Host foreign rights catalogue spring 2020 / Exportní katalog nakladatelství Host jaro 2020

Spring

foreign rights catalogue 2020

Host — vydava­telství, s. r. o.

602 00 Brno Radlas 5 Czech Republic www.hostbrno.cz foreign rights tel.: +420 608 748 157 Dana Blatná e-mail: blatna@hostbrno.cz

Host has long been one of the most prestigious Czech publishers, especially in the area of contemporary Czech fiction, translated fiction, crime novels and thrillers, poetry, non-fiction and specialist literature. Now Host publishes children’s, SF, fantasy and YA literature, too.

The roots and interests of Brno based Host Publishers are linked with the magazine of the same name, which first appeared, in samizdat, in 1985. On the Czech book market Host now has the profile of a practically unique phenomenon. This is thanks to its well established editorial series, authors whose names are among the most prestigious and successful in Czech literature and the Host monthly magazine, which reflects on and enriches the Czech literary scene.

Host has introduced to Czech readers the crime novels of Stieg Larsson, ­David Lager­crantz, Lars Kepler, ­Jussi Adler­-Olsen, Peter May and Henning Mankell, which have been quick to occupy the top of the sales charts. Books by Czech authors Kateřina Tučková, Petra Soukupová, Jan Balabán, Jiří Hájíček, Bianca Bellová and Alena Mornštajnová have also become bestsellers. But Host can of course

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take pride in more than just its leading role in the sales charts. The content of its catalogue of publications is of remarkably high quality and includes many leading writers from abroad, including Jeffrey Eugenides, Olga Tokarczuk, Chimamanda Ngozi ­Adichie, Muriel Barbery, Fredrik Backman, Elena Chizhova and Czech writers including Antonín Bajaja, Radka Denemarková, Jakuba Katalpa, Jan Němec, Ivana Myšková and Petra Dvořáková. Host provides opportunities for début authors, too, be they poets, prose writers or scholars of literature (e.g. Matěj Hořava, Viktorie Hanišová, Dita Táborská, Vladimíra Valová).

Host has also provided a home for the prestigious Czech Library / Česká knižnice series of high-quality editions of classic Czech works. Since 2009 Host has published annually a volume entitled The Best Czech Poetry / Nejlepší české básně.

Contents

Jiří Hájíček Sailing Ships on Labels / Plachetnice na vinětách novel; 6

Petra Dvořáková Crows / Vrány novella; 7

Petra Soukupová Weird Kids’ Club / Klub divných dětí children’s book; 8

Petr Čichoň Cable Car over the Landek / Lanovka nad Landekem novel; 9

Iva Hadj Moussa A Šalina Named Desire / Šalina do stanice touha humorous novel; 10

Kristina Májová I Know Nothing about Other People / O ostatních nevím nic novel; 11

Pavel Bareš Meta / Meta fantasy thriller; 12

Anna Beata Háblová Non­‑places in Cities / Nemísta měst essays; 13

Luděk Navara Stories of the Iron Curtain / Příběhy železné opony non­‑fiction; 14

Tadeáš Šíma The Length of Africa by Bi­cycle / Na kole přes Afriku non­‑fiction; 15

Jiří Hájíček

Sailing Ships on Labels / Plachetnice na vinětách

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Jiří Hájíček (born 1967) is a prose writer and poet, the author of ten books. Around 100,000 copies of his books have been sold in the Czech Republic alone. His books have been published in ten languages. He has won many prizes — most recently his novel The Rainstick / Dešťová hůl was voted the Book of the Year 2016 in the prestigious Lidové noviny poll and received the 2017 Czech Book Prize. In September 2016, a feature film based on the novel The Green Horses Rustlers / Zloději zelených koní was premiered in the Czech Republic.

The distance between people can be endless.

to be published in June 2020

novel 296 pages hardback isbn 978-80-275-0209-7

Marie, a divorced, forty­‑seven­‑year­‑old university lecturer in literature, has ended up spending the summer in her sister’s half­‑empty apartment in Český Krumlov.

From there, she drives out to the country to visit her parents, who are seriously ill. In her free moments, she braves the hordes of tourists in Krumlov’s historical, picturesque streets — which is where she meets Filip, a young bookseller. The early days of their romance are redolent of hot July days with numerous literary connotations.

But nothing is more important to Marie right now than straightening out her relationship with her sister and taking care of their parents, the father dominant, the mother mild­‑mannered and self­‑sacrificing. Plus, she must get used to her solitude — which is like being stuck in a time warp pregnant with memories, and also serves notice of old age. As she looks back on the family tradition of strong male role models, Marie asks herself where her life should go next, and what she should do with her “Shakespearean love”…

Petra Dvořáková

Crows / Vrány

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Petra Dvořáková (born 1977) is a prose writer and script writer, the author of two books of nonfiction, three books for children and four books of fiction for adults. The novels The Village / Dědina and The Surgeon / Chirurg have become bestsellers. Her books have been published in Slovenia and Albania; rights have been sold to Poland. She won the Magnesia Litera prize for a work of journalism in 2007 and her first book for children Julie and Words / Julie mezi slovy was awarded the Golden Ribbon prize and the Teachers’ Prize.

An intimate tale that ends where the darkness begins, in which the writer of the successful novels The Village / Dědina and The ­Surgeon / Chirurg is on excel‑ lent form.

published in January 2020

novella 184 pages hardback isbn 978-80-275-0144-1

That twelve­‑year­‑old Bára is on the brink of adolescence is apparent from her artistic gift and her unrestrained nature, which sometimes runs out of control. With the onset of puberty, the conflict between Bára’s spontaneity and her mother’s desire for a life free of complication intensifies dramatically, not least when Bára is compared with her slightly older, more submissive sister. As Bára gives her natural behaviour ever freer rein, those around her become ever fiercer in their attempts to control her incomprehensible, outside­ ‑of­‑the­‑box needs. Her gift is noticed by a young art teacher nicknamed Frodo, who offers sensitive support for her struggle with the demands of her family, but whose apparent decency cloaks some very dark places.

In the trench warfare of misunderstanding, Bára sustains one loss after another. Her only allies are the crows nesting in the park, below her window. In these crows Bára recognizes an instinct which informs the lives of animals and humans alike, and she feels ever closer to their world. Will anyone offer her help she can use?

Is there any other way out of this?

Petra Soukupová

Weird Kids’ Club / Klub divných dětí

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Petra Soukupová (born 1982) is one of today’s most successful Czech wri‑ ters. She has published five books for adults and three for children. She has won or been shortlisted for many prizes; her books appear regularly on the best‑ seller lists and have been published in ten languages. Petra Soukupová also works as a dramaturge and screenwriter.

A feature­‑film adaptation of her short story “On Short Leash” / “Na ­krátko” from the volume To Disappear / Zmizet was premiered in 2018.

Mila, Petr, Katka and Franta are weird.

Or at least that’s what others think.

published in November 2019

children’s book 216 pages hardback isbn 978-80-275-0129-8 illustrations by Nikola Logosová awards: shortlisted for Czech Book Award, Czech Grand Design Award, The Most Beautiful Czech Books Award 2019 and Golden Ribbon

Ten­‑year old Mila likes animals — especially insects and most of all spiders. She is also able to “vanish off the face of the earth”. When she concentrates on something, she finds everything else ceases to exist.

Petr is in the fourth year, but he looks like a first year.

He draws wonderful pictures, but in the night he cannot sleep, as he is afraid of the dark. Well, not so much the dark as what lies hidden in the darkness. And when he falls asleep he has dreadful dreams. Katka has no friends, and she thinks she is fat and ugly. She’s afraid to talk to people, and she’s only happy when she’s reading. Franta’s legs are in a bad way, so he has to walk on crutches. He’s angry about his disability, and he’s mean to people. He enjoys making videos for YouTube, particularly provocative ones.

These four meet by chance. At first they are not even friends, just weird kids who spend time together, but then they plan to run away from home together and they have an experience that is not to be forgotten.

Primarily for teenagers, this book can also be recommended to parents or grandparents to help them to understand the youngsters closest to them and even to get them to recall the days when they themselves were one of the “weird kids”.

Petr Čichoň

Cable Car over the Landek / Lanovka nad Landekem

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Petr Čichoň (born 1969) is a poet and writer. After his university studies, he worked as an editor for the literary magazines and publishers Votobia, Host and Vetus Via. Since 1998 he has worked as an architect, running his own studio. In addition to several volumes of poetry, he is author of the novel Silesian Novel / Slezský román (2011), which was nominated for the Josef Škvorecký Award. He comes from the Hlučín region and lives in Brno.

A politically motivated murder marks the life of a whole family.

published in May 2020

novel 174 pages hardback isbn 978-80-275-0210-3

This novel is set in the Hlučín region, in the Czech­ ‑Polish borderlands, in a near future in which the European Union is turning into a federation.

A life of peace is disrupted by the building of a cable car, which will connect the former industrial site at ­Dolní Vítkovice with the Landek hill. Foundryman Johan Kott’s daughter is recently divorced and returns to live in Landek. And coal miner Truda Lassová’s widowed son — whose wife, president of the Silesian League, a Polish separatist party, was murdered in mysterious circumstances — becomes a frequent visitor.

Johan and Truda live in houses under the Landek rock, on the outskirts of the mining city of Ostrava. ­Johan wears braces, a foundryman’s working trousers and a threadbare shirt. What he likes best is being in the garden, in whose pond he keeps goldfish and cools the beer he and his friend Truda drink.

The novel shows that people who live alongside one another can perceive their national identity in very different ways. Will death or the building of a cable car do anything to change this sense of identity?

The local dialect gives added colour to the distinctive world of the Hlučín region.

Iva Hadj Moussa

A Šalina Named Desire / Šalina do stanice touha

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Iva Hadj Moussa (born 1979) comes from Písek. She is a graduate in Psycho‑ logy from Masaryk University in Brno, where she lived for ten years. She now lives in Prague and makes her living as a copywriter. She is the screenwriter of The World’s Smallest Elephant / Nejmenší slon na světě, a TV series for very young children. The novel A Šalina Named Desire / Šalina do stanice touha, set largely in Brno, is her first work of fiction.

They’re young, they’re beautiful, and they’re from the city of Brno.

published in March 2020

humorous novel 293 pages hardback isbn 978-80-275-0188-5

Humour is back in Czech fiction! And in Iva Hadj Moussa’s novel, this humour is not the wise, kindly sort; it is irony­‑tinged, cutting and ruthless.

They say that our dreams and aspirations are drivers of progress, setting humans apart from the other animals. We must ask ourselves if this maxim applies when the object of our desire belongs to someone else.

And whether we’re prepared to use any means necessary to get it.

Sandra, a staffer on a lifestyle magazine, and Mirek, an unemployable drifter, are missing an ingredient that would make them happy: money. Plus, Sandra yearns for popularity on social media — after all, unlike all the others, she actually deserves it. All Mirek’s entrepreneurial initiatives come to nought, and he is drowning in debt. Sandra gets to know a famous but weedy composer called Johannes. Then she has a simple idea that she believes will turn her and Mirek’s lives upside down. And so it does.

Kristina Májová

I Know Nothing about Other People / O ostatních nevím nic

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Kristina Májová (born 1989) stu‑ died Scriptwriting and Dramaturgy at the Film and TV School of the Aca‑ demy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). Her screenplays have won several awards. Since 2016, Kristina Májová has been regularly engaged as a script editor by the Film Centre of Czech Television.

How many times must you wish something before it comes true?

to be published in June 2020

novel 336 pages hardback isbn 978-80-7577-542-9

Kristina Májová’s first novel is a dramatic tale of childhood and adolescence where nothing is more difficult than coming to terms with your own dreams and fantasies. And living your own life.

As a small girl, Alice realizes that she knows nothing about other people. After her mother goes off to work, she feels lonely all day long. Her grandmother is there to look after her, but Alice can’t stand her. But it won’t always be like this. She has Him to talk to at night in a secret language, you see. And He will make all her dreams come true — some now, some many years from now, but definitely all of them. Alice is certain that all she must do is make her wishes repeatedly. 5,647 times, to be exact.

When Alice is a child, everything works out for her: she makes a friend, finds a secret love, even gets a new grandmother. But the older Alice gets, the more she realizes that wishes don’t always turn out as you imagined them to be. It reaches a point where she begins to wonder if He actually wishes her well…

And if he doesn’t, how will she live in a world where everything she wishes for is turned against her?

Pavel Bareš

Meta / Meta

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Pavel Bareš (born 1994) made his literary debut in 2016 with the novel The Cronos Project / Projekt Kronos, which was very well received and published in two editions. In 2019, a continuation of this book, Children of Cronos / Kronovy děti, was pub‑ lished. He teaches English, and by night he fronts the rock band The Jay. An avid video gamer and reader of comics, he is also a traveller and yachtsman.

Superhumans exist.

But none of them are superheroes.

From the author of the successful Cronos Project / Projekt Kronos series.

to be published in June 2020

fantasy thriller 336 pages hardback isbn 978-80-275-0242-4

In another world, Lenka Křížová could have been a regular superhero. In her own world, however, no one needs spandex and cape enthusiasts. Quite simply, in the twenty­-first century there is no demand for amateur hunters of criminals.

As the world around her devours every new meta­ ‑sensation, Lenka lives the life of a university student for whom the world is her oyster. She sleeps off hangovers, and she fails to get up for her lectures or answer her mother’s calls. Sometimes, she uses her “superpowers” to help out a friend with her exams. She has never craved fame, the camera or hordes of fans.

Yet people can’t get enough of show business and scandal.

But it seems she has a fan, whether she wants one or not.

Anna Beata Háblová

Non­‑places in Cities / Nemísta měst

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Anna Beata Háblová (born 1983) is an architect, urban planner and poet.

Her first book on her profession is the intergenre Cities of Walls / Města zdí (2017), which, in the form of essays, short stories and comic strips, looks at the history, purpose and origins of shopping centres, including discus‑ sion of their relation to the city of their location. Her reviews of architecture and urbanism can be heard on Czech Radio’s Vltava station. She lives in Prague.

Non­‑places in Cities / Nemísta měst explores from various angles the neglected, forgotten and transitory spaces in cities.

published in November 2019

essays 168 pages paperback isbn 978-80-7577-992-2

Some non­‑places originate by development that lacks a concept, others for lack of a reason for people to stop there. Some irritate us and turn us away, while in others we find refuge from the predictability of public space.

The author’s essay­‑like chapters draw on key sources from the fields of architecture, urbanism, philosophy, sociology and geography. The short­‑story­‑like “stopover” with which each chapter is introduced enables the reader to approach the matter at hand from a broader perspective. Rob has settled into an unused space at a railway crossing on the outskirts of London. Having abandoned the life of a small farmer set out for him, Chang has turned to sorting plastics, living in proximity with their filth and stink. For Rami, the refugee camp in which he lives is a prison which he has little hope of escaping. But there are many others here for whom some kind of relationship with place is essential.

Through the history and character of place, we discover “home” — our place in the world. Are non­‑places part of a city’s natural development, and as such an inevitability in this era of flux and networks, or are they an outcome of our failure and cluelessness?

Luděk Navara

Stories of the Iron Curtain / Příběhy železné opony

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Luděk Navara (born 1964) is a jour‑ nalist, screenwriter and author of nonfiction who is a regular con‑ tributor to Czech Television and the daily Aktuálně.cz. He is a winner of the Karel Havlíček Borovský Prize and the Antonín Švehla Prize, and a holder of the St Adalbert Silver Medal.

As an investigative journalist, his topics include the crimes of communism and Nazism. He is author or co­‑author of dozens of successful books.

To mark thirty years since the fall of the communist regime, the first volume of Stories of the Iron Curtain / Příběhy železné opony is being reissued in a new, expanded edition.

published in November 2019

non­‑fiction 360 pages paperback isbn 978-80-7577-236-7

Freedom Train, Wall of Death, Men Turned into Frogs, The Slovak Icarus, The Iron Curtain: today, the titles and subtitles of chapters of this book may read more like titles of surrealistic poems. Between 1948 and 1989, however, they referred to current and often tragic facts of life.

Closely watched borders between communist Czechoslovakia on the one hand and West Germany and Austria on the other became the scene of thousands of dramas, when Czechs and Slovaks, East Germans and Poles tried to escape from the “camp of peace and socialism”. According to the Stasi, Czechoslovakia was the most successful of the communist states in guarding its borders, effectively preventing more than ninety percent of attempts by would­‑be escapees.

For many years, Luděk Navara has taken an active professional interest in the repressive nature of the communist regime and attempts to resist it.

In Stories of the Iron Curtain, he tells of individuals and families that tried to flee socialist Czechoslovakia.

His three Stories of the Iron Curtain / Příběhy železné opony books (first editions published in 2004, 2006 and 2007) have been adapted for television, as a serial of the same name.

Tadeáš Šíma

The Length of Africa by Bicycle / Na kole přes Afriku

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Tadeáš Šíma (born 1992) comes from Prachatice in South Bohemia.

The Length of Africa by Bicycle / Na kole přes Afriku is his first book.

From Prachatice in South Bohemia to Cape Town

to be published in June 2020

non­‑fiction 327 pages hardback isbn 978-80-275-0271-4

Many small boys dream of seeing the natural world of Africa for themselves. But not many grown boys find the strength to realize this dream. This is the story of a dream that became reality. It begins in a bicycle saddle, under the Libín mountain in South Bohemia.

So what happens to the protagonist on his travels?

What kind of people does he meet? How does he get on in the sand and wind of the Sahara? Why is he carrying a pickaxe handle? He longs to see an elephant in the jungle, but what happens when he does? And what does he discover in the dark, of which he has always been afraid? Join him on a journey over mountains, across deserts and savannas, and through jungles.

Tadeáš Šíma first set out for Africa on his bicycle in 2016. Starting in his hometown, he pedalled all the way to Rabat in Morocco, where a group of young bandits robbed him of his bike and his will to go on.

A year later, he set out again, cycling from the Moroccan port city of Tangier along the west coast, all the way to Cape Town — a journey of 13,000 kilometres that took him seven months. It is this journey that this book is about.