Writer Václav Jamek to receive PEN Club’s Karel Čapek Award

Poet, novelist, essayist, former diplomat and translator from French, Václav Jamek, will be presented the Karel Čapek Award by the Czech PEN Club. Mr. Jamek, who is 70, has received numerous awards for his works in both the Czech Republic and France, including the Tom Stoppard Prize as well as the Josef Jungmann Award for translation. In 1999 he was named Officer of France’s Order of Arts and Letters. He writes both in Czech and French.

The Karel Čapek Award was established by the PEN Club’s Czech branch in 1994 and is presented to outstanding writers every two years. Among its previous holders are the former president and writer Václav Havel, Arnošt Lustig and Ivan Klíma.

The award will be presented at the Mayor’s seat in Prague on Thursday evening.

Author: Ruth Fraňková