Tomáš Kubíček, Director General of the Moravian Regional Library and Director of the Czech Guest of Honour programme, and Martin Krafl, Director of the Czech Literary Center and Programme Director of the Czech Guest of Honour programme, provided information about the Year of Czech Culture and the activities at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. Frank Scholze, Director General of the German National Library, as well as Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, and Kristina Larischová, Consul-General of the Czech Republic in Dusseldorf, responsible for North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, delivered welcoming remarks.
As part of the Year of Czech Culture, dozens of readings will take place leading up to the Frankfurt Book Fair. At readings in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Munich, and Vienna, attendees can look forward to appearances by Iva Procházková, Miroslav Hlaučo, Vratislav Maňák, Marek Torčík, and Sophia Marzolff, among others. As this year’s guest country at the texttage.nuernberg from 16 to 19 July, the Czech Republic will be represented by Jaroslav Rudiš, Štěpánka Jislová, Anna Řezničková, Alžběta Stančáková, Jaromír Typlt, Jan Laštovička, and Vratislav Maňák. From 29 September to 1 October, the literary festival ‘Ahoj! Czech Republic Crosses Over’ in Vienna and Bad Ischl will feature readings by Radka Denemarková, Lucie Faulerová, Dora Kaprálová, Michal Ajvaz, Petr Borkovec, and others.
In addition to the extensive literary programme at the fair itself, for which 75 authors will be travelling to Frankfurt, there will be numerous other events taking place in the surrounding area.
On October 10, 2026, for example, the German premiere of works by Slavomír Hořínka, Barbora Tomášková, and Pavel Šabacký will take place at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main in collaboration with the Ensemble Modern. At the Theater International Frankfurt and during the special edition of the Drama Panorama festival, the Czech Republic will showcase contemporary drama. In collaboration with the arthouse cinemas in Frankfurt am Main, two film screenings will take place that are thematically linked to Czech literature: ‘Through the Landscape of Literature’ depicts writer Jaroslav Rudiš’s journey across the Czech Republic, while ‘I Vouch for a Word with My Life’ focuses on writer Radka Denemarková. The Czech Guest of Honour is also a partner in the German-language premiere of the two-part television film ‘Gerta Schnirch’, which was inspired by Kateřina Tučková’s novel ‘Gerta, the German Girl’ and produced in collaboration with Czech Television ČT, ARTE, and HBO.
This Guest of Honour event will be accompanied by numerous exhibitions at cultural institutions in Frankfurt and the surrounding area: The SCHIRN KUNSTHALLE FRANKFURT is dedicating an exhibition to the sculptor Anna Hulačová. The Museum of Communication is presenting ‘Samizdat’, an exploration of the suppression of free expression in Czechoslovakia. The Klingspor Museum in Offenbach am Main is hosting the exhibition ‘Czech Book Design and Illustration 1900 to 2025’. The exhibition ‘Beyond Paper Plane’ at the Struwwelpeter Museum focuses on extraordinary picture book art from the Czech Republic. The German Architecture Museum (DAM) invites visitors to explore new Czech architecture. The German National Library offers a lyrical experience with ‘Reiner Kunze and Czech Poetry.’ At the Palmengarten, visitors can engage with garden utopias in the work of Veronika Richterová. The Haus am Dom is featuring dissident literature from the Czech Republic, from Božena Němcová to Radka Denemarková. Contemporary Czech photography can be admired at the German Film Institute & Film Museum. And the Archaeological Museum is hosting ‘The Bronze Beauty from Kladina’.
Jindřich Ráftl and Jan Tůma of the architectural firm JinJan presented the concept ‘Boundaries of Imagination’ for the 2,300-square-metre exhibition hall. The Czech Guest of Honour Pavilion is designed to invite visitors into a world of fantasy and literature. Round, inflatable elements of various sizes will structure the space. They are intended to serve as seating and symbolise the diversity of human imagination. The concept is complemented by interactive stations such as ‘buoys’ and a ‘poetic lighthouse’, which use AI to bring Czech literature to life. A robot will draw comics live, and an exhibition will showcase Czech illustrations from the past 30 years. At the same time, the Guest of Honour Pavilion prioritises sustainability: lightweight, modular components minimise transport costs, material consumption, and waste.
In the evening, we met with interested booksellers at the Haus des Buches, where we presented the latest Czech literature. Here too, Dora Kaprálová answered questions and gave an insight into her daily life as a writer.
We are delighted by the keen interest shown by the journalists, partners and colleagues who attended, and would like to extend our warmest thanks to the German National Library for their support!
Pictures: Sabine Felber/Literaturtest