Archive of Past News

Launching SlovakLiterature.com

A curated site for Slovak literature in English.

Raising the Velvet Curtain

A series of events in the UK marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of communism in Slovakia.

Raising the Velvet Curtain:

Slovak Writers’ Tour

A series of readings and discussions with Balla, Ivana Dobrakovová, and Uršuľa Kovalyk in Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge, and London. 22.10. – 25.10.2019.

Who Would Publish Slovak Literature in the UK?

Martina Šimkovičová of Slovak Radio International talks to British publishers willing to take the risk of introducing Slovak fiction and poetry to the UK market.

“Madness and Misanthropy”

Donald Rayfield reviews Bellevue and Big Love in The Literary Review.

Andreea Scridon's review of Big Love and The Night Circus and Other Stories in

Interview with Ivana Dobrakovová

Featured as Author of the Week on BookBlast Diary

Slovak Literature
makes a splash on the

European Literature Network

Two translations and five Riveting Reviews

Three Slovak authors
featured in

Uršuľa Kovalyk, Dušan Mitana, and Richard Pupala
in the Central European Short Story Issue

Asymptote: A report
from Slovakia

An overview of what's new in Slovak literature.

Raising the Velvet Curtain
in words, sounds and pictures

Looking back at the season of Slovak literature and arts in the UK in October and November 2019.

in memoriam

On February 10th, 2020, Pavel Vilikovský,
one of Slovakia’s most prominent writers,
passed away at the age of 78.

Bellevue nominated for prize

Ivana Dobrakovová’s book has been longlisted for the EBRD Literature Prize 2020.

Eternal Traffic book release

Congratulations to Mila Haugová and her translator,
James Sutherland-Smith, on their latest collection
of poetry in English, released by Arc Publications.

New podcast

Julia Sherwood now hosting a biweekly podcast of conversations about Slovak literature

Asymptote: Literary News
from Slovakia

Book of the Year, Slovakia's take on European Literature Night, and more

Balla “On the Pandemic”
in Asymptote

In This Together: Writers From Around the World Respond to the COVID-19 Outbreak

LIC now in English

The Centre for Information on Literature has a new website in English called Books from Slovakia

Congratulations to Mila Haugová

Slovak poet Mila Haugová is this year’s winner of the Vilenica Prize for Central European Literature.

Pavel Vilikovský featured
in Asymptote

"A Sentimental Education in March" by Pavel Vilikovský, translated and with an introduction by Charles Sabatos.

LitCast with Jonathan Gresty

In Lit_cast Slovakia #6, translator Jonathan Gresty talks about going native in Slovakia, and much more.

Corine Tachtiris reviews Bellevue

Read the latest review of Ivana Dobrakovová’s award-winning novel in World Literature Today.

Tomáš Forró’s Donbas
in Asymptote

Read an excerpt from Forro’s account of the Ukrainian conflict, translated by Magdalena Mullek.

“Slovak writers struggle to find path to Anglophone readers”

An article in The Slovak Spectator.

LitCast with Katarína Gephardt

In Lit_cast Slovakia #7, literature scholar Katarína Gephardt discusses her plans for a Companion to Contemporary Slovak Literature.s

Contemporary Slovak poetry featured in

Translations of 5 Slovak poets, and an interview with writer and translator Lucia Duero.

LitCast with Michael Stein

In Lit_cast Slovakia #8, writer and journalist
Michael Stein talks about the Central European
literary sensibility.

LitCast with Nataša Ďurovičová

In Lit_cast Slovakia #9, Nataša Ďurovičová talks about exile as the point of no return.

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson
reviews Big Love

“Slovakia is clinically depressed.”
Find out why in this review of Balla's Big Love.

LitCast
with James Sutherland-Smith

In Lit_cast Slovakia #10, James Sutherland-Smith talks about why translating prose is more difficult than translating poetry.

Mimi & Líza: A Slovak kid lit sensation

Julia Sherwood talks about a children’s book that teaches children to understand disability and accept otherness.

Announcing:

In 2021/2022 Seagull Books will kick off its Slovak List
with books by Monika Kompaníková, Jana Bodnárová, Irena Brežná, and Zuzana Cigánová.

LitCast with Mária Ferenčuhová

In Lit_cast Slovakia #11, Slovak poet and translator Mária Ferenčuhová talks about cooperative translation
of poetry.

LitCast with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

In Lit_cast Slovakia #12, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson talks about the forgotten gems of Slovak literature.

LitCast with Marie-Theres Cermann

In Lit_cast Slovakia #13, Marie-Theres Cermann talks about why she believes the plight of refugees remains relevant even during the pandemic.

European Poets Night:
November 9, 2020

Listen to Slovak poet Mária Ferenčuhová read her poetry in this virtual event.

Asymptote:
Literary News from Slovakia

BraK festival, Novotvar festival, and other events.

LitCast with Ľudmila Pánisová

In Lit_cast Slovakia #14, Ľudmila Pánisová talks about the need to treat the source text with respect.

“Epic Sweep Without Epic Length”

Photo by David Konečný. Used with permission.

Michael Stein reviews Pavol Rankov's soon-to-be-published novel, It Happened on the First of September (or Some Other Time), translated by Magdalena Mullek, in Versopolis Review.

How the Slovak List Came to Be

Julia Sherwood talks with LIC about the four books selected for Seagull Books’ Slovak List.

LitCast with Lucia Duero

In Lit_cast Slovakia #16, writer and translator Lucia Duero talks about navigating the cultural differences between Slovakia and Mexico.

LitCast with Mária Modrovich

In Lit_cast Slovakia #17, writer and editor Mária Modrovich talks about navigating Slovak literature through the website Books from Slovakia.

New in English

Pavol Rankov’s It Happened on the First of September (or Some Other Time), translated by Magdalena Mullek, now available from Slavica Publishers.

New Author Page

Pavol Rankov now on SlovakLiterature.com

Pavol Rankov wins Prix du livre européen 2020

for his novel It Happened on the First of September (or Some Other Time).

LitCast with Ivana Taranenková

In Lit_cast Slovakia #18, literature scholar Ivana Taranenková introduces a forthcoming English-language guide to contemporary Slovak literature.

It Happened on the First
of September
in

Read an excerpt from the recently published English translation by Magdalena Mullek.

Michal Hvorecký
in Windows to Europe

Read the short story “Intimate Distance” translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood.

LitCast with Peter F. 'Rius Jílek

In Lit_cast Slovakia #19, literary critic Peter F. 'Rius Jílek shares his experience of being on the jury of Anasoft Litera.

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson reviews

It Happened on the First of September (or Some Other Time)

“Rich in detail, subtle in execution, compelling and
page-turning…”

LitCast with Katarzyna Dudzic-Grabińska

In Lit_cast Slovakia #20, Polish translator and theater director Kasia Dudzic-Grabińska talks about how she combines literary translation with theater work.

LitCast with Irena Brežná

In Lit_cast Slovakia #21, award-winning writer and journalist Irena Brežná talks about rebelling against the dogma of writing in her native language.

LitCast with Éva Karádi

In Lit_cast Slovakia #22, Hungarian literary organizer Éva Karádi talks about championing Slovak literature.

Absurdist Fiction from Slovakia

Review of Jana Beňová’s Seeing People Off by Tabatha Leggett.

Asymptote: Literary News
from Slovakia

Remembering Ladislav Grossman, Pavol Rankov wins the European Book Prize 2020, publisher Koloman Kertész Bagala, and more.

LitCast with Ivana Hostová

In Lit_cast Slovakia #23, literature scholar Ivana Hostová talks about why publishing poetry in translation is challenging even in a translation-dominated culture such as Slovakia.

Ivana Dobrakovová on


Trafika Europe Radio logo

Listen to a bilingual excerpt from Mothers and Truckers, and much more.

Julia Sherwood on World Kid Lit

(YouTube video opens in a separate tab.)

World Kid Lit poster

A discussion of Central European Literature for young readers.

Gwen Willems reviews

Into the Spotlight graphic

Into the Spotlight: New Writing from Slovakia offers an interesting and efficient way to sample some of the best contemporary Slovak writers.”

LitCast with David Short

In the 25th episode of Lit_cast Slovakia, scholar and translator David Short talks about some of the staggering number of books he has translated.

Seagull Books
Announces Their Fall Catalogue

Boat Number 5 and Necklace Choker book covers

Featuring Boat Number Five by Monika Kompaníková and Necklace/Choker by Jana Bodnárová.

LitCast with Tünde Mészáros

In Lit_cast Slovakia #26, translator Tünde Mészáros talks about the importance of musicality in translation.

LitCast with Monika Kompaníková

In Lit_cast Slovakia #27, writer Monika Kompaníková talks about the universal appeal of her novel Boat Number Five.

Asymptote: Literary News from Slovakia

Vertigo Fest – Poetry Without Borders, BRaK literary festival, Literafest, Pohoda, and more

LitCast with Tomáš Hučko

In Lit_cast Slovakia #28, translator and journalist Tomáš Hučko talks about the joys and challenges of translating John Fante, Henry David Thoreau, and John Steinbeck.

“The Season of Our Discontent” in

Michael Stein reviews Viliam Klimáček's The Hot Summer of 1968, translated by Peter Petro.

LitCast with Martin Janeček

In Lit_cast Slovakia #29, deputy director of Karolinum Press Martin Janeček talks about bringing Czech books to foreign audiences and reveals plans for a new Modern Slovak Classics series.

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson reviews

“The novel brilliantly allows us to sympathize with all sides—and to recognize just what a challenge mutual understanding is…”

Asymptote: Literary News from Slovakia

Month of Authors’ Readings, Pohoda, and other literary events

New Author Page

photo of Viliam Klimacek by Ctibor Bachraty

Viliam Klimáček now on SlovakLiterature.com

Final LitCast!

Julia Sherwood rejoices with her producer, Peter Michalik, in the show’s 30th and final episode.

Elizabeth Stigler reviews

It Happened on the First of September (or Some Other Time)

Reprinted with permission of CSAGSI and the author

“It is that tension between constraint and freedom, reality and fantasy, the plans you made for your life and the life that you end up living that makes this such a compelling read.”

New in English

My Seven Lives book cover

My Seven Lives: Jana Juráňová in Conversation with Agneša Kalinová, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood, now available from Purdue University Press

The Equestrienne Gets a Reprint

photos of Jana Bodnarova and Monika Kompaníkova

The Modern Novel reviews

Necklace Choker book cover title stack

“…she does skillfully recall, through the eyes of the protagonists, a lost time which cannot be recreated…”

A Talk by Charles Sabatos

via YouTube

composite of inside cover images from Atomy Boha I and II

“Issues of Language and Identity in Gejza Vámoš's God's Atoms

“Every Person is a Minority in Themselves”

image of Hrinova holding a book

An Interview with Barbora Hrínová, winner of Anasoft Litera 2021

“Thoroughly Mainstream or Decidedly Alternative”

image of Frantisek Malik in conversation

An Interview with literary organizer František Malík on the Asymptote blog

Marek Vadas featured
in the inaugural issue of

The Continental Literary Magazine logo

Read an excerpt from “In Front of the Mirror” translated by Julia Sherwood

A review of It Happened on the First of September in

Kosmas logo

Michael Kopanic reviews Pavol Rankov's It Happened on the First
of September (or Some Other Time)

Michael Stein reviews
My Seven Lives in

Body logo

“In My Seven Lives moments of high drama and tragedy co-exist effortlessly with everyday life.”

Richard Pupala nominated
for EUPL 2022

photo of Richard Pupala by Stefania Kazimirova

photo by Štefánia Kažimírová

Slovak author Richard Pupala is one of this year's nominees for the European Union Prize for Literature.

An Interview with Zuzana Husárová

Asymptote's Ivana-Zuzana image

Ivana Hostová interviews poet Zuzana Husárová
for Asymptote

Slovak AI Poetry Wins a National Poetry Prize

Asymptote's Liza Gennart image

Ivana Hostová on the neural network “poet” Liza Gennart

Fragments of the Vanishing Speech in

Contemporary Slovak Poetry Part II

Boat Number Five shortlisted for EBRD Literature Prize 2022

cover of Boat Number Five with photo of Monika Kompanikova by Jana Liska on yellow background

Written by Monika Kompaníková, translated by Janet Livingstone, published by Seagull Books

Read an excerpt from Women and Men, Animals

photo of Richard Pupala by Stefania Kazimirova

An excerpt from Richard Pupala's book translated by Julia Sherwood

Asymptote: Literary News from Slovakia

Asymptote's Around the World logo

Anasoft Litera longlist, European Literary House in Kremnica

Interview with translator Janet Livingstone

“A translator has to be a writer, painter, and empath.”

Interview with author Monika Kompaníková

“Writers whose languages are ‘small’ are at a huge disadvantage.”

Andrew Singer reviews

My Seven Lives book cover

“Some lives are iconic…”

Monika Kompaníková and Janet Livingstone on

Trafika Europe Radio logo

Author and translator talking about Boat Number Five

New Author Page

Ján Johanides now on SlovakLiterature.com

New in English

But Crime Does Punish by Ján Johanides, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood, published by Karolinum Press

New in English

Mothers and Truckers by Ivana Dobrakovová, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood, published by Jantar

Lukáš Cabala in B O D Y

Read an excerpt from Spring in Yekaterinburg translated by Magdalena Mullek

Celebrating 3 years of

Read an article about us in the BCSA Review

Asymptote: Literary News from Slovakia

Asymptote's Around the World logo

A literary controversy, Author's Reading Month, and much more

New in English by

Dead by Balla, translated by David Short,
published by Jantar Publishing

“Disparate and Distressed Dames” in

A review of Ivana Dobrakovová's Mothers and Truckers by Anna West

New in English

A selection of Janko Kráľ's poetry, translated by John Minahane, published by LIC

New Author Page

Irena Brežná now on SlovakLiterature.com

New in English

Irena Brežná’s The Thankless Foreigner, translated by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, published by Seagull Books

New Author Page

Zuzana Cigánová now on SlovakLiterature.com

New in English

Zuzana Cigánová's Vanity Unfair, translated by Magdalena Mullek, published by Seagull Books

Reissued

Rudolf Dobiáš’s A Long Night’s Stories, translated
by Heather Trebatická and John Minahane, now published
by Mount Orleans Press

Kathryn Murphy reviews Balla’s

“Antic, angry, tricksy stories of nothing from ‘the Slovak Kafka’”

“From Stage to Page” in

An Interview with Zuzana Cigánová by Magdalena Mullek

New in English

Marek Vadas’s The Healer, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood, published by Seagull Books

© Mullek and Sherwood