Anasoft Litera 2021 Announces 10 Finalists

Radka Denemarková, Mária Ferenčuhová, Marta Součková, Patrik Garaj and Rafał Majerek chose ten titles they found the most interesting. The names of the ten finalists for the Anasoft Litera  Award 2021 were broadcasted on Rádio DEVÍN on Wednesday, March 10th after 2PM. 

"This year's ten finalists present a relatively colorful palette - perhaps not in terms of themes, but rather within literary forms," says Mária Ferenčuhová, one of the members of the jury. "There is a socially critical novel with an almost pop-up picture book structure, a psychological novel built almost entirely on the anguished perceptions of its main character, a non-novel in which sentences represent autonomous worlds, a diary-mosaic from underneath which an almost novel-like arc shines through, a novella in form of a stylized perfomance, a romance novel with a dreamy atmosphere, a short-stories comic books and finally, three short-stories collections."

Lukáš Cabala's debut Satori v Trenčíne (Satori in Trenčín, pub. Artforum) is first on the list alphabetized by authors' surnames. You can read the review "Ako si napísať (lepší) život" / How to Write Yourself a (Better) Life by Lucia Halová in Slovak here. 

Etela Farkašová has won the Anasoft Litera Award in 2018 and this year, she is nominated with her book Záchrana sveta podľa G. (Saving the World According to G., pub. Spolok slovenských spisovateľov). "Is the book psychological, ironic or funny? Or is it the literary account of a philosopher - which Farkašová is in her professional job? After all, philosophers have used the fool's mask in the past to be able to tell the world what they really think of it." The rest of Antónia Furlejová's review (of the first edition of the book from 2002) is available in Slovak here. 

Next is Ivana Gibová's book Eklektik Bastard (pub. Drewo a srd). The February edition of the magazine Knižná revue published Michal Tallo's prasing review of the book. You can read LIC's English translation of the text here.  

The collection of eight stories Jednorožce (Unicorns, pub. Aspekt) is Barbora Hrínová's debut. Tamara Janecová wrote about the book:  "The quality of Barbora Hrínová's debut proves that she can write about trendy topics in an un-trendy way, about body and sex in an open way and about feelings demurely. The rest of her text can be found here. 

Ivica Ruttkayová wrote about Jana Juráňová Naničhodnica (The Good-for-nothing Woman, pub. Aspekt): "The author's analytical view of our present times takes in a broad spectrum. It depicts model situations without commenting on them. Everything is connected, everyone is connected." The whole review in Slovak can be found on our website. 

The collection of sad-and-funny stories about unusual personal histories Na okraji mojej hory (On the Edge of My Mountain, pub. KK Bagala) by Laco Kerata is full the of the author's typical humour and word play. Daniel Domorák's review of the book appears in the March edition of Knižná revue. 

There were two reviews of Richard Pupala's Ženy aj muži, zvieratá (Women As Well As Men, Animals, pub. Lindeni) in Knižná revue. Both can be found on our website: "S vášňou pre príbeh" by Ivana Taranenková and "Pod povrch" by Tamara Janecová. 

"It is impossible to write about this book, it can only be inhaled, therefore it would be best to just quote from the book – from any given page," writes the author Dušan Dušek in his text "Chvejúci sa zvuk". He was writing about Veronika Šikulová's book Tremolo ostinato (pub. Slovart), another Anasoft Litera Award finalist.  

Zuzana Šmatláková's book Nič sa nestalo (Nothing Happened, pub. Marenčin PT) is a swift, dynamic discovery of what we try to hide from others and especially from ourselves. Dominika Petríková wrote about it in Knižná revue 04/2020. 

Alta Vášová with her book Odlety (Take-offs, pub. Fragment) is the alphabetically tenth Anasoft Litera finalist. The author who is a winner of the award from 2009, offers notes from experiencing the flow of time in a more intense way  – "from the utmost personal and intimate up to noting down of the contemporary atmosphere, intersections of social strains and neuroses into the seemingly secure seclusion of a self-reflecting perosnality. In a way, it is a psychological study about society, humans; they are reflections on good and evil, faithfullness and deceit, love and trust," wrote Gabriela Rakúsová in Knižná revue 11/2020 on the occassion of Vášová receiving the Dominik Tatarka Prize.

You can find more information about the award on the website of Anasoft litera. The recording of the broadcast is available on the website of rádio Devín. 

The Anasoft Litera Award is awarded annually to the best original Slovak literary work of prose or to a translation of an original book of prose written by authors who are primarily citizens of the Slovak republic and whose books were published the previous year. The winner receives the financial prize of 10.000 €. Anasoft Litera automatically nominates all Slovak prosaic titles and the award is judged by a different 5-member jury each year. The award is extraordinary because it is not only a matter of a gala ceremony but her activities take place throughout the year. 
The main partner of the project is Fond na podporu umenia, supporting the activities and events of this literary prize. 
Permanent partners: Literárne informačné centrum, LITA, autorská spoločnosť, Nadácia mesta Bratislavy.
The main media partners are RTVS Rádio DEVÍN and Denník N.
Media partners: Medziknihami, Rozum, Knižná revue, Rádio Litera.