Many have now grown accustomed to the fact that, in literary scenes as small (in scope) as Czech literature, a trend can be established by the publication of a mere two or three analogous texts. This is exactly what happened
Many have now grown accustomed to the fact that, in literary scenes as small (in scope) as Czech literature, a trend can be established by the publication of a mere two or three analogous texts. This is exactly what happened in the Czech literary scene between 2023 and 2024, when it seemed that those at the forefront of Czech prose were all emerging authors; that something like a ‘new voice’ was taking shape. Equally remarkable was the way that the authors who had brought about this ‘trend’ differed so strongly in their work. As authors, Marek Torčík, Alena Machoninová, Kristina Hamplová, Miroslav Hlaučo, and Emma Kausc have very little in common with one another, which serves to paint a general picture of Czech prose in the years 2020-2024 – one which appears fragmented, and in which it is difficult to locate any sort of definitive tendency. Granted, some through-lines between certain works of prose can be seen, but most of the time these similarities exist between little more than a handful of texts. This raises the question: to what extent should this resemblance be considered a trend – one that attests to something fundamental about Czech prose – and to what extent should it be seen as a simple coincidence. On the one hand this kind of ambiguity is beneficial, in that it attests to the richness and diversity of these creative exploits, but on the other hand it raises questions about how contemporary Czech prose should be discussed, how it should be understood, and how it should be presented. The goal of the following article is just that: to accurately represent Czech prose from the years 2020-2024. Firstly, through the lens of literary prizes and events that have influenced its development, and secondly through specific texts that have stood out amongst ordinary literary production, either thanks to their aesthetic quality or by way of non-literary circumstances. These texts have been arranged into specific clusters which, in the subsections that follow, have at times been constructed somewhat ad hoc and do not have a unified framework: sometimes they follow a generational theme, other times the focus is on the through-lines between particular texts. The idea is to create a sort of map of the way that things seem to have been written during the period in question – which books were published, which ones excelled – so that Czech prose might be presented not only in its creative peaks, but also in its diversity and vibrancy. Where to go for Czech prose? It should first be said that, during the period in question, Czech prose did rather well for itself. After years of Czech prose being constantly compared to Czech poetry, and being viewed, in light of this comparison, as not quite up to standard, we now find ourselves in a period in which modern Czech prose is not only alive and well, but also widely read, as has been seen in increased interest from foreign publishing houses. For example, Marek Torčík’s successful novel Memory Burn (Rozložíš paměť, 2023) has been published in twenty-five countries, Bianca Bellová’s successes have long been lauded abroad and, in German-speaking countries specifically, authors like Radka Denemarková or Jaroslav Rudiš, who in 2019 exchanged Czech for German in his prose writing, have been extremely successful. Authors like Pavla Horáková or Lucie Faulerová now have dozens of translations of their work, and interest in contemporary Czech prose among foreign publishers has not fallen – in fact, quite the opposite – as evidenced by Jonáš Zbořil’s Flora, for example, which shortly after its publication at the end of last year (2024) has already been translated into eleven languages. The last few years have largely proven the editors of Czech literary journal Host right, who predicted a “boom in Czech literature” around the turn of the 2019-2020 new year. In fact, the eponymous publishing house Host (which at that time was still closely connected to the journal) has contributed significantly to the current readership popularity of Czech prose. In the period in question, they have published incredibly commercially successful Czech prose works that have still managed to hold on to their literary ambitions. Alena Mornštajnová, Kateřina Tučková, Petra Soukupová, Iva Hadj Moussa, and Jiří Hájíček, as well as the aforementioned Bianca Bellová, Radka Denemarková and Jakuba Katalpa, have all long belonged to the core group of authors associated with this publishing house. In the long term, publishing Czech prose has evidently paid off for Host, so it is unsurprising that Czech novels, novellas, and short story collections have begun to crop up in the editorial plans of other publishing houses more frequently than before. Much of this has come from the Czech publishing house Argo, where authors such as Pavla Horáková, Josef Pánek, and Miloš Urban have published their books. Paseka – another Czech publishing house – have become a frequent collector of literary awards thanks to their representation of Czech prose, with their publications covering such names as A. Gravensteen, Anna Cima, Michal Kašpárek, and Zuzana Dostálová, as well as the aforementioned Marek Torčík and Miroslav Hlaučo. The publishing house Druhé Město has also been a rich source of original Czech prose, publishing the likes of Petr Stančík, Michal Ajvaz, Sylva Fischerová, Štěpán Kučera, and Dora Kaprálová. The publishing house Vyšehrad have established a series of Czech prose works by the name of Tvář, through which books by Jan Štifter, Hana D. Lehečková, and Jiří Klečka, for example, have been published. Of the other publishing houses currently working with Czech prose, Fra, Prostor, Malvern, Torst, Větrné mlýny, Akropolis, and Maraton should also be mentioned. The comparative ease of publishing original Czech prose (unlike translated prose, a publishing house needn’t pay for expensive authors rights or translation costs) has led unfortunately to a situation in which some publishing houses have taken certain titles to the literary market without due editorial (and sometimes even orthographical) care, presumably with the idea of, so to speak, trying their luck. A readership hungry for new Czech literature has thus had something to reach for, at least, but the selection on offer has seemingly lacked stricter curatorial oversight. It is likely due to this that readers have tended to resort to familiar names, meaning many original prose titles found themselves in a similar position to Czech poetry collections: without much attention from the media, they may have sold a mere couple thousand copies or less. As a result of this, by the end of the period in question, the number of original Czech prose works in the editorial plans of Czech publishing houses has more or less plateaued. The point of literary prizes While the mainstream media have tended to focus increasingly on more successful books with greater readership appeal, less well-known books (or even debuts) have been able to garner attention mostly thanks to literary awards. In the period in question, the Magnesia Litera Awards (the largest and most notable Czech literary prize), though often seen to focus on ‘the best of the mainstream’, have nevertheless been awarded mostly to books that would otherwise have likely gone unnoticed by the wider public. In 2021 the Litera for Prose was awarded to Daniel Hradecký for his autobiographical prose trilogy Three Chapters (Tři kapitoly, 2020); in 2022, to Stanislav Biler for his novel Destruction (Destrukce, 2021); in 2023, to Viktor Špaček for his short story collection An Impeccable Life in Humility (Čistý, skromný život, 2022); in 2024, to Marek Torčík for his novel Memory Burn, and this year to J. A. Pitínský for his short story collection Household Goods (Domácí potřeby, 2023). The Book of the Year Prize was awarded to two prose titles in this period: Alena Machoninová’s Hella in 2024 and Miroslav Hlaučo’s Whitsun (Letnice, 2024) a year later (with the latter also succeeding in winning Debut of the Year Prize). Attention of this kind has slowly begun to coalesce around the Magnesia Litera Awards partially due to the gradual disappearance, or rather, growing irrelevance of other literary awards. The Josef Škvorecký Prize was last awarded in 2016, and in 2022 the State Prize for Literature was subjected to heavy criticism due to their allegedly biased selection of jurors – the same year that Kateřina Tučková was awarded the prize for her novel The White Water (Bílá Voda, 2022). As such, with the exception of the Jiří Orten Award (which has specific rules and can only be awarded to authors under the age of thirty) the Magnesia Litera Awards were for a long time essentially the only prize that could bring new prose (or any other new literature) to the fore. The situation changed, however, in 2024 when a group of five literary journals (A2, Host, Prostor, Souvislosti, and Tvar) founded the Czech Literary Criticism Prize. In contrast to the Magnesia Litera Awards, this prize has placed a greater focus on the critical response to acclaimed (and unacclaimed) new literature and, besides their announcement of the “best book of the year”, as part of the prize they have also organised public debates with literary critics. In its first year running, the prize (in the prose category) was awarded to Emma Kausc for her debut novel Plot Disruption (Narušení děje, 2024). The many faces of autofiction Possibly the single most obvious and widely discussed trend that can be found in Czech prose from 2020 onwards is so-called ‘autofiction’, which some critics see as a problematic and loosely defined category. Simply put, Czech literature can be said to have grown accustomed to regarding any prose work based on the lived experience of its author as autofiction, though with the caveat that not all things written in the book must directly correspond to reality. In fact, an author and their protagonist sharing the same name is often the first sign of a work of autofiction, though this is not always the case. Importantly for the Czech understanding of the genre, many of the works identified as autofiction have engaged deeply with the economic and social circumstances of their protagonist’s background. The work of French writer Édouard Louis has become a sort of a benchmark for any autofiction defined in this way; his work, moreover, has been repeatedly likened to the most prominent Czech work of autofiction, Marek Torčík’s Memory Burn. Another work important to the emergence of interest in autofiction was My Struggle (Min kamp, 2009-2011), a series of novels by Norse writer Karl Ove Knausgård, though it left a much smaller mark on the Czech understanding of the genre. Though the works of Édouard Louis have acted as a reference point for Czech notions of autofiction, Memory Burn is essentially the only noteworthy title to have corresponded in multiple aspects with Louis’ work. Marek Torčík’s autobiographically tinged novel also explores marginalised communities, and the protagonist of the book is, like the protagonists of Louis’ books, also a social outcast: as a gay man he experiences bullying in primary school; his mother is a poor working woman and his grandpa a destitute alcoholic. On the other hand, it should be noted that, in contrast to Édouard Louis, Marek Torčík includes a more vibrant palette of interpersonal relations and social bonds in his novel (one of the novel’s strongest narrative threads centres on the relationship between the protagonist and his mother) and does so, moreover, in a significantly more nuanced way. In contrast to the work of the famous French writer, which can often seem closer to a manifesto, Torčík’s book remains first and foremost an elaborate novel, in which the style of narration and choice of language both play an equally important role in the novel’s make-up. In Czech literature – or rather, in Czech literary criticism – autofiction has been understood somewhat differently than would befit the etymology of the term (which would imply an autobiographically oriented work of literature with certain fictitious elements), and many works that could technically be described as autofiction were not placed into that category, most likely due to a lack of socio-political commentary. This is true of the works of Dora Kaprálová, for example; after her critically acclaimed collection Islands (Ostrovy, 2019), the author released Suffering and Other Genres (Utrpení a jiné žánry, 2022), a collection of short stories similarly characterised by the dreaminess and hypnotic observations of their autobiographical protagonist. In contrast to her previous book, which was formally quite unified, Dora Kaprálová experiments far more with the limits of short story writing in Suffering, with some stories even resembling stream of consciousness or prose poetry. Another author – Petr Borkovec – whose prose is similar in many ways to Kaprálová’s, published a pair of prose collections in a similar style: first the collection Petříček Sellier & Petříček Bellot (2019) and then a book by the name of To Pick Up a Stick (Sebrat klacek, 2021). Similarly to Dora Kaprálová, Borkovec makes use of distinctive observations, with a focus on extremely unique occurrences and (in particular) characters that the protagonist comes across. Moreover, Borkovec maintains a certain distinctive humour in his work, which he often makes use of in his descriptions of the Czech literary scene. The topic of Czechia’s literary scene was approached, albeit far more scathingly, in Petra Hůlová’s novella Trump Card (Nejvyšší karta, 2023). The protagonist of this book is a writer and a feminist who ruminates on her own process of aging and waning interest from men, as well as the Czech cultural scene, even as far back as the 1990s. Petra Hůlová’s novel is autofiction in the full sense of the word – the author has evidently made use of autobiographical allusions to her own life, making it partially a roman-à-clef, though it’s impossible to draw a clear line between autobiographical and fictional elements. Other significant works associated with autofiction include the novels Hella by Alena Machoninová (2023) and Plot Disruption by Emma Kausc (2024). Alena Machoninová, who until recently was active mostly as a translator and researcher in the field of Russian literature, has based her first novel around an investigation into the fate of Helena Frischerová, a Czech Jew, who has been made a central character once before in Jiří Weil’s novel Moscow—the Border (1937). In a fragmented, essayistically inclined text, Machoninová weaves together her own reflections on and findings about this woman, as well as about Russia, Moscow, literary translation, and Russian literature; at the same time, she describes her own position as a researcher and writer who, through nothing but old documents and memories, is attempting to understand a woman she could never have known. Emma Kausc’s Plot Disruption is an equally fragmented text in which the narrator, thirty-year-old Emma, explores her relationship with her missing partner, a photographer called Alyona. The text, packed with intertextual references and reflections on literature and other forms of art, plays out across multiple countries, as multiple storylines, touching upon a variety of themes, converge. Some of these themes (queer identity or the climate crisis, for example) could be described as supremely relevant, and through her novelistic examination of them, the author raises piercing questions on these topics, skilfully and without describing them from any predetermined ideological standpoint. Both of these books have been described as autofiction, even though the socio-critical elements featured in both are nowhere near as prominent as in the works of Édouard Louis, for example (or even in Marek Torčík’s novel). As such, the autofiction status of both novels has become a source of doubt for literary critics; after all, even the authors themselves have described their novels as works of autofiction. This may have been due in part to the fact that both authors had long been moving in literary circles outside the Czech Republic and had thus interpreted autofiction differently. Alena Machoninová lived in Russia for many years and has translated many works of Russian literature, while Emma Kausc studied at university in London and evidently perceived autofiction primarily through the lens of English-language autofiction titles. Their novels and the debate surrounding them proves in any case that the concept of autofiction can be approached differently and with a variety of accents. This idea was partially alluded to in David Zábranský’s much discussed novel Jů and Hele (Jů a hele, 2024). In this book, an author known for his controversial views and provocative literary works has put to the page his own diary from the period between May and September of 2021. Zábranský has seemingly decided to take the concept of autofiction a step further and publish an unadulterated novelistic autobiography, although the line between proverbial truth and poetic licence still remains hazy and, in reading it, one is forced to wonder to what extent the text is a diary and to what extent a stylised piece of prose. Throughout the novel, the writer exposits uncompromisingly, unpredictably, and unscrupulously about those close to him, about his literary process, about politics, and last but not least, about himself. Furious literature Thanks precisely to its ferocity, David Zábranský’s Jů and Hele forms a link between autofiction and another literary trend of recent years, which has not yet been given a label, however, and has not resonated quite as deeply. This trend is made up of novels or novellas founded in a grotesque, aggressive, polemical style of narration, such as Burnout by Petr Šesták (Vyhoření, 2023), Chocolate Blood by Radka Denemarková (Čokoládová krev, 2023), and The Most Beautiful City on Earth by Stanislav Biler (Nejkrásnější město na Zemi, 2024). Radka Denemarková, who is at present likely the most successful Czech author internationally, based her novel Chocolate Blood on the life stories of three figures from the 19th century: Czech writer Božena Němcová, French writer George Sand, and capitalist John D. Rockefeller. The author takes carefully chosen episodes from their lives, which serve to demonstrate the destructiveness of capitalism, the disproportionate burdens faced by women, and the stagnation of social structures, and weaves them not only amongst themselves, but also amongst her own polemical, outspoken comments, with which she sets up parallels between the 19th century and the present day. In his striking novella Burnout, Petr Šesták, who had already garnered attention with his novel Continuity in the Park (Kontinuita parku, 2021), captures a glimpse of a metropolis from the perspective of a deliveryman delivering food on his bike. The protagonist must weave his way through omnipresent traffic, commenting on the cars’ pollution of the city ever more furiously, until his physical exhaustion and surging temper eventually lead him to commit an extreme act. The protagonist of Stanislav Biler’s novel The Most Beautiful City on Earth also wanders around a city (in this case Brno) that, in the novel, becomes a dystopian space, in which it is impossible to take children to school or even, due to omnipresent road traffic, to cross the street. In a stream of monologues from characters that the protagonist meets, a multitude of themes parade past, each closely connected left-leaning viewpoints. Even so, this polyphony does not lead to any sense of catharsis or enlightenment; Biler has clearly taken inspiration from the unfinished and unending wanderings of the land surveyor K. in Franz Kafka’s The Castle. In fact, the same could be said of Biler’s previous novel Destruction (2021), for which the author was awarded the Magnesia Litera Prize. Both of these works by Biler have been described as dystopian. In Czech literature (and even internationally) authors of recent years have resorted to this genre often. Two well-received prose debuts from 2024 might at least partially be considered dystopian: Kristina Hamplová’s novella Lover/Fighter and Jonáš Zbořil’s novella Flora. Hamplová has divided her first book into four parts, taking her characters from 2014 all the way through to the dystopian future of 2031, with violence and street fights acting as the driving force of the plot. With deft narration that has been described as both controversial and brazen, the author fashions a love story between her protagonist and a mysterious girl called Kendra, at the same time commenting cleverly and sarcastically on the novella’s small-town setting. Jonáš Zbořil’s Flora, however, in contrast to the more frenetic plot of Lover/Fighter, is focused and restrained. In a book full of literary and cultural references, the author lays out, in laconic and yet highly symbolic language, the journey of a childless couple to a prohibited zone known as the Barrens. Here they come across a strange, non-human creature which they begin to care for. Onto a story full of blind spots and narrative silences the author projects his interest in liminal spaces, which had already manifested in his previous poetic work. Another text that could be counted amongst the dystopias is Klára Vlasáková’s highly successful prose debut Cracks (Praskliny, 2020), which begins with the premise of a levitating sphere appearing on Earth without any clear purpose and investigates how people in a fully automated world, desperate for anything that could give their lives some meaning, might react to this. Even more successful than Cracks – from the point of view of both readership interest and critical reception – was the writer and screenwriter’s second prose work Bodies (Těla, 2023). In this novel, Vlasáková makes human (or rather primarily female) aging her central theme. Although some of the novel’s narrative threads also echo dystopian motifs and even the theme of artificial fertilisation, for example, it is more focused on expressing an intimate experience of corporeality, the kind that becomes a burden, overlooked by those around you. Family (micro)dramas and the fringes of society In the period in question, prose works focusing on interpersonal relationships (mostly family ties or intimate relationships) and usually dysfunctional ones, made up a significant part of Czech prose and were especially popular with readers. Petra Soukupová has been a frequent and meticulous chronicler of these kinds of relationships, publishing three novels between 2020 and 2024: Things Whose Time Has Come (Věci, na které nastal čas, 2020), No One Is Alone (Nikdo není sám, 2022), and Marta Doesn’t Want Kids (Marta děti nechce, 2024). In each one the author has proven her ability to convincingly construct utterly ordinary situations that arouse mutual antipathy or frustration in her characters, but at the same time cannot be prevented or simply brought to a close. Moreover, in the last novel mentioned, Soukupová dealt with the theme of voluntary childlessness, a theme that Czech readers have grown increasingly interested in recently, though before then Czech readers could access this topic only in translation. Another author continually examining close interpersonal relationships is Petra Dvořáková, who in 2020 published her novella Crows (Vrány) about a young girl whose ambitions are continuously trampled by her own parents. Around two years later, the author published her novella The Garden (Zahrada, 2022) about a priest returning to ‘normal’ life, and about the difficulties that he and those around him face. Her novel Wild Cherry Trees (Pláňata, 2023), also published during the period in question, alternates between the perspectives of various members of a family, reflecting (among other things) the regime change of the 1980s and 1990s in Czechoslovakia, albeit primarily on the level of family dynamics. A common element of novels depicting distorted family ties is the gradual uncovering of some dark period in the family’s history. It was this premise that the equally popular writer Viktorie Hanišová used as the basis for her novel Sunday Afternoon (Neděle odpoledne, 2022), in which the main cast are led by a carefully guarded family secret past the boundaries of common society. Of course, those living on the fringes of society have long been frequent participants in works of literature, and not only Czech ones. Although characters such as these have in the past decade usually been depicted in pubs over pints of beer or glasses of cheap booze, and as such the stories told about them have often slipped into romanticised pub ramblings, between 2020 and 2024 this type of character has begun to find themselves in the context of far grittier narratives. These include (besides other prose examples) Daniel Hradecký’s Three Chapters (2020) and Elsa Aids’ Preparing for Everything (Přípravy na všechno, 2020). Both books, whose protagonists teeter on the edge of complete poverty, falling into alcoholism (Three Chapters) or else apathy (Preparing for Anything), have been enthusiastically received by critics, predominantly for their methods of narration and precise, razor-sharp language; both authors originally established themselves as poets, in fact. The same is true for Pavel Kolmačka, who in 2023 published his second novel Canto Ostinato. A polished, meditative text on the approach of death, examining in depth the closest of interpersonal relations, it brought the author both the Czech State Prize for Literature and the Jaroslav Seifert Prize. In 2024, the poet Pavel Novotný also published his first prose work. In his novella Grandma (Babička), which is in fact the fourth work in a five-part planned series otherwise made up of poetry collections, the author reminisces in a truly unique way about members of his family and his own childhood, reflecting the period of late Czechoslovak normalisation. Back in time and back to the Sudetenland In the previous decade another important section of Czech literature has been made up by the popular genre of historical fiction. Thanks to the work of talented authors like Alena Mornštajnová, Kateřina Tučková, and Jakuba Katalpa, the most common subject matter of historical novels in this period was the story of the so-called ‘little man’ in the background of great historical events. The authors mentioned above have set most of their stories in historical periods such as the Second World War, the introduction of Stalinism, and Czechoslovak normalisation, using these periods to demonstrate how ordinary people (or at least those with no obvious political power) have been ruthlessly ground down by the tempestuous circumstances of their time. In 2021 Alena Mornštajnová published her alternate history novel November (Listopád), in which she imagined what might have happened if the Velvet Revolution had been quashed and the communist regime had continued to rule Czechoslovakia. Then, in 2023 she abandoned historical subject matter for the first time in her adult work and wrote a book about the traumatic experiences of a young girl who was sexually assaulted as a child by her own grandfather. During the decade in question, the exceptionally approachable work of this author, based often on tried-and-tested narrative techniques and well-known thematic formulas, has been enormously popular amongst readers and Alena Mornštajnová’s novels have continued to sell hundreds of thousands of copies. Another author who found popularity amongst readers was Jakuba Katalpa with her novel Zuzana’s Breath (Zuzanin dech, 2020). An author whose previous works were unique in their narrative inventiveness, richness of language, and polished writing style, in this her fifth book she has focused her narrative on three characters, with the bulk of the story revolving around the horrors of war that they have experienced. Although she has written about the holocaust in her previous works, in Zuzana’s Breath the author has abandoned narrative variety for the sake of narrating linearly and in a realistic style. Kateřina Tučková’s The White Water was published in 2022, ten years after her novel The Last Goddess (Žítkovské bohyně, 2012) made her into one of the most popular writers in the Czech Republic. Similarly to Tučková’s first novel, The White Water weaves together several narrative threads, of which one takes place between 2007 and 2008, while the rest of the book is set pre-Velvet Revolution in a nunnery located in the titular border town of Bílá Voda (lit. “white water”). In this book, with a narrative punctuated by fictional transcripts of contemporary historical sources, investigation reports, and newspaper articles, the author has mapped out the lives of a group of Czech nuns throughout the period of normalisation, thereby following on from her previous books about the heavy burdens faced by extraordinary women in the past century under the communist regime. Another of the more successful pieces of historical fiction in recent years is Karin Lednická’s trilogy The Leaning Church (Šikmý kostel; each work published in 2020, 2021, and 2024 respectively). While Alena Mornštajnová and Jakuba Katalpa have mostly set their stories in well-known historical periods, in her books Karin Lednická has written about the lesser-known history of the Karviná region. The first entry in the trilogy goes back as far as 1894; historical events that have been more thoroughly mapped out by other authors, such as the Second World War, the postwar resettlement of Germans from Czechoslovakia, or the Czechoslovak communist putsch, were more or less covered by the second and third entries in the trilogy. Although Lednická has somewhat simplified certain historical events for the sake of plot construction, and the third entry in particular unfolds a little mechanically, her prose has not fallen into the oft repeated patterns of historical narratives that have been in use in Czech historical fiction for some time now, and so in this genre of literature she has stood out. Lednická has built her extensive body of work around family sagas and has skilfully made use of a multitude of characters, whose lives encapsulate the countless hardships caused by historical developments in the Karviná region. Simona Bohatá has also set the majority of her prose works in the period of normalisation, albeit with less of an eye to the course of great historical events, focusing significantly more on the lives of those on the periphery, often specifically those from Prague’s Žižkov district (which was, during the period of normalisation, a working class area with its own distinctive character) as she did in her novel Lucky Beny (Klikař Beny, 2021). The former Sudetenland, now the Czech borderlands, is another favourite setting for Czech historical prose. This region has made frequent appearances, mostly thanks to the fact that many of the events that played out on a larger scale elsewhere in Europe can be found here, concentrated into one small space. In the Sudetenland, one tends to find multiple ethnic and linguistic groups and spheres of influence, which collided and competed with one another over the first half of the 20th century, all in one place. For this reason, many historical novels have depicted the rise of Nazism, the growth in power of the ethnic German or German-speaking population, and the subsequent acts of revenge (for either real or imagined historical injustices) committed during the period of postwar resettlement. Some of the most important and most popular authors in the period in question who have chosen the Sudetenland as a setting for their prose are, for example, Jan Štifter (Peacock Feast [Paví hody], 2022; The Land of Molten Bells [Krajina roztavených zvonů], 2024), Anna Strnadová (…It Was Enough To Just Say Jáchymov […stačilo jen říct Jáchymov], 2021; Life on a Spider’s Thread [Život na pavoučím vlákně], 2024), and Alice Horáčková (A House Divided: The Story of a Sudeten Family [Rozpůlený dům: Příběh sudetské rodiny], 2022). In the 2010s, novels chronicling the lives of specific historical figures made up one of the most popular types of historical fiction. In the period in question, one novel that can be placed in this category is Magdaléna Platzová’s Life After Kafka (Život po Kafkovi, 2022), a fragmented narrative that focuses on the life of Felice Bauer, the well-known fiancée of Franz Kafka and silent addressee of Kafka’s letters. In her book, Platzová has written not only about the life story of this woman, but also about her own role as a researcher and writer fascinated by Bauer’s life and the broader historical context surrounding it. In the last decade in particular, a slew of novels set during the Second World War have been published and, from the point of view of Czech literature, this historical period now seems somewhat played out. Even so, in the first half of the 2020s, two novels set in this period appeared, which have differed in many ways from the WW2 prose of previous years. The protagonist of Alexander Staffa’s debut novel Violence (Násilí, 2023; it’s worth noting that Staffa has published his debut at the age of seventy-five) is an ethnic German from Czechoslovakia who enlists in an SS unit. While the horrors of war that subsequently take place have been seen many times before in other novels, the book’s method of narration is particularly noteworthy, full of silences and dialogues that, when read, often leave one uncertain as to who is speaking with whom, as well as exceptionally expressive language. In contrast to this, Eli Beneš’s literary debut A Slight Loss of Loneliness (Nepatrná ztráta osamělosti, 2023; for which the author was awarded the Magnesia Litera Prize in the Discovery of the Year category a year later) is narrated from the point of view of a Jewish boy, who is released from a concentration camp in May of 1945 and attempts to return to ‘normal’ life. This focus on postwar everyday life and experience, which other WW2 novels include only tangentially, is unusually present in Beneš’s debut and is one reason why he has received such significant attention. The 1990s as a period of Czech history have remained somewhat overlooked in the first half of the 2020s. This transformative historical period offers significant potential both from the point of view of themes and of readership interest, as can be seen thanks to the international success of authors from other countries with an experience of Soviet occupation. It has been more broadly explored, for example, in the autobiographical book The True Way Out (Skutečná cesta ven, 2023) by Patrik Banga, who recently became the first Roma author to receive the Magnesia Litera, in the category of Discovery of the Year. In his book he has written about his upbringing in the 1990s, years mired in racism, but also about his own escape from his ghettoised surroundings, styling himself somewhat as a ‘self-made man’. Genre fiction and the fringes of genre Authors who write genre fiction enjoy a good deal of popularity, especially from readers. It’s worth mentioning the work of Leoš Kyša here, an author who publishes several books annually (both under his given name and his pseudonym František Kotleta). Also popular at the moment is the four-part young adult fantasy series The Listener (Naslouchač) by Petra Stehlíková; in the period in question, the third and fourth entries – Nasterea and Urla – were published (in 2021 and 2024 respectively). In the genre of urban fantasy, the Project Kronos trilogy by Pavel Bareš has also garnered a significant amount of attention (the final entry Kronos’ Legacy [Kronův odkaz] was published in 2021). Besides this series, Bareš has also written two other genre novels: Meta in 2020 and Jimmy the Sloth and his Back-up Band (Lenochod Jimmy & jeho backup band) in 2023. Jakub Hussar’s incredibly ambitious sci-fi novels (0 TU: Volume I, 2021, 0 TU: Volume II, also 2021, and X-Tal, 2024) have also been extremely successful, laying out an exceedingly elaborate fictional universe with a detailed history. In addition to this, so-called ‘serious’ literature has in recent years begun to be infiltrated by horror fiction, mostly thanks to books like Ignis fatuus by Petra Klabouchová (2024) and Hammering Nails by Vilém Koubek (Zatloukání hřebů, 2024). Importantly for these kinds of books, the gap between so-called highbrow literature and genre fiction has at least partially closed in recent years and, from time to time, one of these genre fiction titles receives widespread acclaim from literary critics who otherwise engage exclusively with so-called ‘serious’ literature (as was the case with the aforementioned novels by Petra Klabouchová and Pavel Bareš, for example). Another contribution towards bridging the gap between highbrow literature and genre fiction has been made, of course, by the fact that ‘serious’ authors continue to draw on the techniques of genre fiction. Anna Bolavá rooted her novel The Narrator (Vypravěč, 2022) in horror stories (or sometimes fairytales), at the same time effortlessly and originally making use of the unreliable narrator as a literary device. Zuzana Říhová offers a more straightforward (though very sharply written) story in her book Through Pins or Needles (Cestou špendlíků nebo jehel, 2021). Similarly to Anna Bolavá, the author has drawn on horror techniques, rooting this novel about a married couple moving to the countryside in the fairytale story of Little Red Riding Hood. Another author associated with the use of genre fiction techniques is Miloš Urban, whose novels are usually based on specific genres – like the gothic novel, murder mystery, or horror story – as well as on the author’s own historical research. This is true in the case of Meat Factory (Továrna na maso, 2022), a book set in the abattoirs of Holešovice, a district of Prague. Nevertheless, his novel Dr. Alz (2024) is founded on a completely different narrative principle: the protagonist and narrator is an old man suffering from Alzheimer’s syndrome, who we see mixing up his words and forgetting things, with his attempts to resist the pernicious disease leading to a variety of tragicomic situations. Postmodernism: is it still relevant? Across the metaphorical court from first-rate literary bestsellers stands prose that experiments with form and language, prose without any obvious narrative arc, which makes its own construction its central theme. In the context of Czech literary criticism, books of this type have been described as postmodern for many years, despite the fact that the authors in question have often based their books on radically different premises from one another and, additionally, not all of the authors labelled as postmodern have drawn on techniques associated with postmodernism. On the list of such authors the names Michal Ajvaz, Jiří Kratochvil, Daniela Hodrová, and Václav Kahuda usually appear. All of the above have published new works in the period in question, although in the case of Václav Kahuda and Daniela Hodrová these were their final works. Václav Kahuda published his vast and narratively opulent novel The Ferry (Prám, 2022) shortly before his death in July of the following year. In the case of Daniela Hodrová, the publication of her final book and time of her death were even closer: her final prose work What’s Coming or Journey to The Magic Mountain (Co přichází aneb Cesta na Kouzelný vrch 2024) came out just a few weeks before the author’s passing, with the author even reflecting in her final work upon her own mortality. Between 2020 and 2024 Jiří Kratochvil published four books, with the author himself describing his short story collection Stranglers of the Goddess Kali (Škrtiči bohyně Kálí, 2022) as his final collection of short stories, and thus a farewell to prose in general. By the following year, however, the author had already sent another two prose works to the presses, both novelistic in scope: A Pocket Novel for Pickpockets (Kapesní román pro kapsáře, 2023) and The Tramp or What The Halfwits Spoke Of (Klošár aneb Co si mamlasové povídali, 2023), both of which came first and foremost from Kratochvil’s own narrative playfulness. It must be pointed out, however, that after Kratochvil was awarded the Magnesia Litera in 2019 for his book Fox Into Lady (Liška v dámu) – and in 2023 added the State Prize for Literature to his extensive list of awards – interest in his work has unmistakably waned, and the aforementioned books received a rather quiet reception upon release, the same being true to a certain extent for his short story collection You Can’t Step Twice into the Same River (Nevstoupíš dvakrát do téže řeky, 2020). Things went differently in the case of Michal Ajvaz, however, who published, after his enormous, over seven-hundred-page novel Cities (Města) in 2019, a more than four-hundred-page novel called Passages (Pasáže) in 2024. Similarly to Jiří Kratochvil, Ajvaz has also kept to the tried-and-tested literary style and narrative techniques of his previous works. Several pervading storylines interweave throughout the novel, dealing with questions of art and creativity, attacking them from a variety of angles and through various means, but also touching upon things like artificial intelligence and the new perspectives that it can bring to the creative process. This book, which might be referred to as a truly postmodernist work, elicited a widespread and generally favourable critical response overall, and though the number of truly experimental narratives in Czech literature (which are still collectively and often inaccurately described by critics as postmodern) has noticeably declined in recent years, the sun has evidently not yet set on this chapter of Czech prose. Miroslav Hlaučo has made a notable contribution to the more playful side of postmodernism with his debut novel Whitsun (2024). This incredibly successful book, which was picked up on by various reader opinion polls shortly after its publication, and for which the author was awarded two Magnesia Litera Awards (Book of the Year and Debut of the Year), is set at the beginning of the 20th century in a fictional Czech town. The novel is based on the premise that in this remote little backwater miracles still take place, but with the onset of the 20th century the town must submit to rationality and order, with the story depicting this process through grotesque and even carnivalesque narration. Another author who has drawn on postmodern narrative techniques is Petr Stančík, who has in no way departed from his thriving, playful, hyperbolic style of writing, for which evocative description and exaggeration are more important than the logical development of the story, in any of his recent works. The author maintained this approach in his novel Pravomil (2021) about the life of Czech war hero Pravomil Raichl, presenting the life story of a real historical individual, albeit with a heavy dose of poetic license and stylisation. In a certain sense it can be said that, in his most recent novel Initiation by Darkness (Zasvěcení temnotou, 2024), the author seems to have already completely abandoned narrative logic: characters experience extreme trauma practically without any reaction, and the treasure hunt upon which the novel is founded serves entirely as a mechanism to get the sprawling, grotesque narrative underway. Well-established names, well-established methods Petr Stančík is a good example of a writer with a clearly defined authorial signature, a writing style from which they rarely diverge. Jiří Hájíček is another, an author whose novels are most often set in Southern Bohemia, leading to him frequently being described as a chronicler of Czech village life. After Hájíček concluded his “loose trilogy of moral disquiet” in 2016 with his novel The Rainstick (Dešťová hůl), he published his novel Sailing Ships on Labels (Plachetnice na vinětách, 2020). In contrast to his previous novels, which featured protagonists delving into the past in search of injustices committed by communist regime, this novel about a female university professor orients itself more towards the present. The same goes for his novel Dragon on a Dirt Road (Drak na polní cestě, 2024), in which Hájíček tells the tale of a small rural homestead being taken over by a powerful corporate group. Bianca Bellová is another author with a recognisable signature, though her books (usually novellas) take place across a variety of settings. In her short story collection These Fragments (Tyhle fragmenty, 2021) the author showcased her ability to alternate between different narrative perspectives and flesh out a variety of diverse characters and situations in a relatively small number of pages. Then, in her novella The Island (Ostrov, 2022), set during the early modern period of the Persian Empire, the author dealt uniquely with the theme of narratorial joy and freedom as shown through literature, as well as the power of storytelling. Ondřej Štindl followed up on his previous literary publications with his books Until You Get Dizzy (Až se ti zatočí hlava, 2020) and So Much Ash (Tolik popela, 2022): both novels stood on relatively simple foundations (specifically an ideological, or rather generational, conflict between two characters), but Štindl managed to redirect them towards surprising narrative reversals and conclusions. In the course of each story, characters that were initially at each other’s throats gradually find their way to an understanding of each other, though without the narrative losing its internal logic or plausibility, with both books additionally standing out due to their unmistakable narrative pace and linguistic rhythm. And last but not least… short stories In Czech literature, novels have long been more successful than short stories. This applies to both success amongst literary critics, who mostly pay attention to longer prose works, and amongst the juries of literary prizes, who usually place more value on lengthier tomes, as well as to the interest of the public, thanks to whom it is novels that are more commercially successful. Nevertheless, despite novels being considerably more popular than short prose, short story collections continue to be published and some have even received substantial acclaim from critics: Viktor Špaček’s An Impeccable Life in Humility (2022), which focuses mostly on the lives of male outcasts, received the Magnesia Litera in 2023, as did J. A. Pitínský’s Household Goods two years later, a collection of short, sharply written, and narratively playful prose. The aforementioned Suffering and Other Genres by Dora Kaprálová also received a positive reception, as did Ondřej Škrabal’s Journey to the Billboard (Cesta k billboardu, 2022), a collection of witty short stories set in the global context that frequently makes notable use of real political or social causes. Jan Němec’s collection Lilliputin (2022) presented an interesting contribution to the medium of short prose: in a series of thematically linked stories the author comments on the war in Ukraine, both from the perspective of those following the war from afar and of those who are right at its epicentre. It should also be added that the book was published just months after war broke out and, as such, serves as a sort of experiment by the author into how events that have happened so close to the time of writing should be written about. The short story collection A Thousand Plateaus (Tisíce plošin, 2020) by Sylva Fischerová also received a good deal of attention. The book’s title (a reference to the well-known philosophical text by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari), as well as the author’s academic background in ancient philosophy and literature, might indicate a text exceptionally demanding of the reader. But even if Fischerová experiments formally in her book, her stories are still based primarily in clear, grounded dialogues. Matěj Hořava’s Stopover (Mezipřistání, 2020) is a special case among short story collections. The short chapters of this fragmented book can be read as individual stories (in fact, some were even published as such) which come together to create a sort of panorama of the (autobiographical) narrator’s experiences during his time living in Georgia, where he works as a teacher, interwoven with echoes of his own past. The present overview of Czech prose from 2020 to 2024 is selective and, by that metric, not comprehensive. Its main ambition is to review the most prominent publications – those books which were most discussed, and which resonated most within the Czech literary scene, or else acted as inspiration for other authors. If another person had put together this overview, the selection of books and their characterisations would undoubtedly differ. I maintain, however, that a different selection of books would still reflect a certain trajectory that can be traced across the period in question. Although this selection is (as was said at the very beginning of this text) particular, it is still able to indicate where it is that Czech prose writing is heading. In regard to autofiction, the strengthening trend among Czech authors of writing about relevant socio-political issues (which in fact concerns far more than just ‘autofiction’ titles) should be stressed. The aforementioned quartet of polemical books have all clearly aimed to address their readers directly about how our present socio-political situation should be viewed, which could also be said of those books working with dystopian themes, in fact. This distinct focus on the content of literary works has gone hand in hand with a clear departure from formalist games and narrative experimentation, which in the past two decades or so have been mostly exhausted and in the majority of cases are now simply being replicated. At the same time, the popularity of prose writers depicting crucial historical periods and turning points from the 20th century, which was strongest in the last decade or decade and a half, is to a certain extent waning. Other trends, however, persist: an interest in everyday banalities could be mentioned as the most obvious example. This all serves to affirm the thesis laid out in the introduction – that is, that Czech prose writing during the years in question has been not only excellent and ambitious, but also vibrant and manifold. Translated from the Czech by Samuel Dix
Spring round of the Czechia 2026 Travel Grants in German-speaking countries In connection with the preparation of the presentation of Czech literature within the CZECHIA Guest of Honour programme at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 and during the accompanying Year
Spring round of the Czechia 2026 Travel Grants in German-speaking countries In connection with the preparation of the presentation of Czech literature within the CZECHIA Guest of Honour programme at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 and during the accompanying Year of Czech Culture in German-speaking countries, the Czech Literary Centre (CLC), a section of the Moravian Library (ML), announces a programme supporting travel related to the participation of Czech authors in literary events in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. Applications for travel support may be submitted by the event organizer¹, a Czech author², or a translator from Czech. Authors and translators from Czech may also apply for support for travel related to their professional development (attendance at book fairs, festivals, and other cultural events, or professional meetings with foreign publishers, translators, literary agents, or other cultural institutions in German-speaking countries). The application deadline is 31 March 2026 (applications may be submitted for events taking place between 1 July 2026 and 15 December 2026). Applications are assessed by the Czechia 2026 Travel Grants committee, which determines the amount of support and provides recommendations to the ML regarding the granting of support. Detailed information for authors and organizers, including conditions and mandatory application forms, can be found here. As in previous years, it is still possible to apply for travel support to other language territories as well. [ ] 1. ↑ The event organizer may be an individual (for example, a translator, academic staff member, lecturer, or university student), a literary festival, a publishing house, or another cultural institution. 2. ↑ “Author” refers to a writer working in fiction, children’s and young adult literature, poetry, non-fiction, and other literary genres, as well as illustrators, creators of artist’s books, and comics authors.
Czech Literary Centre Travel Grants – Results
Results of applications for the period from January 1, 2026 to August 31, 2026 As of October 30, 2025, the Czech Literary Centre received 20 applications (5 from authors and 15 from institutions) for grants to support Czech authors travelling
Results of applications for the period from January 1, 2026 to August 31, 2026 As of October 30, 2025, the Czech Literary Centre received 20 applications (5 from authors and 15 from institutions) for grants to support Czech authors travelling to literary events abroad between January 1, 2026 and August 31, 2026, in the total amount of CZK 1,039,600. The Czech Literary Centre travel committee (Frances Jackson, Martin Janeček, Martin Krafl, Radim Kopáč, Milena Šubrtová and Veronika Tuckerová) recommended granting support to 9 projects, to which it allocated funds in the amount of CZK 300,000. The list of the results can be downloaded HERE.
Results of the program supporting author mobility in German-speaking countries taking place between January 1 and June 30, 2026 As of 31 October 2025, the Czech Literary Centre had received a total of 31 applications (25 from institutions, 6 from
Results of the program supporting author mobility in German-speaking countries taking place between January 1 and June 30, 2026 As of 31 October 2025, the Czech Literary Centre had received a total of 31 applications (25 from institutions, 6 from authors) under the Czechia Author Mobility Support Programme, announced in connection with preparations for the presentation of Czech literature during CZECHIA’s guest-of-honour appearance at the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair. The applications concerned the period from 1 January to 30 June 2026, and the total amount requested came to 1,458,915 CZK. A total of 800,000 CZK had been allocated for the call in the Moravian Library’s budget. A committee composed of members of the Dramaturgical Council of the Czechia 2026 project (Jana Čeňková, Christina Frankenberg, Jan Heller, Pavel Kořínek, Adriana Krásová and Michal Zahálka) recommended awarding support to 24 projects, to which it assigned funds totalling 800,000 CZK. An overview of the results can be downloaded HERE.
Czech literature for children and young people in the decade 2015-2025
Books for child and adolescent readers have traditionally held a very strong position in Czech literature, and original Czech works can boast an excellent reputation internationally. Proof of this can be found in the titles of Czech origin on the
Books for child and adolescent readers have traditionally held a very strong position in Czech literature, and original Czech works can boast an excellent reputation internationally. Proof of this can be found in the titles of Czech origin on the IBBY honour list, exceptional recognition awarded at Bologna Children’s Book Fair or awards for translated editions given by the literary bodies of individual nations. As we look back at the last decade, we are delighted to observe that the market share of literature for children and young people is increasing; clearly, publishers see a future in children’s books. Confirming this trend are the books produced by larger, well-established publishers founded in the 1990s, which focus largely on literary fiction or popular science for adults (Argo, Host and Paseka), but whose lists today include a growing proportion of books aimed at child, adolescent and young adult readers that branches off from standard production; these books are also collecting domestic and foreign literary prizes. The position of children’s graphic novels is also being consolidated and the range of concertina books for the smallest readers has grown substantially. The Czech publishing houses particularly specialising in titles for children and young people traditionally include Albatros (the oldest and largest publisher, which has been systematically publishing kidlit since 1949; over the last decade it has brought out approximately 150 titles a year, including translations), Meander (founded in 1995 and publishing around 25 titles annually, primarily original Czech books), Baobab (a family publisher founded at the turn of the millennium focusing largely on picture books, publishing around two dozen titles per year) and Prague-based Labyrint’s Raketa imprint (founded in 2004; two-thirds of the approximately twenty books it publishes annually are kidlit, including graphic novels). Over the last decade, the already mentioned Brno-based publisher Host has produced a varied and ever-growing selection of kidlit. Host was the first publisher to introduce Czech readers to best-sellers from Poland and Ukraine (Mizielinski, Dziubak, Bula) and the market success of both translated and domestic titles has resulted in a greater focus on original Czech books for children. Today Host has published around four dozen kidlit titles, including graphic novels and YA, with translated books still predominating; however, those originally written in Czech are exceptionally high in quality and are frequently nominated for industry prizes, such as the Golden Ribbon [Zlatá stuha], The Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year or the Magnesia Litera prize. Paseka is unrivalled in the kidlit field primarily due to the titles The Oddsockeaters (Lichožrouti, 2008–2013) by Pavel Šrut and Dustzone (Prašina, 2018–2020) by Vojtěch Matocha. Since 2015 it has also systematically published graphic novels, including some big international names as well as significant Czech artist-writers, such as Štěpánka Jislová, married couple Tereza Kopečká and Tomáš Kopečký, and Jindřich Janíček, whose popularity is growing in the Czech market. Prague-based publisher Argo (which publishes Tove Jansson and David Walliams in Czech translation) has grown its list of original Czech kidlit, principally since 2020, and has enriched it with first-time authors and graphic novelists, including in particular the outstanding Tomáš Peřina, Martin Čepa and Kateřina Čupová. However, small independent publishers founded in the new millennium have also contributed to writing the history of Czech kidlit between 2015-2025, and they have made the greatest effort to boost bibliodiversity in the Czech book market: Bylo nebylo founded by Anna Pleštilová and Helena Černohorská, 65. pole founded by Tomáš Brandejs (both in 2007), Verzone founded by Veronika Benešová Hudečková (in 2010), Běžíliška founded by František Havlůj and Šárka Svobodná (in 2013), LUX founded by Michal Štěpánek (in 2017) and POP-PAP founded by Marcela Konárková Vostřelová (in 2017). The Roma literature publisher KHER also started to focus on child and adolescent readers in 2022. Isolated titles about dying and death are contributed to Czech literature by publishing house Cesta domů [The Way Home], which supports the home hospice charity of the same name. From quarantine to controlling emotions The Czech book market shrank due to the global covid pandemic and accompanying socio-economic changes. The number of books published in the last decade has fallen from a total of approximately 16 000 volumes in 2015 to roughly 13 000 in 2023/2024, according to the Report on the Czech Book Market, drawn up every year by the professional organisation The Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers. The children’s and young people’s literature sector (both originally written in Czech and translated, both fiction and non-fiction) constitutes around a tenth of the total production of Czech books. Experiences of the pandemic have also appeared in several children’s book titles, of which the most distinctive – across genres and age ranges – is Marka Míková’s The Coat and the Handbag (Kabát a kabelka, 2021, Argo), illustrated by Galina Miklínová, which was awarded a Golden Ribbon and the Magnesia Litera prize 2022. This humorously told fantasy story depicts two ordinary items, an old pink handbag and an overcoat, falling in love and wandering together through Prague’s empty streets. The richly illustrated interactive book by journalist Irena Hejdová The Deed Ran Away (Skutek utek!, 2022, Host, illustrated by Veronika Zacharová), for pre-schoolers and younger schoolchildren, takes as its theme the demands placed on family life during lockdown, when schools were closed and working from home was mandatory. The silent book Gran (Babi, 2023, Host) by Martina Trchová is an extraordinary artistic achievement – a picture album reflecting intergenerational separation, a granddaughter’s longing to see her grandmother and the desire to stay in touch using memories and the imagination. A special mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Awards 2025 turned the international spotlight onto this book. Ideas about the impact of digitalisation on our lives and on the limits of state responsibility and freedom were reflected in František Tichý’s Recruit 244 (Rekrut 244, 2022, Baobab). Another of the pandemic’s repercussions for kidlit – with no explicit references – is the obvious increase in books devoted to children’s feelings, emotionality and psyche. These titles frequently anticipate other readers, that is, adult guides who can both support child readers and also learn how to approach emotionally fraught situations as they read. A wealth of translations in this field supplements popular science and interactive publications: Ester Stará, all illustrated by Milan Starý: The Book of Feelings (Kniha pocitů, 2022, Pasparta); Super Máňa (Super Máňa, 2023, Pikola); Super Máňa and Big Dog Love (Super Máňa a velká psí láska, 2024, Pikola); Lenka Blaze: Softy (Cíťa, 2022, Blaze.je); Mum and Dad Aren’t Together Any More (Máma s tátou už nejsou spolu, 2024, Blaze.je, Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year prize) but also Noemi Cupalová’s story book about respect Karlíček and the Wasps (Karlíček a vosy, 2021, Běžíliška, illustrated by Hana Šradějová, Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year prize) or interpersonal relationships and self-acceptance Stupid Vendula (Blbá Vendula, 2024, Běžíliška, illustrated by Eva Horská). Cupalová’s writing focuses on conflict behaviour, and in her newest book, for children of around ten, called Stupid Vendula, she provides two parallel versions of the story in columns of different colours: Vendula is having problems at school, at home, with her friends, until at a certain moment she realises that she can either continue to coast along in her vicious circle of anger and negative emotions, or she can take responsibility for her life, pluck up her courage and attempt to break through the obstacle barrier. Fear of the dark and of otherness Fear and attempts to understand or overcome it are frequent themes in kidlit (Martina Špinková: Fear, a strange fellow (Divný brach strach, 2015, Cesta domů), Jana Šrámková: Zuza in Gardens (Zuza v zahradách, 2015, Labyrint, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy). There is a surprising number of remarkable titles about fear of the dark: a loving look at an uncanny walk through a summer night is provided by artist Marie Štumfová’s Klárka and the Night Garden (Klárka a noční zahrada, 2023, Portál); while David Košťák’s When the Dark Pours In Through the Keyhole (Když se klíčovou dírkou rozlije tma, 2023, Knižní stezka k dětem, illustrated by Anna Kulíčková) is a celebration of children’s imaginativeness in which a child’s bedroom comes to life after dark. The graphic novel artist Toy Box works with a child’s imagination that can see real danger in many forms in a piece of dark fabric caught on a tree after a night storm in the book Dark (Tma, 2021, Paseka). Dora Kaprálová inserts a motif of existential angst, plus backdrops that border on horror, into the night story Mr Nobody and the White Darkness (Pan Nikdo a bílá tma, 2022, Baobab, illustrated by Darja Čančíková) about children meeting a monster. Jana Šrámková’s poetically written Fánek the Star Sailor (Fánek hvězdoplavec, 2022, Běžíliška), is imbued with particularly strong emotions – anxiety, love, hope – with mysterious, playful illustrations by the originally Belarusian artist Margharita Khavanski; it was the winning title in the books for children and young people category in the Magnesia Litera prize of 2023. Fánek’s dad is leaving to work abroad, and in the real world only occasional letters and telephone calls enable contact with him, with memories and internal monologues in Fánek’s head. The boy deals with his pain and loneliness using his imagination and dreams about the stars and starships. The pared-back text is shot through with Biblical allusions and messages about the power of forgiveness. Jana Šrámková partially references the motifs in her previous book for small children Brothers in the Field (Bratři v poli, 2017, Běžíliška, illustrated by Markéta Prachatická), in which the inseparable friends ground squirrel and vole also dream of travelling into space, but Dageš must patiently wait for Mapík until he “returns” from hibernation. A number of stories also reflect otherness or deviations from the norm perceived in the most varied of ways and complex life situations facing the child protagonists. In this respect, the book series There’s a catch (Má to háček), jointly published since 2016 by Albatros and Pasparta, can only attract praise. Around a dozen books for younger school-age readers cover subjects such as parental divorces, shared custody, bullying in school, illness, learning disabilities and the like. The psychological novel by Ivona Březinová Roar Quietly, Bro (Řvi potichu, brácho, 2016, Albatros/Pasparta, illustrated by Tomáš Kučerovský), aimed at older readers, has as its protagonist a twin boy with autistic spectrum disorder. Březinová, an experienced kidlit author, introduces this topic to Czech literature with sensitivity and understanding. Questions of gender identity are presented with a high level of empathy and artistic invention by Marto Kelbl in her graduation work Neither Girl nor Boy (Ani holka ani kluk, 2023, Paseka) now published as a book. This illustrated story with graphic-novel elements and a number of educational inserts shows non-binary identities in a broad historical and social context. The author’s other books also deserve attention: the collection of palindromes There and Back (Tam a zpět, 2023, Meander, Golden Ribbon 2024) or her illustrations to the book about discovering the world for the smallest readers The Beginning and the End by Michal Štěpánek (Začátek a konec, 2023, Lux). Publishing house Kher dedicates exemplary care to the Roma literary tradition. In recent years it has published several noteworthy titles for readers of all ages: Eva Danišová’s playful picture book One, Two, Three (Jekh, duj, trin, 2025), with elements of Romanes, is aimed at preschoolers, while older children will be captivated by the bilingual fairytale Stray Dog by poet and groundbreaking Roma feminist Tera Fabiánová (Čavargoš/Tulák, 2023, illustrated by Magdalena Rutová, translated by Milena Hübschmannová), which depicts life in a Roma settlement from the perspective of a stray dog. Growing up in the normalisation period is autobiographically recorded by Michal Šamko in his first book Maypoles and Totem Poles (Májky a totemy, 2023, illustrated by Petr Polák), while the experience of being an outsider in the modern Czech Republic as seen by two high school students, one half-Roma and the other half-Vietnamese, is informed by a considerable dose of irony in the socially critical novella, Me, Tran and Everything Else (Já, Tran a všechno ostatní, 2025, illustrated Sára Paldanová), by new author Martin Kanaloš, and is aimed at adolescents and young adults. A subtle environmental appeal Ecology, sustainability and human attitudes to nature have become a hot topic in children’s books, alongside mental health and the acceptance of otherness. Rather than being primarily educational books, the environmental appeal forms part of a more complex message. Kidlit provides the ideal opportunity, because it has long been indebted to nature motifs – flora and fauna are an integral part of how children discover the world around us. Lucie Hášová Truhelková’s Grandpa in Pink Trousers (Dědeček v růžových kalhotách, 2021, Albatros, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy) is aimed at pre-school children and was nominated for a Golden Ribbon. The pink on the cover literally glows – first and foremost it denotes Grandpa’s eccentricity, but ultimately his trousers become a placeholder for fast fashion. While the ecological link is entirely obvious, the book’s key theme is the relationship between Grandpa and his grandson. Nor is the felling of rainforests the main theme in Michal Šanda’s Rio the Polar Bear Saves the Rainforest (Lední medvěd Rio zachraňuje prales, 2023, Meander); the polar bear sails to warmer climes on a small iceberg, where he helps his new friends by preventing the destruction of the jungle. A fairytale explanation of climate change is provided by Frostbite (Omrzlina, 2024, Host), by sisters Kateřina (text) and Zuzana (illustrations) Čupová. The quirky child narrator adds humour to this dynamic story, which introduces middle-grade readers to the Frozen Nation and explains why the world is losing ice. Incidentally, relationships with nature also make an appearance in Zuzana Čupová’s writing début Trees (Stromové, 2024, Knižní stezka k dětem). The writing in this playfully anthropomorphic, encyclopaedic overview of trees in the Czech landscape won a Golden Ribbon 2025. The much-praised family book The Bicycle (Kolo, 2024, Paseka, Golden Ribbon 2025) by poet and translator Ondřej Buddeus, with distinctive illustrations by Jindřich Janíček, also touches on sustainability. Aimed at children and adults alike, this exceptionally informative, playful non-fiction book scores points for both text and graphics, and investigates its central theme – the bicycle – from many perspectives. It covers urbanism, ecology and the social context in addition to the history of cycling and its health benefits. The message of concertina book The Little Red Ball by Michal Štěpánek (Malý červený míč, Lux, 2024, illustrated by Filip Pošivač), about a little boy searching for his lost ball with the help of a stray dog, is also that there is no need to throw out everything that is broken. This book, for readers aged two and over, highlights the importance of patience and of helping each other. A space for strong characters We find nature overlapping into metaphysics in many recent books; this is an exceptionally strong tradition in Czech kidlit, and the books have also been recognised internationally (let us mention Josef Lada, Jiří Trnka, Vojtěch Kubašta, Miroslav Šašek, Květa Pacovská and Petr Sís). Emphasis on the informational, educational side is frequently indivisible from the books’ distinctive aesthetics, meaning they can be described as artistic-scientific publications. The last decade has demonstrated that this approach is exceptionally attractive to young creators and artists who, inspired by a rapidly changing society, create an original response to it. Tereza Říčanová is a renowned artist whose work is associated with the publishing house Baobab. Her appealing illustrated guide This is Istanbul (To je Istanbul, 2019, Baobab) follows in the footsteps of the famous series of illustrated guides to European metropolises that Miroslav Šašek started to publish as early as the late 1940s. More frequently, however, Říčanová focuses on the theme of the close connection between human beings and nature and natural cycles, be this agricultural work with animals, in Ms Říčanová’s Cow (Kráva Říčanová, 2021, Baobab), shortlisted for the Magnesia Litera prize, or the more subtle position of her latest The Forest (Les, 2024, Baobab), a sovereign artistic achievement that also showcases the author’s feeling for language, almost poetic in places, yet entirely comprehensible. Zbyšek wanders through the woods on a sort of pilgrimage, on which he listens intently, up to the moment when a monster appears and tears the forest to shreds with its teeth and claws. Zbyšek later works to restore it. Characterised by a heady atmosphere, the book stimulates perception via the senses and ultimately gives hopeful information about the resilience of nature’s natural order. A is for Antarctica: A View from the Other Side (A jako Antarktida. Pohled z druhé strany, 2019, Labyrint, Magnesia Litera prize, Golden Ribbon) by conceptual artist David Böhm convincingly conveys the information that there are places where human beings may never have set foot. This playful, informative encyclopaedia makes use of a whole range of artistic techniques and folding pages to provide an interactive experience that overlaps into philosophy. Böhm blends scientific knowledge and existential questions – this time with regard to the timeline of life on this planet – in another of his books Now. Before You Finish Reading this Sentence, 21 Children Will Be Born on Earth (Teď. Než dočteš tuto větu, narodí se na Zemi 21 dětí, 2023, Labyrint). He is also a contributor to the internationally recognised title The City for Everyone: A Beginner Urbanist’s Manual (Město pro každého. Manuál urbanisty začátečníka, 2020, Labyrint, text Osamu Okamura, illustrated by David Böhm and Jiří Franta, photography by Pavel Horák, Bologna Ragazzi Award, Czech Grand Design 2021). The large-format book I, Octopus (Já, chobotnice, 2022, Baobab), by Magdalena Rutová also conveys a powerful environmental appeal. Rutová won the Illustrator of the Year prize in the Czech Grand Design awards, and the book also won a Golden Ribbon and the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2024. The likeable eponymous animal heroine no longer wants to live in the sea, but wishes to discover the human world so she can write a book about it. Her adventures and her view of what goes on around her will ultimately inspire the planet’s human inhabitants. Let us also mention Magdalena Rutová’s success as a writer as well as an illustrator. She exemplifies the type of illustrator whose artwork develops and puts the finishing touches to a text, which is proved, for example, by The Unreal Adventures of Florentin Flowers (Neskutečná dobrodružství Florentina Flowerse, 2019, Baobab, text by Marek Toman), Tomatoes and Bananas (Rajčaťáci a banáni, 2023, Host, text by Petr Váša), in the bilingual book Stray Dog (Čavargoš/Tulák, 2023, Kher, text by Tera Fabiánová) or the enchanting story about the overlap between the human and animal worlds, The Parrot and the Vixen (Žako a Stopotvorná, 2024, Baobab, text by Alžběta Dvořáková). Tereza Ščerbová also chooses protagonists from the animal kingdom. Her YA philosophical fairytale Kooki (Krtník, 2016, Host, Golden Ribbon 2017) shines artistically and is concerned with searching for your own identity. Guides to the worlds of mice, insects and fungi A number of other significant nature-themed books from the last decade also have a didactic dimension. Tereza Vostradovská’s large-format publications Playful Science (Hravouka, 2016, Běžíliška, Golden Ribbon 2017) and Playful Journeys (Hravocesta, 2021, Běžíliška) also deserve attention. The detailed, realistic illustrations and playful tasks for pre-school and younger primary school readers also serve as useful learning materials. The story of the little mouse who decides to create her own encyclopaedia about nature is supplemented by an app for mobile devices, so it can also be used for outdoor activities. Aneta Františka Holasová’s Ipsík’s Tale (Pohádka o Ipsíkovi, 2016, Běžíliška) also encourages the readers’ desire to learn to read and write while realistically reflecting the life of insects. The theme is not far removed from that of her début, Lumír Keeps Bees or the Honey Spelling Book (Lumír včelaří aneb Medový slabikář, 2013, Labyrint), which was devoted to the annual cycle of bees; she also remains faithful to nature motifs in her role of illustrator, e.g., for The Herbalist (Bylinkář) and The Secret of the Old Garden (Tajemství staré zahrady) by Monika Golasovská, 2019 and 2022 respectively, both published by Labyrint. Tereza Marianová’s work also focuses on flora and fauna. Her trilogy of verses about plants, Flower Boards, Shrub Boards, Tree Boards (Květolelo, Keřolelo, Stromolelo, 2022–2023, Meander) is aimed at the smallest readers, while Street Rascals (Uličníci, 2023) is devoted to urban wildlife. She has also treated, in an encyclopaedic fashion, the subjects of Czech hunting Oh Dear Oh Deer (To jsem z toho jelen, 2019, Pikola) and horse-racing The Grand Story of the Grand Pardubice Steeplechase (Velký příběh Velké pardubické, 2020, Albatros). Many artistic and educational books are encyclopaedic in nature and frequently result from a long-term creative collaboration between the author and the illustrator. For example, publishing house Baobab have issued a number of impressive titles from the workshop of Jiří Dvořák and the Slovak artist Daniela Olejníková. The Vermin Book (Havětník, 2015) is full of lice, fleas, mites, caterpillars and all sorts of other insects, yet it is also poetic, adventurous and informative. How We Live (Bydlíme, 2019) again demonstrates how humans and animals create their own homes. However, the apex of their collaborative work so far is Myco. The Complete Bulletin from the World of Fungi (Myko. Kompletní zpravodaj ze světa hub, 2023). The Magnesia Litera prize confirmed its quality in 2024, as did the main prize in the non-fiction category of the prestigious international Bologna Children’s Book Fair. These awards highlight innovative graphic design, scientific accuracy and attractively presented contents. These books foreground Jiří Dvořák’s strengths: communicating encyclopaedic subjects via stories, poetic approaches to language and playful ideas – framed on this occasion in the form of a bulletin about mushrooms created by the mushrooms themselves. Illustrators reanimating history Artistic-educational children’s publications frequently focus on history. In recent years we have observed a tendency to mediate historical themes primarily using stories with a journey-through-time motif, or directly in the biographical graphic novel genre. However, such works also include titles with a significant artistic element in their storytelling. The large-format book Áďa Fell into the Canal (Áďa spadla do kanálu, 2018, Albatros) by graphic designer Sylva Francová, aimed at younger schoolchildren, accompanies a little girl around Prague’s historical sites (and has a framing story with a problematic sibling relationship as its theme). The prize-winning illustrator Renáta Fučíková is the most prominent producer of picture books that process historical material. Her educational titles effectively seek ways to make the subject as accessible as possible to the modern reader. For example, her book Shakespeare (2016, Vyšehrad, Golden Ribbon 2017) introduces a dozen of the playwright’s plays, enriched with a comprehensible interpretation touching on sources of inspiration and the cultural-historical context. Over 400 illustrations capturing the ambience of the eras described put the finishing touches to the written text. She has also turned the spotlight on other greats of world drama: Molière (2017, Golden Ribbon), Chekhov (2021) and Goethe (2024), and she covers the period of ancient Czech history in the book Queens and Pilgrims: Stories of the First Millennium (Královny a poutníci. Příběhy prvního tisíciletí, 2023, Albatros). As an illustrator she has worked with a number of experienced writers, such as Radek Malý (Franz Kafka: A Man of His and Our Time, Franz Kafka. Člověk své i naší doby, 2017, Práh) and Markéta Pilátová (The Little Girl on the Postage Stamp, Holčička ze známky, 2024, Práh; Birds of Passage: Stories of Czech Exile and Immigration, Tažní ptáci. Příběhy českého exilu a imigrace, 2025, Universum). Rising stars from two centres Renáta Fučíková is also a superb educator – she is the head of the Didactic Illustration studio at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, University of West Bohemia in Plzeň (Pilsen), where she transmits her rich experience to students gradually establishing themselves as a strong new generation of illustrators. These newcomers are gaining ground both as individuals (Marto Kelbl, Tereza Marianová and Štěpánka Jislová) and in joint projects, including the excellent titles Heroines. The Stories of Significant Czech Women (Hrdinky. Příběhy významných českých žen, 2020, Universum, Golden Ribbon), Velvet Effect: 1988–1992 (2020, Albatros, texts by Petr Švec and Renáta Fučíková) about the course and context of the Velvet Revolution, or The Unforgettable 1920s: A Guide to the Essential Decade in Modern History (Nezapomenutelná dvacátá. Průvodce zásadním desetiletím novodobých dějin, 2023, Universum) about the young Czechoslovak Republic’s heyday. Graduates of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague are also becoming known as distinctive illustrators. Nikola Logosová (Illustrator of the Year 2019 in the annual Czech Grand Design awards) has provided intensely colourful illustrations for the concertina book Recorded Delivery (Rekomando, 2015, Běžíliška, text by Robin Král), the story The Eve of St Nicholas by Lukáš Csicsely (Předvečer svatého Mikuláše, 2017, Meander), the history of medicine in seven days Watch Out, A Doctor! by Petr Svobodný (Pozor, doktor!, 2019, Běžíliška), the “handbook” to human personalities and professions I, a Human Being by Olga Stehlíková (Já, člověk, 2021, Albatros) or Petra Soukupová’s two-volume series The Weird Kids’ Club (Klub divných dětí, 2019, 2023, Host). Her authorial début, the illustrated World Atlas – Europe (Atlas světa – Evropa, Lux) was published in 2023, and introduces the landscapes, places of interest, inhabitants and culture of individual European countries using original, mosaic images. Nikola Hoření, also a graduate of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, has focused on collaborating with publishing house Meander, where she has demonstrated her abilities as an author of concertina books about experiencing emotions: Karla is Crying (Karla pláče), Hubert is Angry (Hubert se vzteká), Ida is Happy (Ida se raduje) and Tonča is Scared (Tonča se leká) (2020–2023). She deployed her expressive, seemingly naive style in Michal Šanda’s poetry collection for the smallest readers, How do you do? (Rukulíbám) or the poetic story Lilly, the Hang-Glider is Flying! (Lilly, letí rogalo!) by Jaroslav Kovanda (both 2020, Meander), which combines poetry with graphic-novel inserts. The talented Jakub Bachorík was awarded the Graphic Designer of the Year award in 2016, while he was still studying at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. Bachorík has yet to write his own book, but he and his original artistic style have been involved in a number of titles by other authors. He and Kateřina Přidalová worked together on the popular science book What actually is design? (Co je vlastně design?, 2021, UMPRUM), he illustrated the story of the boy with burns The Boy in the Fire (Kluk v ohni, 2021, Cesta domů, text by Marka Míková) and he left an unmistakable mark on the artistic-educational publications Bridges (Mosty, 2024, Labyrint, text by Magda Garguláková) and A Book Full of Food (Kniha plná jídla, 2025, Host, text by Petra Tajovský Pospěchová). Prizewinning illustrator, graphic designer and graphic novelist Lucie Lučanská won the Serpa International Award for picture-books in 2023, for title In the Tent (Pod stanem, 2025, Baobab), the poetic hundred-day peregrinations of two siblings in search of adventure. Her dissertation was transformed into The Book of Perceptions (Kniha vnímání, 2022, Lux), which won first place in the Most Beautiful Czech Book of the Year award in 2022, in the Bibliophilia and Book-Objects category. Fictional worlds for proficient readers The prerequisites for reader appeal in stories aimed at boys and girls on the edge of adolescence are adventures and tension, often associated with a conundrum (technical, mystical, historical, personal), pacing and thoughtful composition, and also strong characters who do not act stereotypically but overcome various obstacles. Authors who have made their mark in this genre over the relevant decade primarily include Vojtěch Matocha, František Tichý, Marek Toman, Petra Soukupová and Bára Dočkalová, whose books always contain high-quality illustrations. The latter, Bára Dočkalová, whose novels are published by Labyrint, turns the spotlight on interpersonal relationships: her protagonists are allowed to mature, to become determined to discard their fears about what is expected of them and, first and foremost, to be themselves. Each book takes the readers into another environment and provides them with vividly narrated and engaging stories. The Secret of Pebble Mountain (Tajemství Oblázkové hory, 2018, illustrated by Petra Josefína Stibitzová) is a fantasy novel that takes two supposed enemies into another world; The Battle of the Baseball Diamond (Bitva o diamant, 2022, illustrated by Jindřich Janíček) takes place in the remote American mountains among children who are keen baseball fans, and the most recent, which was awarded the Magnesia Litera prize, Bone (Kost, 2024, illustrated by Zdenka Holub Převrátilová) recalls Slavonic traditions and gives undertones of horror to family history. Interpersonal relationships are the domain of Petra Soukupová, whose books are published by Host. In 2017, she created one fictional world for two separate novels: the detective story Who killed Snowy? (Kdo zabil Snížka?, illustrated by Tereza Ščerbová) is aimed at children, while Best For Everybody (Nejlepší pro všechny, 2018) is an adult drama of relationships. She worked sympathetically with difference, in harmony with the general trends in kidlit of recent years, in her subsequent publications Weird Kids’ Club (Klub divných dětí, 2019) and The Weird Kids and the Sad Cat (Divné děti a smutná kočka, 2023, both illustrated by Nikola Logosová). This is also true of the book Sydney: (The Two of Us from B.) (Sydney: (My dva z B.), 2020, Baobab, illustrated by Juraj Horváth), by publisher Tereza Horváthová, who presents the daily lives of socially marginalised children realistically but with hope. She offers up the same subject to younger readers in the book Wishes (Přání, 2022), illustrated by Michaela Kukovičová. The protagonist of Olga Stehlíková’s book Mojenka (2022, Host, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy) also experiences a challenging social situation – her daily life is destabilised when one of her parents becomes seriously ill. The book’s artwork was awarded a Golden Ribbon in 2023. Incidentally, Stehlíková’s Reference Dictionary (Výkladový slovník, 2023, Host, illustrated by Michaela Casková), a conceptually original work for younger readers, was also crowned with success: the publication won a Golden Ribbon and was selected for inclusion in the international catalogue The White Ravens. Explorations of space and time The adventure story genre is competently represented by Marek Toman. His funny, even parodical action books contain literary and cultural puzzles, taking readers to the Wild West in Cross-eyed Jim’s Patisserie (Cukrárna u Šilhavého Jima, 2018, Baobab, illustrated by František Loubat), or to the harsh environment of a pirate ship in The Unreal Adventures of Florentin Flowers (Neskutečná dobrodružství Florentina Flowerse, 2019, illustrated by Magdalena Rutová), or depicting the lives of American emigrants in Nožička and Wohryzek (Nožička a Wohryzek, 2022, illustrated by Jan Trakal). In terms of sales (though theatre and film adaptations have also played their part), the book, or rather books, of the decade is the trilogy Dustzone by Vojtěch Matocha (Dustzone, first volume published in 2018, Paseka, illustrated by Karel Osoha), which updates the tradition exemplified by Jaroslav Foglar in a modern and accessible fashion. The story’s protagonists repeatedly set out for the title’s secret quarter, where technology does not work and where they face real dangers that they must handle without the help of adults. The fictional world of the now-completed trilogy is currently being reimagined as a sort of chronicle in graphic novel format. The series The Chalk Figure (Křídový panáček, collected instalments published in 2023, illustrated by Karel Osoha) won the Muriel prize and was followed by Weird Walks (Podivné procházky, from March 2023, illustrated by Ester Kuchynková, Kateřina Čupová). Books about travelling into the past enjoy using literary load-bearing strategies in which the child heroes find themselves with no modern technology and unable to turn to their families for help. Gateways to the past come in many different forms – the protagonist of Lucie Paulová’s novel Alma and the Picture World (Alma a Svět obrazu, 2022, Paseka, illustrated by Kateřina Čupová) goes through a picture to the age of the First Republic; the twins in Petra Hůlová’s Foxy Eyes (Liščí oči, 2021, Argo, illustrated by Nikkarin) arrive in August 1968 through a hole in the bathroom floor and Martin Čepa’s trio of heroes are transported through a large stone bell to the last days of World War II in The Bell (Zvon, 2024, Argo, illustrated by Richard Fischer). The children are in familiar places, but under unfamiliar conditions, and they have to rely on each other to get back home. Otherwise, Stanislav Beran also works with a portal to the past in the novel Lost in the Air (Ztracený v povětří, 2023, Host; the sequel, Fear Over the River (Strach nad řekou) was published in 2024, both illustrated by Ján Kurinec). His protagonist passes through a metal cabinet into different eras in time, but the core of the plot unfolds in the present. The child’s experience is thus not only gained while travelling into the past, but also corresponds to the memory of adult characters. The notional literary peak of historically motivated fiction belongs indisputably to František Tichý and the first two volumes of his free trilogy, Transport Beyond Eternity (Transport za věčnost, 2017, Baobab, Magnesia Litera) and The Labyrinth of Unfinished Encounters (Labyrint nedokončených setkání, 2020, Baobab, all illustrated by Stanislav Setinský), inspired by family correspondence and other authentic documents reflecting the lives of children and adolescents under the Protectorate. The trilogy is completed by the dystopian science-fiction story Recruit 2044 (Rekrut 2044, 2022), which is set in the near future. These sublimely well-composed, multi-layered novels combine strong adolescent characters with questions of personal responsibility and integrity. Martin Vopěnka has continued to publish science fiction for children and young people over the last decade; his wide-ranging novel The New Planet (Nová planeta, 2015, Mladá fronta) won a Golden Ribbon. The books of Václav Dvořák are also exceptionally popular with readers. His most famous titles of the period include his self-published series The Kids from the Planet Písečnice (Písečníci, 2018, 2022) and the standalone novel I, Finis (Já, Finis, 2020, all illustrated by Jakub Cenkl). The artwork in the book Já, Finis – a readable science fiction story about boys who disappear on their eighth birthdays – was awarded a Golden Ribbon, and the text was awarded the “Readers’ Kosmas Prize”, which is part of the Magnesia Litera. Graphic novels as the supreme storytelling format The graphic novel scene has also professionalised over the last decade; this was reflected in the foundation of the Czech Graphic Novel Academy in 2018. The Academy is now responsible for awarding the annual Muriel prize for graphic novels, which of course includes a children’s graphic novel category. A strong generation of graphic novel creators is making strides in publishing graphic novels for both children and adults. The trends in these spheres are similar to a certain extent, resulting in an overlap in the target groups. For example, history-themed graphic novels may appeal to pre-teens, teens and adults. The graphic novel is thus establishing itself as the supreme storytelling format in the Czech context too; a format that enables the communication of complex themes directly and comprehensibly using strong visual elements. The number, quality and variety of genres covered by original Czech graphic novels continues to grow and doubtless as a result we have in recent years detected a blurring of the boundary between the graphic novel and the illustrated book. Authors who combine artistic techniques (Renáta Fučíková for example, in the book Chekhov & (Čechov &) uses graphic novel elements to retell the stories of individual plays), and illustrators of prose (Klára Smolíková and Kateřina Illnerová: Dalila and the Lift with No Doors, Dalila a výtah bez dveří 2024) and educational books (Ester Stará and Milan Starý: The Book of Feelings, Kniha pocitů 2022) are exploiting the potential of graphic novels as a vivid interpretational tool. The Alliance of the Valiant by Ester Stará and Jiří Franta (Aliance udatných, 2024, 65. pole) combines text and graphic-novel passages in equal measure and is aimed at readers aged approximately ten and over. The point is not only to add interest. The division also functions from the story’s perspective – the graphic-novel sequences depict the alternative reality of a video game into which the main hero regularly falls when struggling with problems of ordinary life (family relationships, bullying). Stable positions and new blood The Brno-based painter and illustrator Pavel Čech, a fixture in the Czech graphic-novel scene, is primarily famous for his fondness for watercolours, ink and pastels. He continues to publish the graphic-novel cycle The Adventures of the Speedy Squirrel (Dobrodružství rychlé Veverky) – the most recent part was published in 2023 and parts 1-5 came out in a collected edition in the same year – and he also delighted fans of Jaroslav Foglar with his graphic-novel story The Redhead (O Červenáčkovi, 2019). The wordless graphic novel And (A, 2016, Petrkov) represents a new departure in his work. This parable about the mechanisms of autocracy was awarded the Muriel prize and a Golden Ribbon. However, many new individuals have also emerged from the graphic-novel scene of the last decade. One of the best creators is Michal Menšík, who publishes under the pseudonym Nikkarin. In recent years he has also devoted himself to illustrating Czech and translated books, including Foxy Eyes by Petra Hůlová (Liščí oči, 2021, Argo), and Kiki’s Delivery Service (Doručovací služba čarodějky Kiki, 2024, Albatros) by the Japanese writer Eiko Kadono; however, he made his début as a screenwriter and cartoonist in one, as long as fifteen years ago, with a graphic-novel fantasy series (from 2009, Labyrint). He received a Golden Ribbon for the humorous graphic-novel fantasy for young adults Super Spellsword Saga: The Legend of Infinity (Super Spellsword Sága: Legenda o Nekonečnu, 2019, Labyrint) and he also contributes ongoing comic strips to the children’s magazines Four-Leaved Clover (Čtyřlístek) and Rocket (Raketa). Some of his well-loved stories also waited some time for a collected edition in book form: Hubert & Hugo (from 2021, Labyrint, three volumes, of which the most recent won the Muriel prize in 2024) follows the fortunes of two climbers, a father and son, while The Adventures of Rocky and Teri (Dobrodružství Rockyho & Terky), issued collectively with a bonus about the alien trio Uno, Duo, Tria (2022) describes expeditions in a spaceship and more. Other successful series originally published in magazines and reissued several years later in book form include Matylda and the Pink Wolf by Jana Šrámková and Petra Josefína Stibitzová (Matylda a Růžovej vlk, 2023, Labyrint, Muriel prize) or Guinea Pigs in Action by Klára Smolíková and Ester Kuchynková (Morčata v akci, 2022, Crew), which originally appeared in the magazine Tečka [Full Stop]. Superheroes and robots Kateřina Čupová made her début on the one hundredth anniversary of Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. with a large-format graphic-novel adaptation (2020, Argo), which has attracted international attention. She has also won success at home with her subsequent book, the inventive Cook, Little Pot, Cook! (Hrnečku, vař!, 2022, Argo, Muriel prize 2022), which endows traditional fairytale characters with superhero elements. In the graphic novel Supro: Heroes on Credit (Supro: Hrdinové na dluh, 2023, Crew), life is breathed into other superheroes by screenwriter Štěpánka Jislová, one of the most distinctive Czech graphic-novel artists of recent times. Her work for adult audiences Bald (2024, Graphic Mundi; Bez vlasů, 2020, Paseka) and Heartcore (2025, Graphic Mundi; Srdcovka, 2023, Paseka) has been highly successful, but she has also applied her ideas and playfulness in a graphic-novel guide to Czech sayings called Sayings and Proverbs (Přeřekadla, 2021, Meander). As an artist, Jislová has also contributed to historical graphic novels, aimed at a broad spectrum of readers, that raise awareness of Czechoslovak history – this includes, in addition to Milada Horáková by Jislová and Zdeněk Ležák (2020, Argo) Tricolore by Martin Šinkovský (Trikolora, 2019, Albatros) or Štefánik by Gabriela Kyselová and Michal Baláž (2021, Labyrint). The trilogy William and Meriwether (William a Meriwether, Labyrint) by screenwriter Taťána Rubášová and artist Jindřich Janíček represents dystopia and science fiction for young people in Czech graphic novels. In The Remarkable Robot Expedition (Podivuhodná robotí expedice, 2016), which was included in The White Ravens selection, two robots travel around the one-time United States and find the remnants of human presence there. The sequels The Unexpected Robot Exodus (Neočekávaný robotí exodus, 2019) and The Distressing Robot Existence (Strastiplná robotí existence, 2023), expand into existential themes associated with human civilisation, ecology and ethics. The trilogy is enlivened with balanced humour and the emphasis gradually shifts to searching for your own place in the world and the basis of friendship. Jindřich Janíček’s creative approach successfully updates the adventure genre with a combination of interwar tradition and modern visual simplicity (small wonder that he was named Illustrator of the Year in 2022 by the Czech Grand Design awards). This approach functions convincingly both in his graphic novels aimed primarily at an adult audience, such as R for Runner (B jako běžec, 2021, Paseka), To the West on the Northwest Line (Na západ severozápadní linkou, 2022, Paseka) and in his illustrations to domestic and translated titles, such as Bára Dočkalová’s The Battle of the Baseball Diamond (Bitva o diamant, 2022, Labyrint). A good example of a successful collaboration between a talented artist and experienced writer is the entertaining graphic novel Tibbles the Cat (Tibbles, 2021, Meander, Muriel prize 2021) by David Dolenský and Michal Šanda. A subtle ecological point is the punchline to this story of a cat (anti)hero, who moves to an island with his owner, where they discover a new bird species. Before any ornithologist manages to visit the island, however, the tomcat has wiped them all out. Let us add that Dolenský’s other (non-graphic) novels also deal with consideration for and relationships with the natural world, including his début Rufus the Woodsman (Rufus zálesák, 2020, Baobab) and the loose continuation of this wiry, idiosyncratic man’s story, Rufus the Fisherman (Rufus rybaří, 2023, Baobab, text by Jaroslav Tvrdoň). Playful poetry and wordplay The tradition of rhyming poetry for children is currently being nurtured primarily by Robin Král, Radek Malý and Ester Stará. Child readers can encounter the poet, translator and songwriter Robin Král’s playful poems in nearly four dozen books, predominantly concertina books. His most striking poetic achievements are associated with the publishing house Běžíliška, where he started his successful poetry career with the 3D concertina book Oh, Ferdinand! about bat friends, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy (Ferdinande!, 2013, Golden Ribbon for the artwork, IBBY Honour List). He won the Magnesia Litera and a Golden Ribbon for his collection The Inventionary (Vynálezárium, 2015, illustrated by Jana Hrušková), in which he playfully brings together the world of inventors and literary theory (selected poetic forms such as calligrams, rondels and rispetti describing 53 human inventors). His other successful titles include A Cat in Cross-Section (Řez kočkou, 2018 and 2024, illustrated by Tereza Vostradovská), the narrative encyclopaedia Beware, A Doctor! (Pozor doktor!, 2018, illustrated by Nikola Logosová), the celebratory poetic composition Long Live the Queen! (Ať žije královna!, 2024, Knižní stezka k dětem, illustrated by Barbora Burianová) or the concertina books published by Meander, of which we will name only the most wide-ranging – a uniquely artistic treatment in the pop-up book At the Fair (Na pouti, 2024, Meander, illustrated by Andrea Tachezy). The poet and German translator Radek Malý also writes poetry for children published by Běžíliška, often in a Mikroliška edition for the smallest readers and then, for example, the concertina book Nine Dormice in a Den (Devět plchů v pelechu, 2016) or the picture book Losses and Finds (Ztráty a nálezy, 2024), both illustrated by Andrea Tachezy, or by Meander, e.g. concertina books and reprints of the successful titles To Where Laughter is Allowed in (Kam až smí smích, 2009 and 2015), or The Children’s Little Poetic Dictionary in Examples (Poetický slovníček dětem v příkladech, 2012 and 2023) or indeed by Albatros, including All Sorts of Banter for Boys and Girls (Všelijaké řečičky pro kluky a holčičky, 2017, illustrated by Alžběta Skálová), Postcards from Unnoticed Towns (Pohlednice z nespatřených měst, 2022, illustrated by Jan Laštovička), where, however, he has in recent years mostly made a name for himself with educational titles: An Atlas of Extinct Animals (Atlas vyhubených živočichů, 2019), An Atlas of Endangered Animals (Atlas ohrožených živočichů, 2020), An Atlas of Prehistoric Animals (Atlas prehistorických živočichů, 2024). The playful poems of Ester Stará, an experienced and award-winning kidlit author, will entertain and inform in the best sense of the word. She writes verses with funny, rhymed punchlines for schoolchildren Onions Make Everyone Cry (Každý bulí nad cibulí, 2017, Paseka), but also about means of transport and animals for the smallest readers: such as the hand-made art books by publisher POP-PAP Let’s Goooooooo! (Jedéééém!, 2018), Baa Moo Oink! (Meky mek! 2022) and Elle the Inquizzzative Bee (O zzzvědavé včele Elle, 2024). Stará, an experienced special educational needs teacher and speech therapist, is also the author of a number of didactic publications and books of fairytales that help to develop reading and communication skills, including The Greatest Wish (Největší přání, 2017, 65. pole) and Smoky and Beanie (Šedík a Bubi, 2019, Pikola, included in The White Ravens selection). Perceiving the sense and nonsense of the world around us The poet Petr Borkovec turns his attention onto the transience, fragility and ordinariness of things in his concertina books titled Things in Our Lives (Věci našeho života, 2017, Cesta domů, illustrated by Adriana Skálová) and Things We Lose (Věci, které ztrácíme, 2020, 2023, Meander, illustrated by Petra Josefína Stibitzová). The “herbarium of dreams” Blue Agave (Modrá agave, 2021, Baobab) that accompanies artist Michaela Kukovičová’s picture album is dedicated to “secretive beings aged 12 to 18”. In 2024, publisher Běžíliška brought out a collected edition of Borkovec’s poetry with the title Wet Blue Wellies are a Kingfisher (Ledňáček jsou modré mokré holínky, 2024), comprising the volumes Everything is in the Garden (Všechno je to na zahradě, 2013), What They Dream About (O čem sní, 2016) and the best-of collection Each Thing has Something in Common with Happiness (Každá věc má něco společného se štěstím, 2019) plus the newly published composition Benjamin Murka. Daniela Fischerová’s most recent nonsense poetry includes the collections Tattooed Aunty (Tetovaná teta, 2015, Meander, illustrated by Jaromír Plachý) and The Sea Cow with a Ukelele (Ochechule s ukulele, 2018, illustrated by Jakub Kouřil), and humorously reflects children’s experience with the modern world and the world of fairytales. The charming onomatopoeic rhymes and wordplay of this author, who writes for both children and adults, can also be found in several volumes in the Repolelo series, published from 2019 by Meander Crash! Bang! Wallop! (Plác! Tác! Bác!), The Unprecedented Spectacle (Nevídaná podívaná), The Flying Tram (Tramvaj letí) and Nine Aunties on a Day Out (Devět tet jde na výlet).Today this remarkable series numbers six dozen titles and is particularly distinctive in creative terms because it brings together young artistic talent (Jakub Bachorík, Anna Kulíčková) and established Czech poets (Ivan Wernisch, Michal Šanda, Ivan Binar, Robin Král). Several volumes present innovatively illustrated folk riddles or sayings: Folk Dance Tra La La by Ester Nemjó (Kalamajka mik mik mik, 2019, Meander), What’s That? by Zuzana Čupová (Co to?, 2024, Meander); others have no text whatsoever, such as Hubert is Angry (Hubert se vzteká, 2021, Meander) or Karla is Crying (Karla pláče, 2021, Meander) by Nikola Hoření, Our Little Pig (Naše prasátko, 2020, Meander) by Jaromír Plachý, but there are also books where the same person is both writer and artist (Tereza Marianová). The bilingual Romanes-Czech fairytale Boiled Eggs (Vařená vejce – Tade jandre, 2024, co-published with Kher, illustrated by Zuzana Mašková) is an outstanding achievement, telling the story of a Roma boy who outwits a lazy farmer. We could name yet more remarkable titles; however, an overview article cannot do justice to the subject. Our aim was, first and foremost, to highlight the breadth and variety available and also to mention the international reception and success (The White Ravens, IBBY, Bologna Children’s Book Fair) of specific books, which only confirms that Czech creators have plenty to offer to a foreign audience, primarily because they respond with sensitivity and originality to the world in which today’s children are growing up, yet consciously work with the strong traditions underpinning Czech kidlit. Alongside the established literary greats, a significant younger generation is gaining ground with readers and, as a result, the shared literary space is becoming ever more varied in terms of authors, language, genre and themes.
Czechia 2026 Travel Grants – Deadline October 31
Next round of the new program supporting author mobility in German-speaking countries In preparation for the presentation of Czech literature during CZECHIA’s Guest of Honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026, and the accompanying Year of Czech Culture in
Next round of the new program supporting author mobility in German-speaking countries In preparation for the presentation of Czech literature during CZECHIA’s Guest of Honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026, and the accompanying Year of Czech Culture in German-speaking countries, the Czech Literary Centre (CzechLit) – a section of the Moravian Library (ML) – is announcing a program to support Czech authors participating in literary events in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland. Applications for travel grants may be submitted by the event organizer1 or the Czech author2 themselves, or by a translator from Czech. Authors and translators from Czech may also apply for support for professionalization-related travel (e.g., visits to book fairs, festivals, or other cultural events, as well as professional meetings with foreign publishers, translators, literary agents, or other cultural institutions in German-speaking countries). The application deadline for literary events taking place between January 1 and June 30, 2026, is October 31, 2025. Applications are evaluated by the CzechLit Travel Grants Committee, which determines the amount of support and makes recommendations to the ML regarding the provision of funding. Detailed information for authors and organisers, including conditions and the required application forms, can be found here. As in previous years, applicants may also request support for travel to other countries. [ ] 1. ↑ The event organiser can be an individual (e.g. a translator, a university staff member / lecturer / student), a literary festival, a publishing house or another cultural institution. 2. ↑ The author is a writer of prose, children’s and young adult literature, poetry, non-fiction and other genres, as well as an illustrator, author of artist’s books and comics. This also includes also translators who wish to attend book fairs to promote contemporary Czech literature.
CzechLit Travel Grants – Deadline October 31
The deadline for the next round of applications for author travel grants is approaching. The Czech Literary Centre (CzechLit), a section of the Moravian Library (ML), reminds applicants of the upcoming deadline within its travel grants programme for Czech authors
The deadline for the next round of applications for author travel grants is approaching. The Czech Literary Centre (CzechLit), a section of the Moravian Library (ML), reminds applicants of the upcoming deadline within its travel grants programme for Czech authors travelling to literary events abroad in 2026. Applications may be submitted either by the event organiser or by the author/illustrator themselves. The application deadline for events taking place between January 1 and August 31, 2026 is October 31, 2025. Each application is assessed by the CzechLit Travel Committee, which determines the level of support and makes recommendations to the ML regarding the provision of funding. Detailed information for authors and organisers, including conditions and the required application forms, can be found here.
Open Call: Support for Foreign Translations of Czech Literature
The deadline for the first round of the programme for 2026 is November 15th 2025. The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic invites publishers, translators, and cultural organisations to apply for funding through the Support Programme for Publishing Translations
The deadline for the first round of the programme for 2026 is November 15th 2025. The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic invites publishers, translators, and cultural organisations to apply for funding through the Support Programme for Publishing Translations of Czech Literature Abroad. The programme provides financial support for projects that bring Czech literature to international audiences through high-quality translations and publications. Eligible applicants include foreign publishers, translators, and institutions publishing Czech works in translation. Application deadline for the first round for 2026 is November 15, 2025. Grants may cover translation costs, production, copyright fees, and related expenses. Application forms, and more details are available on the CzechLit website here, and the Ministry’s website here.
Support for foreign translations of Czech literature – results
The Ministry of Culture will support a total of 149 projects. The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic has released the results of the Support Programme for Publishing Translations of Czech Literature Abroad for 2025 – second round. Confirmation
The Ministry of Culture will support a total of 149 projects. The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic has released the results of the Support Programme for Publishing Translations of Czech Literature Abroad for 2025 – second round. Confirmation letters will be sent to individual applicants via email during July and August. All information, including the link to download the document with the supported projects, can be found on the Ministry’s website here. The deadline for the second round for 2025 is November 15th.
Czech Literary Centre at Book World Prague 2025
Words in Motion, Tricky Questions and Pitches, Traveling North or to Frankfurt am Main. These are just some of the topics to be explored by the Czech Literary Centre (CzechLit), a section of the Moravian Library (ML), at this year’s
Words in Motion, Tricky Questions and Pitches, Traveling North or to Frankfurt am Main. These are just some of the topics to be explored by the Czech Literary Centre (CzechLit), a section of the Moravian Library (ML), at this year’s edition of the international book fair and literary festival Book World Prague (15 to 18 May). The key part of CzechLit’s activities at this year’s Book World Prague is connected with preparations for the Czech Republic’s guest of honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2026. During the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Czech Republic would like to present as many current book translations from Czech as possible. For that reason, CzechLit invited fifteen foreign publishers from several European countries to the fair to help them arrange meetings with their Czech counterparts and deepen mutual collaboration and efforts in publishing contemporary Czech literature in foreign languages. Representatives from three publishing houses in Germany, two in Spain, two in the UK and five in France together with publishers from Switzerland, Sweden, and the Netherlands accepted the invitation. CzechLit in partnership with CEEBM (Central and East European Book Market – the programme section of the Book World) has prepared a specialised programme for them. It will feature Professor Petr A. Bílek, among others, who will introduce publishers to current Czech book production and trends. The hosting and benefits of the Frankfurt Book Fair for Czech writers will also be presented by CzechLit director Martin Krafl at an event where he will talk about the hosting project. “I am very happy that Anna Luňáková, Petr Borkovec, and Jan Němec will be joining me in the discussion on how to support original works of literature as part of the Frankfurt project and on the Novel for Frankfurt competition. As president of ENLit (European Network for Literary Translation), I also appreciate that colleagues from 20 countries have accepted the invitation to Prague for their meeting on May 14. ENLit brings together major European state and non-state book institutions and organisations that support and promote national literature abroad, or literature in general. CzechLit has been an active member of the network since 2019. Among other things, ENLit members will participate in a professional programme of the Book World fair. I believe that the debate with them will be appreciated both by translators and visitors interested in connecting Czech and foreign literature,” says Martin Krafl, Director of the Czech Literary Centre, about the programme at the Book World. [ ] Part of the CzechLit’s professional programme focuses on the work of literary translators as without them the goals of the hosting programme could not be achieved. It will kick off with an interesting discussion on how to pitch a book to an American publisher, featuring prominent foreign literary professionals. The programme continues with a discussion among young Czech female translators involved in the European project CELA. This will be followed by a playful workshop entitled “Si to zkus!“ (“Give It a Try”) on Saturday, 17 May. The workshop will be run by translator Michala Marková, who will share her experience of what an English translator needs to know (apart from the language itself). She will highlight the pitfalls and hardships of working as a literary translator. CzechLit is joining the programme of this year’s 30th anniversary fair, themed “30! The Energy of Youth – The Wisdom of Books” with a discussion bringing together foreign writers in their thirties from Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine, who are also involved in the CELA project and will be appearing before a Czech audience for the first time. “I am thrilled to welcome Ukrainian writer Eugenia Kuznetsova, who received a special mention from the jury of the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL) in 2022. This year, a Czech translation of her comic book Krátké dějiny ukrajinského boršče (A Brief History of Ukrainian Borscht) was published by Centrala publishing house,” adds Michala Čičváková, coordinator of international cooperation for German-speaking countries at CzechLit. [ ] The guest of honour at the 2025 Book World is Portugal. Therefore, the Czech Literary Centre, in cooperation with CAMÕES – Portuguese Centre in Prague, has prepared a series of debates bringing together Czech and Portuguese writers. “I believe that events such as the discussion with Kateřina Tučková and Portuguese writer Lídia Jorge on writing about freedom, or Bianca Bellová’s interview with Gonçalo M. Tavares on dystopias in the contemporary world, will appeal to audiences of all interests and ages. I would also like to invite visitors to the closing event of CzechLit’s programme on Sunday (18 May): Ángelo Nestore, a non-binary artist and poet living in Spain, and Jana Orlová, a Czech poet and performer, will present a joint site-specific performance that follows the publication of a bilingual anthology of Czech queer poetry in Spanish translation,” explains Kateřina Chromková, coordinator of international cooperation for Spanish-speaking and Lusophone countries, about the programme of the Czech Literary Centre at the Book World. The schedule of events organized by the Czech Literary Centre at Book World Prague can be found HERE.