Meet modern Czech authors at this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival
Six authors are representing the modern face of Czech literature at the Brooklyn Book Festival, an annual book fair that attracts tens of thousands of attendees. From today until Monday, readers will have the chance to hear, talk to and even go for a beer with leading Czech writers.
The Brooklyn Book festival was launched back in 2006, and was originally intended to showcase the ‘Brooklyn voice’ in contemporary literature. Since then, the event has grown considerably in size and scope. This year, it runs from the 22nd to the 30th of September, and offers attendees a wide range of talks, book signings and workshops, as well as opportunities to meet authors and buy their books.
Czech writers are well represented at the festival this year, with six current authors participating in various events. They may differ in their genres and literary styles, but together they demonstrate the diversity of contemporary Czech literature. Alex Zucker, a translator and one of the organisers of the Czech contingent at the festival, spoke to me about what the programme has in store for both readers and writers:
“In addition to two authors who are appearing on the main festival day, Jáchym Topol and Kateřina Tučková, there will be a ‘book and beer’ event, with all six authors appearing, each of them reading for a short while. That’s for a broader audience, and will also involve beers, being held at a brewing company. Vojtěch Mašek is doing a puppet-making workshop on Saturday, which is the children’s day of the festival. Then on Monday, Pavel Mandys is organising a luncheon, where New York publishing professionals, agents and editors are going to have a chance to meet with authors, and Czech agents and publishers who have come over for the festival.”
The six participants include Patrik Banga, a journalist, musician, and one of the first Romani writers in Czech literature, and the award-winning author and playwright Petra Hůlová. As mentioned by Mr Zucker, Jáchym Topol, the novelist and poet who was active in the underground samizdat literary scene during the communist era, will also be present and will be signing books on Sunday.
I also asked Mr Zucker about the American reception of Czech literature today.
“It’s not a big readership, but it’s a very focused readership. I think Czech literature is in the same situation as many other smaller countries. The main thing I always try to get across to Czechs when they ask me if people in the US are interested in Czech literature is that readers here don’t necessarily care if a writer is Czech or not. They’re interested in their style, their storytelling, maybe their personal background, but not necessarily whether they come from the Czech Republic.”
With the wide range of literature represented by the six authors at the festival, from stories of women healers in the White Carpathians to experiences of racism in 1990s Prague, American readers are sure to find a high quality of style and storytelling.
Find the details about the authors and programme here: https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/program/cesti-spisovatele-na-brooklyn-book-festival
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