Bohemica Olomucensia

What does the Magnesia Litera Book Prize say about the prose of 2023?

The study analyses the results of the Magnesia Litera Book Prize in the prose category for 2023. It looks at current trends in prose fiction, as seen in the prose works that were considered, nominated, and ultimately awarded, particularly novels by Marek Torčík (Rozložíš paměť - Memory Burn), Alena Machoninová (Hella), Petr Šesták (Vyhoření - Burnout), Alexej Sevruk (Evropanka - European), Petra Hůlová (Nejvyšší karta - The Highest Card), and Michal Kašpárek (Fosilie - Fossils). Much of the prose is so-called engaged, respond- ing to current topics of the day, such as feminism, the ecological threat, racism or queer issues. This literature tries to reach out to the reader, aims to contribute to change. Other prose takes us back to World War II and communism, several of the stories are set in countries of the former Soviet Union. Common to many of them is the theme of memory, remembering, the possibility of reconstructing it, its reliability and selectivity. The notion of autofiction has also been widely discussed in relation to the prize-winning prose this year.

Keywords: contemporary Czech prose; Magnesia Litera Book Prize; autofiction; gender; debuts