Our Authors at the Frankfurt Book Fair
From 7 to 11 October 2026, Frankfurt will host the world’s largest book fair, with Czechia as this year’s Guest of Honour. Authors from Karolinum Press will also be in attendance, presenting their books in English translation.
On Thursday 8 October, the professional forum will feature discussions on publishing Czech literature abroad and how Czech literature is received in the English-speaking world. Martin Janeček – the deputy director of Karolinum Press and a member of the programme committee for the Czechia 2026 project – will be taking part in both.
The literary programme on Saturday 10 October will include the discussion What does literature from the margins bring? Stories of Czech and Slovak Roma from the Second World War to the present, organised in cooperation with Kher publishing house. The participants will include Karolína Ryvolová, a Romani studies scholar and editor of the new anthology of Romani literature Velvet Blues, and the writers Patrik Banga and Kateřina Tučková.
Sunday morning at the Czechia 2026 Pavilion will once again be dedicated to our authors. In the programme The Russian Archipelago at War with Ukraine: Culture and Contexts, Russian studies scholar Tomáš Glanc will be discussing his new book with American historian Marci Shore and German-Russian sociologist Mischa Gabowitsch. They will be followed by Tereza Matějčková, author of the forthcoming Who Says Anything about Winning? Eight Exercises in Philosophical Resignation, and Barbara Schmitz, a German philosopher based in Switzerland, in the programme Resignation as a path to freedom. The books by Tomáš Glanc and Tereza Matějčková are due to be published in English by Karolinum Press this October.
Several translators associated with Karolinum will also be appearing at the fair, including Julia Sherwood, Gerald Turner and Julia Różewicz, while our authors David Vaughan, Vratislav Maňák and Zuzana Říhová will also be featuring in the literary programme.
Ondřej Macl’s book České moře (The Czech Sea) – exploring Czech cultural history from the perspective of the seas and oceans – is being published by Karolinum this autumn, and he will be appearing in two themed programmes: the Friday discussion TO THE SEA! Where is (contemporary) Czech poetry heading? and the Sunday performance Where on earth is the Czech seaside?.
On Friday, the Czechia 2026 Pavilion will also host a presentation of the German translation of Václav Havel’s Někam jsem to ukryl (I Hid It Somewhere), marking the 90th anniversary of his birth, with Czech writer Jáchym Topol. The English edition of the book, translated by Paul Wilson, will be published by Karolinum in October under the title Lost and Found: Hidden Notes on My First Incarceration.
Thursday 8 October
11:45am
Czech literature series issued by foreign publishing houses
Featuring Ondřej Cikán, Alessandro De Vito, Julia Różewicz
Hosted by Martin Janeček
Czechia 2026 Pavilion, Harbour Stage
2:30pm
How Czech literature is received in the Anglophone world
Featuring Julia Sherwood, Diven Nagpal, Martin Janeček
Hosted by Jan Musil
Czechia 2026 Pavilion, Shore Stage
Saturday 10 October
10:00am
What does literature from the margins bring? Stories of Czech and Slovak Roma from the Second World War to the present
Featuring Patrik Banga, Karolína Ryvolová, Kateřina Tučková
Hosted by David Vaughan
Czechia 2026 Pavilion, Harbour Stage
Sunday 11 October
10:00am – 10:45am
The Russian Archipelago at War with Ukraine: Culture and Contexts
Featuring Tomáš Glanc, Marci Shore
Hosted by Mischa Gabowitsch
Czechia 2026 Pavilion, Harbour Stage
11:15am
Resignation as a path to freedom
Featuring Tereza Matějčková, Barbara Schmitz
Czechia 2026 Pavilion, Shore Stage
You can find the complete programme for the Czech Republic’s Guest of Honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair on the official Czechia 2026 website.
Translated by Graeme Dibble.
