The Jaroslav Seifert Prize, a prestigious literary award presented since 1986, has a new laureate. The winner is Miroslav Petříček, author of Filosofie en noir (Philosophy en noir, 2018).

The panel praised the fact that Professor Miroslav Petříček (1951) is constantly working to ensure that philosophy moves away from purely scientific frameworks and opens up to other disciplines, particularly literature and art. Petříček’s work is not only topical, but also goes beyond topicality with its emphatic appeal for society to stay firmly anchored to its values. It is also exceptionally readable.

The Jaroslav Seifert Prize, established in 1986 in Stockholm by the nuclear physicist František Janouch, is awarded for outstanding literary work published or otherwise made public in the Czech Republic or abroad in the last three years, and in exceptional cases for lifelong work. The laureate is announced by the Charta 77 Foundation every two years on 22nd September, on the evening before Seifert’s birthday.

The Jaroslav Seifert Prize is financed by the Charta 77 Foundation. The laureate receives it in December 2019 at the Mayor’s residence in Prague. The prize money is 100 000 crowns.

The decision on whom to award the Jaroslav Seifert Prize was taken by an independent panel of judges comprising: Tomáš Kubíček (panel chairman), Pavel Dominik, Libuše Heczková, Hana Klínková, Marie Langerová, Milena M. Marešová, Hana Soukupová and Jiří Zizler.

Past laureates of the Jaroslav Seifert Prize:

Jiří Brabec and Jiří Opelík (2017)
Eugen Brikcius (2015)
Vladimír Binar (2012)
Karel Šiktanc (2011)
Jáchym Topol (2010)
Ludvík Kundera (2009)
Václav Havel (2008)
František Listopad (2007)
Ivan Martin Jirous (2006)
Michal Ajvaz and Jiří Suchý (2005)
Viktor Fischl and Josef Škvorecký (2004)
Miloslav Topinka (2003)
Jiří Gruša (2002)
Zdeněk Rotrekl (2001)
Pavel Šrut (2000)
Jiří Kratochvil (1999)
Věra Linhartová (1998)
Karel Milota (1997)
Jiřina Hauková and Zbyněk Hejda (1996)
Antonín Brousek and Petr Kabeš (1995)
Milan Kundera (1994)
Bohumil Hrabal (1993)
Josef Hiršal and Ivan Wernisch (1992)
Jiří Kolář (1991)
Emil Juliš (1990)
Karel Šiktanc (1989)
Ivan Diviš (1988)
Ludvík Vaculík (1987)
Dominik Tatarka (1986)