The literary award for the best prose by a Slovak author in the past year – Anasoft litera – has been in existence for a decade. Experienced jurors from the ranks of literary scholars, critics and publicists prepare a selection for us every year, which makes sense to consider and narrow it down according to our own tastes and ideas.
The author is very critical of herself and our society and culture, but also of Swiss society, for which she was awarded a literary prize in Switzerland. Irena Brežná wrote this book in German, and it was translated into Slovak by Jana Cviková.
Jaroslava Blažková is a prominent author of books for children and young adults. Her novel for teenagers , My Brilliant Brother Robinson , deserves particular attention.
So we once again reached out to our friends from the publishing house and bookstore Artforum, a partner of the award, to be our guides and inspirers. Bookseller and editor Viktor Suchý selected authors and works that are worth repeated reading.
Balla - Great Love
Four-time finalist and winner in 2012 with the prose In the Name of the Father . In the current year, he has a chance to become the second double laureate thanks to a work that has an atypical title for Balla, but a typical ironic approach to the topic. The author is one of the best stylists in contemporary writing.
Dušan Dušek - Socks before departure
Dušan Dušek is a classic who needs no introduction. He has been in the Anasoft Litera final four times and in 2007 he received the readers' award for his prose Zima na ruky . This time he is in the final with his prose collection Sock Before Flight . The work can be read as a guide to remembering. It contains both intimate and universal themes.
Irena Brežná - The Ungrateful Stranger
Irena Brežná, a reporter by profession, is one of this year's favorites not only for the very topical topic of refugees, immigration and complicated dialogue with another culture, but also for an excellently written book that is based on the author's own experiences. Brežná herself experienced what it was like to flee her own country. She emigrated to Basel, Switzerland, and she describes all her attempts to integrate into a foreign society very openly and mercilessly.
Veronika Šikulová - Gap Fruit
Veronika Šikulová is a three-time finalist and the only one to receive the Readers' Award twice. Last year, she won the Anasoft Litera Award thanks to her mastery of concise, earthy storytelling about family relationships.
Jaroslava Blažková - Happyendy
Jaroslava Blažková is the second author from the selection who emigrated abroad, to Canada in 1968. Unlike Irena Brežná, however, she still writes in Slovak. She is a two-time finalist for the award and received the readers' award for her prose Happyendy in her first year. In this very powerful prose, the protagonist copes with her husband's illness and departure.
Pavel Vilikovsky
Pavel Vilikovský is rightly considered one of the best contemporary Slovak authors. He is a six-time finalist and two-time winner of the Anasoft litera award. In the very first year of the award, he became the winner with the prose collection Čarovný papagáj a iné kýče , and two years ago, for the first time in the history of the competition, his name was repeated in the winner's column. Pavel Vilikovský won the award this time for the collection of two short stories Prvá a posledná láska .
Jaro Rihák - Pentcho
Jaro Rihák is a film director, and the book Pentcho can be called a literary version of the script for a film he has not yet managed to make. The story takes place in 1940, when a group of Jews try to emigrate on a steamer. The book has excellent typographic design and is an example of a surprise – an unexpected finalist for the award.
