Children’s and Young Adult
Vratislav Maňák is without doubt one of the most distinctive figures in young Czech prose. The twenty-nine-year-old writer and journalist caused a stir with his debut collection of short stories, Plastic Dress (Šaty z igelitu, Host, 2012), for which he was awarded the Jiří Orten Prize; his last novel, Rubik’s Cube (Rubikova kostka, Host, 2016), was one of three prose titles to be nominated for the 2017 European Prize for Literature. In addition to “grown-up” prose, however, Maňák also has a track record in writing books for children – he won a Magnesia Litera prize in 2015 with his The Clock Master (Muž z hodin, Albatros, 2014). The fairy tale The Skydweller is his third children’s book. A mountain valley is flooded with darkness and young Klára sets out in search of the mysterious Skydweller to obtain a warming flame for her sick mother from him. The sombre atmosphere of the storytelling, for which the author took inspiration from his beloved Hans Christian Andersen and from Oscar Wilde, is immediately reflected in the cover artwork by the painter Jan Hísek, who illustrated the book. With this tale of a child’s courage, the secrets of the sky and a health-giving light, Vratislav Maňák cements his reputation as a master storyteller.
