“Without her, 68 Publishers would not exist”: On writer and translator Zdena Salivarová’s legacy

Writer and translator Zdena Salivarová has died at the age of 91. Together with her husband, Josef Škvorecký, she wrote books and published exiled authors through their publishing house, 68 Publishers. In 1990, they were both awarded the Order of the White Lion for their contribution to Czech literature. 

Josef Škvorecký and Zdena Salivarová|Photo: Michal Doležal, ČTK

Although she became famous as a tireless supporter and publisher of Czech literature, Zdena Salivarová was also a talented singer and actress. It was through her musical prowess that she would meet her husband, Josef Škvorecký. They married in 1958, having known each other for only three months.

Discussing her legacy, Ivana Tomková, editor of the SSP series and Francophone literature at Argo, told me that Zdena Salivarová's marriage largely overshadowed her life:

Photo: Verlag Argo

“I think Zdena Salivarová is still somewhat underappreciated in the general public, partly because she was a bit in the shadow of her husband, Josef Škvorecký. But I don’t mean within literary circles or among scholars; they certainly know very well what she accomplished. Besides being a writer, although she didn’t publish that many books, her novel Honzlová is truly one of the best works written in Czech literature in the 20th century.”

But it was the events of 1968 that changed her life the most, as they did for many in Czechoslovakia.

The couple happened to be in the US during the invasion in 1968, so they stayed there and later moved to Toronto, where they founded the publishing house 68 Publishers, as Tomková told me. Over the course of twenty years, it published more than 200 works by Czech authors in exile. Tomková with more:

Photo: Tomáš Vodňanský, Czech Radio

“She dedicated nearly her entire adult life and all her energy to the Toronto-based publishing house 68 Publishers, which she ran. Without her, it probably wouldn’t have even existed. I think many books and authors would have been forgotten without it. They published both exiled authors and those living in Czechoslovakia who were not allowed to publish at home. These books would then get smuggled back into the country, so through this work, they filled a critical gap that would otherwise have existed.

“And we’re talking about famous names: they published Ferdinand Peroutka, Hostovský, Havel, of course Škvorecký and Salivarová herself, and they also published poetry. They published Ivan Diviš, and even the memoirs of Václav Černý.

Josef Škvorecký and Zdena Salivarová|Photo: David Malík, CNC / Profimedia

“It’s hard to sum up everything Zdena Salivarová did in a short comment. She also worked as an editor and even a graphic designer for the publishing house; it mostly rested on her shoulders, including probably also sourcing the manuscripts and material.”

Josef Škvorecký, Bohumil Hrabal, and Zdena Salivarová|Photo: Hans Kaulertz, ČTK / Sueddeutsche Zeitung

The first books they published were their own, including Tankový prapor by Josef Škvorecký and Honzlová by Zdena Salivarová. But they then began publishing works by other authors who would not have otherwise had a platform.

And they didn’t just publish established authors; they also published new voices, especially those in exile. Some of these people might never have been heard of otherwise, including Jan Novák and Iva Pekárková.

After her husband’s death in 2012, she lived in Toronto, her second home, until her death. But she regularly visited Czechia after the Velvet Revolution.