For the second time an excerpt a novel of one of the pre-eminent Slovak writers, Pavel Vilikovský, has appeared in B O D Y’s Saturday European Fiction, with this excerpt from Fleeting Snow, published by Istros Books in a translation by Julia and Peter Sherwood. This will be the first work published by Vilikovský in […]
Slovak writer Pavol Rankov’s most recent novel Miesta, čo nie sú na mape (Places That Are Not on the Map) was published at the end of 2017. An excerpt from the novel appeared in the latest Saturday European Fiction in B O D Y in a translation by Magdalena Mullek and now writer and translator […]
“So what happened to Uncle Ivan and Aunt Eva?” “I didn’t find out about that until later, from my parents. The house had burned to the ground that night. Their burnt bodies were found in the ashes.” “And had they been,” I hesitated before saying the word, “murdered?” – from Places That Are Not on […]
“The writer bought a literary magazine, leafed through it, and was gratified: he hadn’t submitted anything and none of his work had been published. A few weeks later the annual nominations for the national literary prize were announced: to his relief, he wasn’t nominated…” So begins Balla’s short story “Paper Planes“, translated from the Slovak […]
World Literature Today has issued its list of the 75 notable translations of the year and it includes three books that were excerpted in B O D Y as well as numerous writers, translators and publishers whose work has previously appeared in the magazine’s pages. An excerpt of Balla’s In the Name of the Father […]
Way back in 2013 when the world wasn’t utterly collapsing I had the foresight to publish an excerpt from Balla’s novella In the Name Of the Father, translated from the Slovak by Julia and Peter Sherwood. Now the book has been published by Jantar Publishing and translator Charles Sabatos has written about it in the […]
Two Slovak writers whose work is just coming out in English translation will be appearing this Wednesday, May 17 at Waterstones Piccadilly in London. Balla and Ivana Dobrakovová, together with translator Julia Sherwood will participate in conversation with Rosie Goldsmith. Dobrakovová and Balla’s work are both included in the excellent Slovak fiction anthology Into the […]
Into the Spotlight is a soon-to-be-published anthology of contemporary Slovak fiction including writers such as Uršuľa Kovalyk, Pavel Vilikovský, Monika Kompaníková and many more. It was translated by Julia Sherwood and Magdalena Mullek and published by Three String Books (an imprint of Slavica Publishers). You can read my review of this fantastic anthology here. Read […]
“I’m on display here, you fool. I’m wearing my best dress, simple, posh, fresh like fresh fruit, flammable, cling-wrapped to protect it from vagrants, cool like a crouching leopard with taut muscles. And the first words you shoot at me are Hi, Paula, feeling better now? A cheeky question. As inappropriate as the cheap tablecloths with […]
In the last four years B O D Y has published a lucky 13 pieces of Slovak fiction, soon to go up to 14. With short stories and novel excerpts – some now published, others still awaiting publishers for their English translations – we have presented some of the best contemporary Slovak writers, including Pavel […]
