Host fiction foreign rights catalogue spring 2026

Host — vydavatelství, s. r. o.

Radlas 5

602 00 Brno

Czechia

www.hostbrno.cz

foreign rights

Dana Blatná Literary Agency

tel.: +420 608 748 157

e-mail: blatna@dbagency.cz

www.dbagency.cz

At Host, one of the largest independent publishing houses in Czechia, we have focused on contemporary Czech and world writing for almost thirty years. The Host brand has become a guarantee of high-quality literature in many genres. We are renowned for the care we take with our editing and the excellence of our graphic design. Our primary aim is to find the right readers for the outstanding books we offer. We take pains to provide ongoing care for our books and their authors after publication.

We currently publish about 150 titles annually, in genres including the following: general fiction, SF and fantasy, crime fiction, the thriller, children’s literature, popular science, specialist literature, comics, poetry.

Host is proud to publish many leading Czech authors. Their popularity with readers and the wealth of literary awards to come their way confirm us in our belief that painstaking care for a book — from manuscript stage through to the last detail — makes perfect sense. Our authors include Alena Mornštajnová and Kateřina Tučková, whose bestselling works account for hundreds of thousands of copies and have been translated into many languages. Our Czech literature programme comprises all the genres mentioned above.

Our literature in translation programme, too, has a great deal to offer. The various stories we take from all over the world are characterized by readability, literary excellence and — last but not least — careful translation. Thanks to us, Czech readers are acquainted with works by authors including Annie Ernaux, Olga Tokarczuk, Fredrik Backman, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nino Haratischwili and Muriel Barbery

Our crime fiction programme is an integral part of what we do. In their chosen setting of criminal investigation, our authors respond to topical issues — a matter of great

importance to us. We regard the publication of the first part of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series as a significant moment in our history, for it was this that launched the Nordic noir phenomenon on the Czech market. Our best­performing authors in this genre currently include Lars Kepler, Jussi AdlerOlsen and Peter May. In recent years we have strengthened our list by adding SF and fantasy, young adult fiction and children’s literature programmes. As we have no fear of the unexplored, we delight in introducing new trends to the Czech market. The most interesting names on our SF­in­translation list include R. F. Kuang, Ted Chiang, Anthony Ryan and Liu Cixin; our Czech SF authors, notably Pavel Bareš and Petra Stehlíková, have also performed very well. As for children’s literature, our titles include works by successful authors Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński, Marianne Dubuc, Emilia Dziubak, Oksana Bula, and Roberto Santiago. Another focus of ours is the high­ quality Czech book for children, by which we bring together an original story with great artwork.

In terms of society, politics and art, the world is changing in all kinds of ways. Fortunately, we will always have books to capture this change. Some of these you will find on our non-fiction list. In the Klimax series, Host publishes original works on issues of climate change.

The history of Host is associated with the literary review of the same name, which first appeared in 1985 as a samizdat anthology. The Host book­publishing house was established in the 1996 for poetry and literary theory, genres to which it remains true. Since the Nineties, the publishing house has been owned by Miroslav Balaštík, Tomáš Reichel and Martin Stöhr.

You can view our books and meet our authors and team at regular events, including author’s readings, panel discussions and book fairs. We take part every year in the international book fairs in Frankfurt, London, Bologna and, of course, Prague, as well as fairs in other parts of Czechia.

Petra Klabouchová

She / Vona novel; 6

Viktorie Hanišová

Daddy’s Burning / Hoří ti táta novel; 7

Petra Soukupová

Katka Won’t Be Weird Any More / Katka už nebude divná novel / YA; 8

Petra Dvořáková

The Doctor’s Surgery / Ordinace feel-good novel; 9

Iva Hadj Moussa

Eva of the Sea / Mořská Eva novel; 10

Tereza D. Reichelová

Acheron / Acheron novel / utopia; 11

Kateřina Tučková

Gerta / Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch novel; 12

recommended 16

Petra Klabouchová (b. 1980) worked for several years for the regional press and television. She now divides her time between Italy, the USA and Czechia, working in the music industry as manager of a number of rock groups. She is the author of a number of books, the most successful of which include the crime novel Sources of the Moldau / Prameny Vltavy (2021) and Ignis fatuus (2024), a mystery horror set in the Bohemian Forest which was nominated for a Magnesia Litera award. Her books have become bestsellers in Czechia, and have been published in French, Italian, Macedonian and Polish. Rights have been sold to Egypt, Germany and Serbia.

Chilling tale from a time when the Bohemian Forest was deluged with bloodied snow. Inspired by one of the greatest natural and human disasters ever to occur there.

It is April 1853, and the remote settlements below the Huťský štít peak are awaiting the arrival of spring. For them, however, spring will never come. What comes instead is snowfall so heavy that it buries everything and everyone. Then come hunger, unknown epidemics, horror, and madness. Some choose death. Others renounce their humanity in the fight for survival. Echoes of this long­ago tragedy continue to be passed down by descendants of one of the affected families. Meanwhile, the horrific legacy awaits its revelation.

With elements of both horror and crime, this novel tells an ancient tale of the fight between good and evil, of forgiveness against hatred. It is about fear and misunderstanding passed down from father to son – till the moment someone with no right to a name in a man’s world enters the stage – She.

novel hardback

326 pages

isbn 978-80-275-2859-2

‘I was set on the trail of a forgotten story from the mountains of the Bohemian Forest by an old tale of Klostermann’s and a memorial plaque on the wall of a chapel in Cimruky commemorating a long­ago tragedy,’ says the author. ‘The reader should see into the hidden history of old wrongs in stages, as I did when piecing together the old stories. And they will ask themselves whether the predetermined thread of fate can be broken.’

Daddy’s Burning / Hoří ti táta Viktorie Hanišová

Viktorie Hanišová (b. 1980) is a graduate in English and German from Charles University, Prague. She debuted in 2015 with the well-received novel Anežka about the dysfunctional relationship of a mother and her adoptive daughter, concealed racism and stereotyping. Also her other books – The Mushroom Gatherer / Houbařka, Reconstruction / Rekonstrukce, A Long Track / Dlouhá trať and Sunday Afternoon / Neděle odpoledne – explore various family traumas. Her books have been published in thirteen languages including English, German, Italian and Spanish.

A novel about how politics is always personal — and sometimes deadly. The author has entered the realm of

social fiction – with more than impressive results.

to be published in May novel hardback

216 pages isbn 978-80-275-2999-5

A man has set fire to himself in front of the Chamber of Deputies. The reason for the act is unclear; it may have something to do with a challenge set by a populist extremist. Lada is a successful writer – and the daughter of the man who self­immolated in protest. She is grieving, angry, searching for her father’s motives. On top of this, she has been struggling to come up with good ideas, and her publisher is demanding a book. The inevitable happens: the family investigation feeds into a manuscript. And Lada’s life turns into a hell as she is forced to confront populists, a divided society and her own complicated relationship with her father. Viktorie Hanišová’s novel submerges her heroine in the depths of contemporary society and its neuroses.

‘Stories used to pour out of me as if by their own will,’ says the author. ‘This is no longer so. Should I force myself to draw them out? Does an author have the right to steal other people’s personal stories and shape them in writing? Is it justifiable to step back from the world to view it as a source of inspiration? Along with politics, these are themes that trouble me deeply. Once I had this figured out, it took me just a few weeks to produce a manuscript.’

Petra Soukupová

Petra Soukupová (b. 1982) is one of today’s most successful Czech writers. She has published eight books for adults and four for children. She has won or been shortlisted for many prizes; her books appear regularly on the bestseller lists and have been published in eighteen languages. Petra Soukupová also works as a dramaturge and screenwriter.

Katka Won’t Be Weird Any More / Katka už nebude divná

A coming-of-age story about finding one’s own identity and the journey to self-acceptance

Almost fifteen­year­ old Katka spends most of her time alone—and she loves reading. She also loves eating. Her classmates consider her a bit of an oddball. But Katka is sure that everything will be different at high school, and right after the entrance exams, she makes a resolution: she’ll lose weight.

At first, it’s just an effort to adopt a healthier lifestyle but it slowly becomes apparent that the path to the “new me” she dreams of isn’t as simple as she imagined. Her desire for change begins to spiral out of control. High school does change everything—but in ways she didn’t expect.

While anorexia plays a major role in Katka’s story, the heart of the novel—true to Petra Soukupová’s style— is the exploration of human relationships.

Petra Dvořáková

Petra Dvořáková (b. 1977) is the author of two books of non-fiction, four books for children and eight books of fiction for adults. She has won or been shortlisted for many prizes, having established herself as a best-selling author with the novel The Surgeon / Chirurg (2019) and the novella Crows / Vrány (2020), winning the Book of Year award in the Literary Prose category for the latter. Her books have been published in eight languages. She is also a best-selling author in Poland.

The Doctor’s Surgery / Ordinace

Humour as a cure for a soft heart (and obesity). A feel-good novel about a general practitioner and his problems. Thank goodness he has friends!

to be published in May

feel-good novel hardback

312 pages isbn 978-80-275-3058-8

There’s a horde in the waiting room again. Mum, the nurse, is keeping order by telling people off. How Patrik would love to end surgery hours early and go home! But patients and runny noses don’t ask how the doctor is feeling. He and his colleague Marika must soldier on in the fight against high blood pressure, diabetes, the common cold, and bare­faced hypochondria. Mum supplements the daily round by dishing out old wives’ remedies to patients and Patrik alike; sometimes you might ask yourself which of them is the doctor. Fortunately, a friend is always on hand. Above all, there is Hanka, with whom Patrik has been living for a while and hopes soon to make a family. But little things keep getting in the way. Notably Patrik’s obesity and his unfortunate way with words. Maybe Little Drake too. But Patrik knows how to face up to his problems. Once he has said “enough” to his obesity and put Mum in her place at the surgery, his life will be perfect. Or will it?

Měkké srdce a kila navíc jdou léčit jedině úsměvem

Eva of the Sea / Mořská Eva Iva Hadj Moussa

Iva Hadj Moussa (b. 1979) is a graduate in Psychology from Masaryk University in Brno. She is author of the works of fiction The Havíř House / Havířovina, A Šalina Named Desire / Šalina do stanice touha and A Demon from a Housing Estate / Démon ze sídliště. In 2024, her novel about life’s missteps, music, and clashes between boomers and the younger generations Heavy Souls / Těžké duše was published. She works as a psychotherapist for children and young people and also presents a podcast about child psychology.

It’s never too late to take a breath… A late comingof-age novel about a woman trying to survive the pressure of family, the authorities, the media, and her own ideas about who she should be.

In her forties, Eva is leading an ordinary, unremarkable life –until all her old certainties begin to come apart and a series of unexpected events culminates in the shocking realization that while others are drowning, she is catching her breath. Will this newfound ability make a superhero out of Eva? Or will it make her a woman who at last chooses to be herself, although this self is strange, elusive, even dangerous? This novel’s tragicomic images blend fantasy with intimacy and present a satire of petty­bourgeois expectations. With insight and tenderness, the author shows how a person can fall apart, put themselves together again and find strength in something that will ultimately provide a key to freedom…

novel hardback

255 pages

isbn 978-80-275-2849-3 published in March

‘A few years ago, a thought occurred to me as I was swimming in the lake: What if I can breathe underwater but don’t know it yet?’ asks the author. ‘How would this ability change my life? This spontaneous thought gave rise to an idea for a novel. I wanted it to touch on the theme of otherness. How do we relate to our bodies, and what makes us different from each other? How does society react to our differences? How would people relate to such a superhero? Would they admire her? Would they fear her? And can a gift that sets us apart end up being a burden?’

Tereza D. Reichelová

Tereza D. Reichelová (b. 1994) is a member of the Bike Kitchen Prague collective and a graduate student in the Department of Political Science at the Faculty of Arts of Prague’s Charles University, where her focus is epistemological anarchism. Her work has appeared in the cultural magazines A2 and Kapitál. She works for the human rights film festival One World.

Acheron / Acheron

A paradoxical feminist utopia set in the near future. A visionary novel about endings and new beginnings, the fragility of the world and the power of community.

to be published in May

novel / utopia paperback

344 pages

isbn 978-80-275-2926-1

Acheron

The year is 2118. The story of a woman who loses and finds the world — and herself — unfolds in the heart of a free Europe transformed into an ecological and feminist fortress. In a landscape where people cultivate communities instead of states and plant trees rather than build monuments, personal loss is intertwined with the history of an entire continent.

With the poetry of Ursula Le Guin and the acuteness of perception of Aldous Huxley, the author paints a picture of Europe after the collapse of the old order – a world born of pain but still yearning for tenderness, freedom and meaning.

The author has succeeded in showing the younger generation’s current dissatisfaction with the state of things and its often revolutionary approach to problem­solving.

‘In principle, I see no problem in imagining the end of capitalism and a 2118 society that is feminist, compostable, solidary, anarchist, scientific, healthy, free, more­thanhuman, democratic, fractal,’ says the author. ‘It’s just that as I see it, this is a hermetically sealed fortress Europe. Unfortunately, I can only get angry about this, in the manner of the anti­globalization anarchists of 2018. But what if Hell can be moved? Acheron is a story about two women and harrowing dilemmas that keep raising logical paradoxes.’

Host Utopický román z blízké budoucnosti

Tereza D. Reichelová

Tučková

Kateřina Tučková (b. 1980) is a prose writer, playwright, publicist and art historian, one of the most successful contemporary Czech writers. More than 450,000 copies of her books have been sold in the Czech Republic alone. She has won many domestic literary awards, including Magnesia Litera Awards and the State Prize in Literature. She also has received the Premio Libro d’Europa at the Book Fair in Salerno, Italy. Her books have been published in twenty-four languages.

Gerta / Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch

One of the most successful Czech novels of the last two decades has been now adapted for the screen. The book has sold over 100,000 copies in Czechia alone.

published in March (first published in 2009)

novel paperback

416 pages isbn 978-80-275-2780-9

Gerta Schnirch, a two ­part television film based on Kateřina Tučková’s award­winning novel The Expulsion of Gerta Schnirch, was premiered on HBO Max in February 2026 in 14 European countries. This mini­series is an international co ­production between Czech Television, Negativ, HBO, and Arte. It is directed by Tomáš Mašín.

Awards:

Magnesia Litera 2010 ­ Readers’ award; shortlisted for Jiří Orten Prize, Josef Škvorecký Prize and Magnesia Litera in the Prose category, 2010; French edition (Charleston / Leduc, 2024) – shortlisted for Prix littéraire des Ambassades francophones de République tchèque 2025

Foreign editions:

Italian (Barbés, 2011), Hungarian (Kalligram, 2012), German (Klak Verlag, 2018, rights have expired), Slovakian (Tatran, 2019), Polish (Afera, 2019), Macedonian (Kultura, 2019, rights have expired), English (Amazon Crossing, 2021), Greek (Alexandria, 2023), Latvian (Jumava, 2024), French (Charleston / Leduc, 2024), Lithuanian (Balto, 2025)

Rights sold to:

Italy (Keller editore, second edition), Serbia (Treći trg), Bulgaria (Colibri)

Selected backlist

Patrik Banga

The Real Way Out / Skutečná cesta ven memoir; 2022

Pavel Bareš

Jimmy the Sloth and His Backup Band / Lenochod Jimmy & jeho backup band fantasy novel; 2023

The Cronos Legacy / Kronův odkaz sci-fi novel; 2021

Meta / Meta fantasy thriller; 2020

Children of Cronos / Kronovy děti sci-fi novel; 2019

The Cronos Project / Projekt Kronos sci-fi novel; 2017, 2019

Petra Dvořáková

The Return / Návrat novel; 2025

Wild Cherry Trees / Pláňata novel; 2023, 2024

The Garden / Zahrada novel; 2022

Crows / Vrány novella; 2020

The Surgeon / Chirurg novel; 2019, 2020

The Village / Dědina novel; 2018, 2020

The Net / Sítě three short stories; 2016, 2022

I am Hunger / Já jsem hlad non-fiction; 2009, 2013, 2025

Transformed Dreams / Proměněné sny non-fiction; 2006, 2013

Klára Elšíková Pacanka / Pacanka novel; 2024

Jan Folný

A Weekend in London / Víkend v Londýně novel; 2018

Little Queers / Buzíčci short stories; 2013

Anna Beata Háblová Beliefs / Víry novel; 2025

The Shift / Směna novel; 2022

Jiří Hájíček

Dragon on a Dirt Road / Drak na polní cestě novel; 2024, 2025

Sailing Ships on Labels / Plachetnice na vinětách novel; 2020, 2021

The Rainstick / Dešťová hůl novel; 2016, 2017

Memories of a Village Dance / Vzpomínky na jednu vesnickou tancovačku short stories; 2014, 2015

Fish Blood / Rybí krev novel; 2012, 2014

Football Diaries / Fotbalové deníky novella; 2007

Rustic Baroque / Selský baroko novel; 2005, 2009, 2013

The Green Horse Rustlers / Zloději zelených koní novel; 2001, 2016

Petr Hanel

You Know Shit about Stars / O hvězdách víš hovno YA novel; 2024

Viktorie Hanišová

Sunday Afternoon / Neděle odpoledne novel; 2022

Concrete and Clay / Beton a hlína book of interviews; 2021

A Long Track / Dlouhá trať short stories; 2020

Reconstruction / Rekonstrukce novel; 2019, 2020

The Mushroom Gatherer / Houbařka novel; 2018, 2020

Anežka / Anežka novel; 2015

Markéta Hejkalová

A Century on the Waves / Století na vlnách novel; 2023

The House before the Square / Dům pod náměstím novel; 2022

Matěj Hořava Stopover / Mezipřistání novella; 2020

Distilled Spirit / Pálenka novella; 2014

Lidmila Kábrtová

Waiting for the Trigger / Čekání na spoušť novel; 2021

Places in the Dark / Místa ve tmě short stories; 2018

Whom Foxes Drink Up / Koho vypijou lišky short stories; 2013

Jakuba Katalpa Úlice / Úlice novel; 2025

Zuzana’s Breath / Zuzanin dech novel; 2020, 2021

The Den / Doupě novel; 2017, 2021

Germans / Němci novel; 2012, 2014

Is Soil to Be Eaten? / Je hlína k snědku? novella; 2006, 2021

Petra Klabouchová

The Spirit of Pankrác / Duch Pankráce novel; 2025

Ignis fatuus / Ignis fatuus horror novel; 2024, 2025

By the North Wall / U severní zdi novel; 2023, 2024

Sources of the Moldau / Prameny Vltavy detective novel; 2021, 2024

Jiří Klečka Blackbird / Černý kos detective novel; 2025

Vilém Koubek

Hammering Nails / Zatloukání hřebů horror novel; 2024

Eugen Liška

The Creation / Stvoření novel; 2017

Vratislav Maňák

The Death of the Old Masha / Smrt staré Maši short stories; 2022

Rubik’s Cube / Rubikova kostka novel; 2016

Polythene Clothes / Šaty z igelitu short stories; 2011

Alena Mornštajnová

Wasp Time / Čas vos novel; 2025

The Woods in the Home / Les v domě novel; 2023, 2024

November Fall / Listopád novel; 2021, 2022

The Years of Silence / Tiché roky novel; 2019, 2021

Hana / Hana novel; 2017, 2018

The Little Hotel / Hotýlek novel; 2015, 2018

Blind Map / Slepá mapa novel; 2013, 2018

Iva Hadj Moussa

Heavy Souls / Těžké duše novel; 2024

The Havíř House / Havířovina novel; 2022

Ivana Myšková

White Animals Are Very Often Deaf / Bílá zvířata jsou velmi často hluchá short stories; 2017

Jiří Padevět

1945 / 1945 short stories; 2022

Republic / Republika short stories; 2020

Dreams and Axes / Sny a sekyry short stories; 2019

Barbed Wire and Nooses / Ostny a oprátky short stories; 2018

Daniel Petr

Reading the Movement of Coordinates / Odečítání pohybu souřadnic novel; 2022

Nurse Death / Sestra smrt detective novel; 2018

The Magpie on the Gallows / Straka na šibenici novel; 2015

Michal Přibáň

Only Twice for Everything / Všechno je jenom dvakrát novel; 2016

Nela Rywiková

Children of Anger / Děti hněvu detective novel; 2016

House No. 6 / Dům číslo 6 detective novel; 2013

Petra Slováková

Memories of Tomorrow / Vzpomínky na zítřek fantasy YA novel; 2022

Lord of the Wizards / Pán čarodějů fantasy YA novel; 2020

Fragments of Time / Střípky času fantasy YA novel; 2019

Petra Soukupová

Marta Doesn’t Want Children / Marta děti nechce novel; 2024, 2025

No One Is Alone / Nikdo není sám novel; 2022, 2023

Things Whose Time Has Come / Věci, na které nastal čas novel; 2020, 2021

Best for Everybody / Nejlepší pro všechny novel; 2017, 2018

Under the Snow / Pod sněhem novel; 2015, 2015

Marta in the Year of the Alien / Marta v roce vetřelce novel / diary; 2011

To Disappear / Zmizet three short stories; 2009, 2011

To the Seaside / K moři novella; 2007

Jakub Stanjura Medusas / Medúzy novel; 2025

Augusts / Srpny novel; 2023

Petra Stehlíková Urla/ Urla fantasy novel; 2024, 2025

Nasterea / Nasterea fantasy novel; 2021, 2022

Faja / Faja fantasy novel; 2017, 2019

The Listener / Naslouchač fantasy novel; 2016, 2018

Michal Sýkora

No Good News / Žádné dobré zprávy detective novel; 2025

A Case for the Exorcist / Případ pro exorcistu detective novel; 2021

Worst Fears / Nejhorší obavy three detective stories; 2020

Five Dead Dogs / Pět mrvých psů detective novel; 2018

It’s Not Over Yet / Ještě není konec detective novel; 2016

Blue Shadows / Modré stíny detective novel; 2013

Petr Šesták

Burnout / Vyhoření novelistic pamphlet; 2023

Continuity in the Park / Kontinuita parku novel; 2021

Viktor Špaček

An Impeccable Life in Humility / Čistý, skromný život short stories; 2022

Dita Táborská

Black Tongues / Černé jazyky novel; 2021

Běsa / Běsa novel; 2018, 2021

Malinka / Malinka novel; 2017, 2021

Kateřina Tučková

Bílá Voda / Bílá Voda novel; 2022, 2023, 2023

The Last Goddess / Žítkovské bohyně novel; 2012, 2013

Gerta / Vyhnání Gerty Schnirch novel; 2009, 2010

František Voldřich Heroes of Nothing / Hrdinové ničeho novel; 2025

Kateřina Tučková, Jakuba Katalpa, Jaroslav Rudiš and others

The Sudetenland. Paradise Lost / Sudety. Ztracený ráj short stories anthology; 2025

Viktorie Hanišová, Petr Šesták, Matěj Hořava and others

Body Blows: the Best Czech Short Stories Since 1989 / Na solar. Nejlepší české povídky od roku 1989 short stories antology; 2025

Alena Mornštajnová

930,000 copies sold books published in twenty-four languages (Arabic, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Macedonian, Persian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish and Vietnamese), rights sold to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Norway, and Ukraine Highly recommended

+9

to be published

Kateřina Tučková

460,000 copies sold books published in twenty-four languages (Arabic, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Croatian, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, traditional Chinese and Ukrainian), rights sold to Estonia

Petra Soukupová

250,000 copies sold

books published in eighteen languages (Albanian, Arabian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Korean, Macedonian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian and Vietnamese), rights sold to Azerbaijan and Greece

to be published