Susanna Roth Prize 2016: Into the Darkness

Anna Bolavá: Into the Darkness (Odeon, 2015)

The story of a lonely, sick woman who dedicated most of her life to collecting, drying, and delivering medicinal plants has an apocalyptic feel from the very beginning. The plot progresses through a meticulously crafted "collecting plan." The constant is Tuesday, the buying day, when the heroine eagerly visits the collection point. Despite the slow, seemingly unexcited pace, a strange unease bubbles beneath the surface. The refined style draws deeper chapter by chapter: deeper into the old soil, deeper into the curse of herb gathering.

About the Author

Anna Bolavá (*1981) was born and raised in South Bohemia. She studied Czech studies at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University. She briefly worked at the Institute for the Czech Language and then as an editor, proofreader, and reviewer. She has published in magazines and periodicals such as Tvar, Salon Práva, Babylon, Weles, Protimluv, etc. In 2013, her poetry collection Black Year was published, and two years later, Odeon published the novel Into the Darkness. She currently works as a stoma consultant. She has three children, enjoys fishing, and is saving for her own tractor.

Participation in the Competition

Czech Centres: Berlin/Munich, Budapest, Bucharest, Kyiv, London, Madrid, Moscow, Sofia, Seoul, Tokyo, Warsaw, Vienna

Embassies of the Czech Republic: Zagreb Nearly 140 applicants from twelve countries registered for the third year of the translation competition organized by the Czech Centres and the Institute of Art – Theatre Institute including South Korea and Japan

Awarded Translators

• Bulgaria: Desislava Vilimovská

• Croatia: Tena Šinjori

• Japan: Mei Kashima

• South Korea: Pak Su-hjŏn

• Hungary: Anna Steinbachné Bobok

• Germany: Katharina Hinderer

• Poland: Agata Wróbel

• Austria: Claudia Marek

• Romania: Maria Cristea

• Russia: Alexej Artjuchin

• Ukraine: Ludmila Smoljar, Oleksandr Stukalo

• United Kingdom: Patrick Phillips

Informal Meeting and Translation Workshop

On Thursday, July 14, 2016, a special workshop took place at the Theatre Institute. This event was the winning prize for the best translators who triumphed in this year's translation competition "Susanna Roth Prize."

13 winning young Czech studies scholars from around the world also participated in a Czech Studies Seminar organized by the Moravian Regional Library in Brno, whose July program took place in various locations in Moravia associated with Czech literature. However, the winners' stay began in Prague with an informal evening meeting with the author of the book Anna Bolavá and Jiří Jůzel from the Odeon publishing house, followed the next day by a special seminar dedicated to the joys and pitfalls of translation work.