Jáchym Topol (b. 1962) is a poet, novelist, dramatist and journalist. In the 1980s he was lyricist and singer for the bands Národní třída and Psí vojáci; he went on to co-found the magazine Jednou nohou, later renamed Revolver Revue, as well as becoming a signatory of Charter 77 and an activist with the movement Czech Children. From 1990, he was an editor at the weekly Respekt; later, he worked as an editor in the culture section of the daily Lidové noviny. Topol’s collections of poetry Miluju tě k zbláznění [I Love You Madly] and V úterý bude válka [There Will Be War on Tuesday] were published in 1991 and 1992 respectively. His debut novel Sestra [City Sister Silver] (1994) was followed by titles including Anděl [Angel] (1995), Trnová dívka [Thorn Girl] (1997, 2008), Noční práce [Nightwork] (2001), Kloktat dehet [Gargling with Tar] (2005), Supermarket sovětských hrdinů [Supermarket of Soviet Heroes] (2007), Chladnou zemí [The Devil’s Workshop] (2009), Chtíč po svobodě [The Lust for Freedom] (2014) and Citlivý člověk [A Sensitive Person] (2017). Topol has won numerous literary awards, including the Egon Hostovský Prize (1994), the Jaroslav Seifert Prize (2010) and the Czech State Award for Literature (2017). His books have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Works translated into: Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian.
– novel, trans. Eva Profousová, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2026
– czech orig. Peklo neexistuje, Torst, 2026
– novel, trans. Eva Profousová, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2019
– czech orig. Citlivý člověk, Torst, 2017
– novel, trans. Eva Profousová, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2010
– czech orig. Chladnou zemí, Torst 2009
– novel, trans. Milena Oda and Andreas Tretner, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2007
– czech orig. Kloktat dehet, Torst, 2005
– novel, trans. Eva Profousová a Beate Smandek, Suhrkamp Verlag, 2003
– czech orig. Noční práce, Torst, 2001
– novel, trans. Eva Profousová a Beate Smandek, Volk und Welt, 1998
– czech orig. Sestra, Atlantis, 1994
– novel, trans. Peter Sacher, Volk und Welt, 1997
– czech orig. Anděl, Torst, 1995
– novel, trans. Marianne Canavaggio, Noir sur Blanc, 2021
– czech orig. Citlivý člověk, Torst, 2017
– novel, trans. David Short, Portobello Books, 2013
– czech orig. Kloktat dehet, Torst, 2005
– novel, trans. Alex Zucker, Portobello Books, 2013
– czech orig. Chladnou zemí, Torst 2009
– novel, trans. Kepa Uharte, Lengua de Trapo, 2013
– czech orig. Chladnou zemí, Torst 2009
– novel, trans. Marianne Canavaggio, Noir sur Blanc, 2012
– czech orig. Chladnou zemí, Torst 2009
– novel, trans. Marianne Canavaggio, Noir sur Blanc, 2009
– czech orig. Kloktat dehet, Torst, 2005
– novel, trans. Alex Zucker, Catbird Press, 2000
– czech orig. Sestra, Atlantis, 1994
Czech State Award for Literature (2017)
Vilenica International Literary Prize (2015)
Jaroslav Seifert Prize (2010)
Lidové noviny Book of the Year (2005)
Egon Hostovský Prize (1994)
Tom Stoppard Prize (1988)
