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On Tuesday, 12October2021,Barbora Hrínová received the Anasoft Litera Award for her debut, the short-stories collectionJednorožce (Unicorns), published byASPEKT.
The winner was chosen out of165 prose booksby the5-member committee consisting ofthe Czechauthor, literary historian, screenwriter and translatorRadka Denemarková;poet, translator, film criticand theoristMária Ferenčuhová;journalistand literarycriticPatrik Garaj;the Polish literary researcherRafał Majerek, and literaryresearcherMarta Součková.
„It was not easy to decide this year's winner. There were three equally strong books in the final round. The selection of the winner was informed by delicate details, especially a heightened authorial sensitivity as well as the potential to also heighten the sensitivity of readers," the committee said about the final decision.
Barbora Hrínová studiedDramaturgy and Screenwriting at the Academy ofPerforming Arts in Bratislava where she is currently teaching screenwriting. As a researcher, she concluded a residencyin Georgia and she studied in Californiaas a Fulbright fellow. She has worked on numerous TV series and programs,andprepared a number of documentaries and features for the Radio (RTVS) as well as for the Czech Radio.She said about thecharacters from her award-winning debut:"[They are]unicorns oreternal seekers. They are people who are in some way different, or they are viewed as different by others. However, they just want the same things everyone else wants:love, a relationship,to be accepted or understood."
"Things that are invisible or often considered marginal and unimportantget central attention in Barbora Hrínová's bookԴǰž,“saidthe committee. "Hrínová shows us that fragility,which we tend to overlook, can have value.The sensitivityin her short stories is not presented as afailure, but rather as a basic attribute of humanity.Hrínová writes about otherness; she does not, however, exoticise or exploit it, and that's how she makes it possible for us to accept different life-styles or identity searches.“
The Anasoft Litera Award 2021 winnerBarbora Hrínová received a prizeof 10 000 Euro and also a physical prize created by designerѾČDZíDZá, titledNajväčšia mágia je vždy ukrytá vo vnútri (The magic always hides inside). It is made out of leftoverglass cuttingsand mirrors. The layers are glued to one another in a way that resembles a book with its pages. Inside is the inscriptionAnasof litera 2021.
Aside from the main award, a Readers' Prize was awarded once again. This year, it went toVeronika Šikulováfor her novel / non-novelTremolo ostinatopublished bySLOVART. The book, with a title borrowed from music, is a freeflowing narrativeabout music, writing, relationships and family. "The written text is an occurance, sometimes it can be a hill, a terrible experience, a country without a map; diversions are metaphors, a shortcut can be a rhyme; sometimes it is a stretched-out foot that makes you want to stumble, and when you think you are lost, you have arrived at your destination." (quote from theshort storyDrozdy už maľujú vajká, page229).
press release:Anasoft Litera
