WE ARE GOING ON HOLIDAY

To the Bohemian Forest, Italy, California or Warnemünde. By car, train, boat or plane. With family, fresh acquaintances, and employers, and just backpacking alone. There are plenty of places to go on holiday, plenty of ways to get there, and plenty of people to spend it with. But what the heroes of the stories by ten contemporary Czech authors have in common is the fact that they imagined their trip entirely differently, and if they had only known how it would turn out, they might have stayed at home…

In addition to Kateřina Tučková, the contributors to the collection are Anna Bolavá, Boris Dočekal, Dora Čechova, Petra Dvořáková, Viktorie Hanišová, Jakub Katalpa, Alice Nellis, Markéta Pilátová, Petra Soukupová

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Hannah returns to her youth, hoping to finally introduce her daughter to her father. Mrs. Jarmila also has one “first time” to look forward to – and that will soon be her 60th birthday. Marie is going to her high school reunion after twenty years and doesn’t really want to go, because she knows that the main topic at the table will be the children, while Karla is planning to attend a Czech language course in Buenos Aires so that she can finally talk to her mother… Ten popular authors and ten stories of female heroines – with one exception, actually – who don’t want to give up in the face of everyday life.

In addition to Kateřina Tučková, Anna Bolavá, Dora Čechova, Petra Dvořáková, Anya Geislerová, Viktorie Hanišová, Irena Hejdová, Michaela Klevisová, Alena Mornštajnová and Markéta Pilátová contributed to the collection.

IF EVER

Eight short stories by contemporary Czech authors return to a time when we could often only hope – before 1989…

In addition to Kateřina Tučková, the contributors to the collection are Petra Dvořáková, Marek Epstein, Viktorie Hanišová, Michaela Klevisová, Alena Mornštajnová, Ondřej Neff and Petra Soukupová.

SHARDS

Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has sent shockwaves through Europe. War has returned to the continent of peace and prosperity. With all its suffering, the casualties and civilian casualties, the millions of refugees, the shock felt even by more distant countries in the form of unprecedented economic insecurity. The Czech Republic has shown amazing solidarity with hundreds of thousands of refugees and provided military support to Ukraine, which is under attack from Vladimir Putin’s aggressive Russia. Czech Radio Plus approached ten writers who wrote the first texts about the new war, and the programme Shards was born. The book also features interesting interviews with them. You will read documentaries from an extraordinary, painful time.

WHAT THE FOREST HIDES

Kateřina Tučková, the award-winning novelist, playwright and historian, now turns her attention to the littlest readers as a mom. Her first picture book takes children to a forest kingdom where they will spend a day of discovery with Grandma and Grandpa: flowers, berries, mushrooms and different kinds of animals. The expressive, sing-song verses encourage children to recite together. They are accompanied by illustrations by the young Laura Hédervári.

OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

Short stories by seventeen authors focusing on various aspects of the coronavirus pandemic and other everyday particularities. The stories take the reader to various parts of the country, but also to cities abroad, where the authors wrote their short stories on the invitation of the Czech Centers. The authors include Kateřina Tučková, Bianca Bellová, Pavel Brycz, Lucie Faulerová, Jaroslav Rudiš, Tereza Semotamová, David Zábranský and more.

HEROINES

Stories of important Czech women

They were brave. They were often ahead of their time. They went their own ways and sometimes paid the highest price for their courage. But with their stories, they inspired thousands and millions of other women, who today can live freely and according to their ideas thanks to them. This gripping narrative about sixty exceptional and sometimes forgotten heroines from the Czech area is accompanied by original portraits by students of Pilsen’s “Sutnarka.” Stories written by Kateřina Tučková and Anna Musilová and historical background information by illustrator Renáta Fučíková show how women lived in different periods of history.

BLOODY BRONX

An anthology of short stories based on tragic cases that took place in the Cejl district of Brno, nicknamed as the Brno Bronx for its infamous reputation. Murders, thefts, illegal abortions ending in death, poisoning by pharmaceutical poison, sometimes just bizarre misunderstanding or marriage fraud, almost always lifes lived on the edge of existence. The authors include Kateřina Tučková, Alena Mornštajnová, Bianca Bellová, Martin Reiner, Michal Konečný, Štěpán Kučera, Dora Kaprálová, Michal Sýkora, Petra Dvořáková, Jan Němec, Petr Stančík, Ondřej Hübl, Václav Kahuda, Petra Soukupová and more.

MY FATHER KAMIL LHOTÁK

The fictional biography of painter Kamil Lhoták is written through the eyes of his son, Kamil Lhoták, Jr. In chapters entitled “Kamil Lhoták and His Son”, “Kamil Lhoták and Women”, “Kamil Lhoták and Friends” or “Kamil Lhoták and Machines”, he observes his father’s life that he lived with until his late adulthood. The book includes numerous colour reproductions – illustrations from the painter’s diary, which used to be accessible only to a few of his close friends.

BRNO DEATH MARCH

The collection includes essays by four authors whose lives were affected by the Brno Death March in various ways. The readers, however, should expect questions rather than answers, questions that will stay with us and may remain unanswered. The book is a tribute to the victims of the post-war expulsion of the Germans from Brno, or more precisely, former Czechoslovakia. It deals with the fragile issue of guilt, forgiveness and memory, which – fortunately – cannot be erased.

PRAGUE NOIR

How many forms do Prague crimes, mysteries and secrets have? Fourteen Czech authors look for the answer to this question, continuing in the rich tradition of crime stories set in Prague. The result is a unique, varied collection of short stories by both established and promising Czech authors – an original guide to popular and less known locations in Prague. The thick volume, edited by literary critic Pavel Mandys, has been published simultaneously in Czech and English, and the New York publishing house Akashic Books included it into its prestigious series Noir. The authors include Kateřina Tučková, Miloš Urban, Michaela Klevisová, Ondřej Neff, Petr Šabach, Martin Goff,  Jiří Walker Procházka, Michal Sýkora, Irena Hejdová, Štěpán Kopřiva, Petra Soukupová and Petr Stančík.

ON THE BORDERLINE OF A STORY

Kateřina Tučková has written fourteen short stories inspired by fourteen historical events of the 20th century, which left important marks in the history of the city of Brno and its residents. Her stories inspired fourteen artefacts of art, created by Czech and foreign artists and placed in the public space of Brno in 2013 to remind us of the dramatic life stories shaped by the historical events of the past century. The publication includes texts by Kateřina Tučková in Czech and English and photographs of the sculptures installed in the streets of Brno.

AMAZING TIMES

This series of short stories by Czech authors has a common theme – a journey. Its aim was to promote the activities of the humanitarian organization Andra and create a representative collection of contemporary Czech prose. The book includes short stories by Kateřina Tučková and Bianca Bellová, Jiří Dědeček, Irena Dousková, Václav Dušek, Arnošt Goldflam, Emil Hakl, Štěpán Kučera, Igor Malijevský, Josef Moník, Marian Palla, Markéta Pilátová, Lenka Procházková, Martin Reiner, Jaroslav Rudiš, Petra Soukupová, Petr Stančík, Michal Šanda, Tereza Šimůnková, Marek Šindelka, Marek Toman and Miloš Urban.

SEVEN WEDDINGS AND ONE DIVORCE

The wedding day is thought to be one of the most important days in most people’s lives. That is true even if it does not turn out to be as romantic as some (mostly) women imagine. Michal Viewegh wrote a story about the groom who lost his memory and could not remember when and where he was going to get married, and more importantly, who the brides was. Kateřina Tučková wrote about a proposal once could not refuse. Petra Soukupová’s bride had to decide between sense and sensibility. Hana Lasicová describes a wedding day with a sense of humour. The other writers include Dora Čechová, Marek Epstein and Irena Hejdová.

WHAT WOMEN DON’T TALK ABOUT

Everyone has a secret, a skeleton in their closet that no one can see. These stories about things that women hide from their partners and loved ones were written by several Czech writers. Kateřina Tučková’s short story takes place in a stuffy family environment. The main character of Petra Soukupová’s story hides something as well, but it is not her lover. Even men have their secrets, writes Petr Šabach. And in the story by Marek Epstein, both partners hide something important. The other stories were written by Jaroslav Rudiš, Josef Moník, Marek Šindelka and Irena Hejdová.

OF PEOPLE AND DOGS

The collection of nine short stories is dedicated to the relationship between humans and dogs. Friendly, moving, life-changing, irreplaceable, but sometimes also complicated, distrustful, or rejecting at first – the dog is the best friend of a man. The book includes short stories by Kateřina Tučková, Marek Epstein, Viola Fischerová, Irena Hejdová, Josef Moník, Petra Soukupová, Magdaléna Stárková and Petr Šabach.

VĚRA SLÁDKOVÁ – PROSAIC WORK

The study about the work of Věra Sládková (1927–2006) is the first publication interpreting the literary work of this excellent Moravian writer – the author of books such as Poslední vlak z Frývaldova (The Last Train from Frývaldov) or Malý muž a velká žena (The Little Man and the Big Woman) that became famous thanks to the film adaptation Vlak dětství a naděje (The Train of Childhood and Hope) directed by Karel Kachyňa.

SHE, WHO WRITES

This reader of contemporary Czech prose presents modern short stories by Czech women writers. The wide range of generations – from the youngest writer to the oldest one – provides a broad spectrum of various poetics, styles and themes. The collection includes short stories by more than two dozen authors, including Kateřina Tučková, Svatava Antošová, Irena Dousková, Sylva Fischerová, Markéta Hejkalová, Kateřina Kováčová, Hana Pachtová, Iva Pekárková, Nataša Reimanová, and Magdalena Wagnerová.

MONTESPANIÁDA

Kateřina Tučková’s first book is a light, refreshing, and very readable novel. The main character is a university student Karin who is infatuated with an older, married man – Montespan. The story is full of lively realistic dialogues. No great drama, no deep feelings –just the boring reality.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

In addition to prosaic texts, Kateřina Tučková is the author of several publications on visual arts, especially modern and contemporary painting. She has written monographies of several members of the Radar Group, being the first author who dealt with the almost forgotten work of the authors of the so-called grey area, for example, Radim Malát (Nakladatelství Vltavín, 2007) and Ohlédnutí za dílem Dobroslava Folla (Dobroslav Foll’s Retrospective; Nakladatelství Vltavín, 2008).
She is also the author of many exhibition catalogues, for example, Michael Rittstein: Práce na papíře (Michael Rittstein: Works on Paper; Nakladatelství Vltavín, 2005), Michael Rittstein: Malé formáty (Michael Rittstein: Small Formats; Nakladatelství Vltavín, 2009), Normální malba (Normal Painting; ARSkontakt, 2008) and Transfer (Academy of Fine Arts, Prague, 2008), and studies such as K vizuální podobě překladů české literatury v zahraničí (On the Visual Form of Foreign Translations of Czech Literature; Ministry of Culture, Czech Republic, 2010 a 2011), etc.
For more information about Kateřina Tučková’s publications on visual arts, please go to http://arskontakt.org/naklad.php