Czechia prepares to take Guest of Honour role at Frankfurt Book Fair

This year’s Frankfurt Book Fair - the largest of its kind in the world - holds special significance for Czechia, as it prepares to take over the 2026 Guest of Honour title. Radio Prague International spoke with Martin Krafl, director of the Czech Literary Centre, who is in Frankfurt for the event and knows more.

“In exactly 12 months the Czech Republic will be the main Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Next Sunday, we will receive the GastRolle - which is a symbol of the hosting country - from the Philippines. And we will start a Year of Czech Culture in German-speaking countries.

Martin Krafl|Photo: Václav Jabůrek, Czech Radio

“This will offer a lot of events in German-speaking countries with authors and literary translators, with books from the Czech market being translated into German. And we hope that in the next months we will introduce new voices of Czech literature in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. After the Year of Czech Culture, we hope that the interest in Czech literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 will be really big.”

What does this kind of recognition mean for Czech literature on a more global stage?

"After the Year of Czech Culture, we hope that the interest in Czech literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2026 will be really big.”
Martin Krafl

“Czech literature will be the focus of all visitors of the Frankfurt Book Fair, where there are representatives from 100 countries, and some 300,000 people.  We believe that this project will increase the number of authors represented on the German-speaking market. We also believe that it will raise the profile of Czech literature in English, French and Spanish-speaking countries.

“We hope to promote the work of literary translators - in some areas of the world, we are missing these translators, so we believe that ‘Czechia 2026’ will motivate new students of Bohemian studies at international universities.”

Is there anything that you are particularly excited for at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair?

“I'm really happy that we have not only our national stand for Czechia, which is in hall 4 at the position D78 - if someone should be at the Frankfurt Book Fair - but we also have a stand in the Comics Business Centre.

"I think a lot of people abroad still connect Czech literature with Czechoslovak literature and names like Kundera, Hašek or Seifert. But we want to show that we have a new generation of authors linked to the Czech Republic"
Martin Krafl

“I hope that we will show literary professionals that the Czech comics genre is growing up. We have very good authors and very interesting topics of graphic novels. So, I believe that there will be an interest to discover what we can offer right now. And the illustrator Jindřich Janíček will be the guest of the Czechia’s Happy Hour this Thursday, during which we will introduce his work to visitors.”

What would you tell people about the upcoming Year of Czech Culture - Czechia 2026 - to get them excited about it?

“I do hope that they will find that we have a strong literary culture. The motto is really interesting, too. It’s: ‘Czechia, a country on the coast.’ This may sound surprising, given that Czechia is not a country on the coast, but a landlocked central European country. The motto is based on a phrase from a book by Shakespeare: ‘Bohemia by the sea.’ And we would like to show a poetic image of Czech literature and to open new horizons, because I think a lot of people abroad still connect Czech literature with Czechoslovak literature and with names like Kundera, Hašek or Seifert. But during this Year of Czech Culture, we will show that we have a new generation of authors connected to the Czech Republic, founded in 1993.”

Photo: Hana Connor, Frankfurtský knižní veletrh

Are there any particular authors, themes or titles that you would like to highlight?

"I'm very proud that Ondřej Buddeus and Jindřich Janíček are nominated for the German Literature Prize for Children "
Martin Krafl

“I can't say the names for 2026, because it is too early. But I could say some names of the authors coming to Frankfurt this year – they are: Bianca Bellová, Viktorie Hanišová, Michal Ajvaz, Martin Vopěnka, Ondřej Buddeus, Petr Hruška, and Jindřich Janíček. Some of them will introduce their books translated into German - for example, Ondřej Buddeus or Viktorie Hanišová. Some of them are translated into English – for example, Martin Vopěnka or Petr Hruška.

“We also have a very specific translation into Filipino - a novel by Bianca Bellová. We will introduce the book in a debate at the Czech stand and there will be a talk with some authors from the Philippines, who have been translated into Czech.

“I'm very proud that Ondřej Buddeus and Jindřich Janíček are nominated for the German Literature Prize for Children with a book about a bicycle. We will see this Friday if they will be successful. Cross your fingers for them, please.”

The Czech Literary Centre was founded in 2017 and operates on behalf of the Czech Ministry of Culture. It is state-funded and promotes Czech literature of all genres around the world. The Centre serves as an information hub for foreign publishers, provides grants for authors, and supports international translation and literary projects in cooperation with organisations abroad. It also places strong emphasis on supporting literary translators.

The preparations for the Year of Czech Culture, Czechia 2026, are organised by the Moravian Library in Brno in cooperation with the Czech Literary Centre.