Kachna namodro (A Blue Fairy Tale or Duck a la Blue, Mladá fronta, 2002) and the stories Proto!: pohádky o muchomůrkách, pečených husách a jiných důležitých věcech (Here’s Why!: Stories about Toadstools, Roast Goose and Other Important Things, Havran, 2002). For Brio she prepared the anthologies Jablečňák (Appleton, Brio, 2003) and Pohádky z moře (Fairy Tales from the Sea) and Pohádky z vodních hlubin (Fairy Tales from the Deep, Brio, 2004).
Her first prose work for adults as an author was the literary travesty Pavouk na šalvěji (Spider on Sage, Dybbuk, 2003); in this novella she makes use of her experience with the children’s story, but here she offers it in a rough form that parodies the genre itself. Similar in tone is Strom s granátovými jablky (Pomegranate Tree, Havran, 2004). The novel Papíří (Paper, Dybbuk, 2005), about a librarian enclosed in “papery” isolation, tells of how important it is to fulfil one’s dreams. The novel Krajina nedělní (Sunday Landscape, Kniha Zlín, 2010) is a linguistically refined triple novel about domestic and foreign – i.e. cross-border – relationships.
Magdalena Wagnerová’s latest book is the novel Rodinná anamnéza (Family Anamnesis, Havran, 2015), which intersects in the figure of Hana Weinbergerová, a strong and unconventional woman, and in her memories.
