Zuzana Šmatláková: Social Responsibility
– Czechia
She was born in 1988. She studied Slovak language and literature at the Faculty of Arts at the Comenius University, where she continues her doctoral studies. She published her first texts in magazines and succeeded four times in the prose competition Poviedka [Short Story]. She made her debut with the collection of short stories Exit [Exit] (2013), which was published by KK Bagala. She could be characterized by a ubiquitous magical atmosphere, precise work with text, authenticity and the motive of escape from the everyday reality. Slim and at the first glance inconspicuous book was so fascinating that the author won the premium of the Ivan Krasko Award for Art and the Tatra Bank Foundation Award in the category of the Young Writer. Her latest novel Nič sa nestalo [Nothing Happened] (2020) reflects issues of personal responsibility in a non-traditional way. Theatrical monodrama examines the feelings of a woman today, who is looking for answers to the questions of why she cheated on her husband and does not feel guilty. The novel reached the top ten of this year’s Anasoft Litera Award.