Magnesia Litera Awards 2026: Dora Kaprálová Among Nominees

The nominations for the prestigious Magnesia Litera awards were announced on Monday, March 16, 2026, at Prague’s Václav Havel Library. Winners will be revealed on April 18 at the Stavovské divadlo, a change from the New Stage of the National Theater due to ongoing renovations.

Prose Nominations

Dora Kaprálová’s “Mariborská hypnóza” (Maribor Hypnosis), published by Větrné mlýny, is a nominee in the prose category. The novel is described as a “love novel full of magical realism” and a reflection on the meaning of writing. Other nominees include Magdaléna Platzová for her short story collection “Fáze ženy” (Phases of a Woman), published by Paradox, and Ladislav Šerý for “Tajný život institucí” (The Secret Life of Institutions), published by Malvern.

Poetry, Journalism, and More

Daniel Hradecký’s poetry collection “Náměstí práce” (Work Square), published by Perplex, and Iva Jakimiv’s “Onde,” published by Protimluv, are also nominated for literary awards. Radovan Jursa’s “Koncept transparence” (The Concept of Transparency), published by Galerie Věž, completes the poetry nominations.

In journalism, Miloš Hroch’s “Šeptem nahlas” (Whisper Loud), published by Paseka, Klára Kubíčková and Jana Srncová’s “Roztěkané” (Scattered), published by Guest, and Romana Indrová Semelková’s interviews in “Křivoklátsko, cesta domů” (Křivoklátsko, the journey home), published by Machart, are competing for recognition.

Awards Across Categories

The Magnesia Litera awards encompass a wide range of categories, including:

• Pale Fire Capital Letter for poetry
• Jablotron Litera for books for children and young people
• NF IOCB Tech Litera for educational literature
• CRo Plus Litera for journalism
• Litera for publishing act
• Litera for a translation book
• Dilia Litera for debut of the year
• Jablotron Litera for a detective story
• Litera for a humorous book

Increased Prize Money and Book Sales Impact

This year, the organizers will distribute 500,000 Czech crowns to the winners, an increase of 100,000 crowns from the previous year. The announcement of nominations has already shown a significant impact on book sales. Following the nominations, approximately 24,000 additional copies of Miroslav Hlauč’s 2024 winner, “Letnice” (Pentecost), were purchased, making it a bestseller. Sales of J.A. Pitínský’s “Domácí potřeby” (Domestic Needs), the 2024 winner for Prose, also increased from roughly 800 to 4,000 copies.

According to Pavel Mandys from the organizing association Litera, the awards aim to promote quality literature and good books across all genres.