Everything will be cool (Všechno bude super): The new novel by Eli Beneš has been selected for the 2026 Susanna Roth Award—an annual competition in which young emerging translators work on a piece of contemporary Czech prose.

Established in 2014, the award is named after the renowned Swiss translator Susanna Roth (1950–1997), who played a key role in promoting contemporary Czech literature abroad. Since 2017, the Czech Centres abroad have co‑organised the competition together with the Czech Literary Center, part of the Moravian Library.

A major success for Eli Beneš: His novel A Slight Loss of Loneliness becomes the very first Czech book ever selected for presentation to film producers at Books at Berlinale. From nearly 100 submissions worldwide, only ten titles with the strongest cinematic potential were chosen — and his is among them. The project will be showcased on 16 February in a high‑profile pitching event.

Books at Berlinale, a joint initiative of the Berlinale film festival and the Frankfurt Book Fair, was launched twenty years ago to champion literary adaptations and to bring the worlds of film and literature closer together.

In the run-up to the 2026 Frankfurt Book Fair, at which Czechia will be the guest of honour, the Haus am Dom in Frankfurt hosted a reading last Sunday. The author Iva Procházková read from her crime novel Girl, Uncovered (Dívky nalehko), which was published in German translation this year by Braumüller Verlag in Vienna under the title Die Spur der Kälte (The Trail of Cold). Iva Procházková’s next crime novel The Dead Reach Out (Doteky zabitých) will be released in German 2026.

Lucie Faulerová is the winner of the 2025 Italian prize Premio Salerno Libro d’Europa, which took place on 19 June in the atrium of Salerno Cathedral as part of the 13th edition of the festival Salerno Letteratura. This prize is open to European authors under the age of 40 whose works have been translated into Italian. Each year, a wide readership jury is involved in the decision, selecting authors and books. The finalists come to town for the closing ceremony, during which the winner is announced. This is one of the key events of the entire festival. Lucie’s book, with the original title Smrtholka (Io sono l’abisso in Italian, translated by Laura Angeloni), has won over an audience of readers.

The House on Matoušova Street, Tereza Boučková’s latest novel, has been honoured with the 2025 Miroslav Ivanov Prize for best historical novel. Since 2001, this prize has been awarded in the Czech Republic to the most outstanding publications in the field of non-fiction. It is announced by the Club of Non-fiction Authors. The historian Miroslav Ivanov (1929-1999) was a popular Czech writer who mostly dealt with Czech history in his books.

In The House on Matoušova Street, Tereza Boučková creates a memorial to the people who lived in her childhood home in Prague. The many personal stories of the residents of the house combine to create a retrospective of the history of the 20th century, especially the Second World War and the communist era in the former Czechoslovakia.

At the upcoming Leipzig Book Fair Eli Beneš will present his novel A Slight Loss of Loneliness (Nepatrná ztráta osamelosti) to a German audience. The award-winning debut has been published in German translation by Karl Rauch Verlag, Düsseldorf, this year.

The author guides readers through post-war Europe as they follow a young Auschwitz survivor on his odyssey from his home town of Prague to Palestine. This accurately researched novel, which is based on true events, is also a touching love story.

The presentation at the Leipzig Book Fair will be on 27 March at 13.30 at the Czech National Stand and on 28 March at 20.45 at Mädler Art Forum, Leipzig.

The House on Matoušova Street—a brand new book by Tereza Boučková, has been very well received by Czech readers. The bestselling book came near the top in the poll for the most interesting book of the year 2024 by the renowned daily newspaper Deník N. The book came second in the readers‘ ranking and third in the experts’ ranking. A total of 14 literary works were selected for the shortlist.

In The House on Matoušova Street the author creates a memorial to the people who lived in her childhood home. Moving Jewish life stories alternate with those of people who suffered under the communist dictatorship in the country.

On the International Stage of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the author Marek Toman talked about classic and modern children’s literature from Czechia. He also presented his own books for children: My Golem, Cross-Eyed Jim’s Coffeehouse and The Amazing Adventures of Florentin Flowers.

The event, titled Children’s Books from Czechia: from past to present, was hosted by the US writer and translator Lawrence Schimel. Another guest was the children’s books editor and literary critic Kamila Drahoňovská. The event was organised by the Czech Literary Centre.

Literary agent Maria Sileny visited Brooklyn, New York, as a member of a group of agents and authors, to present Czech literature to US publishers.

In face-to-face conversations with publishers during the Brooklyn Book Festival and a stage presentation at the follow-up event, held in the Czech Center New York, she had the opportunity to introduce current novels by authors she represents abroad.

Participation in the festival was organized by the Czech Litera association. Prague Literary Agency attended from 25 September to 1 October.

Prague Literary Agency’s new author, Eli Beneš, has won the prestigious Czech Magnesia Litera Award for Best Fiction. His novel The Slight Loss of Loneliness was chosen as “Debut of the Year”.

This compelling account of the return from Auschwitz to post-war Prague reflects historical events with great accuracy. It is not just another reappraisal of the Holocaust; it covers the time afterwards instead and confronts readers with events that are little known.

Published in 2023, the book has been labelled the “best book of the year” by critics.