Text: Ondřej Prokop
This year, the 60th anniversary edition of the Most Beautiful Czech Books of the Year (NČKR) competition will be announced. And we also have our handcuffs in this competition.
The Most Beautiful Czech Books of the Year is organised annually by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Memorial of National Literature. The competition for the best book
design evaluates the graphic, illustrative and printing design of books published by Czech publishers and printed in Czech printing houses in the last calendar year.
The NCCR awards are given in seven categories and the first three places are awarded in each category. It has become quite usual that among the nominated titles we often find those that have “FINIDR printing and production” in the cover. And this year is no exception!
Specialized literature
- Pražské metro (Pavel Karous, Matyáš Kracík, Anna Švarc, Jan Kuděj, published by Paseka)
- Žijeme lidsky? (Iva Knobloch (ed.), publisher: Slovart)
Beautiful literature
- Flora (Jonáš Zbořil, publishing house: Paseka)
- Konec sezóny na koupališti Úštěk (Veronika Bendová, publishing house: Host)
Literature for children and youth
- Kolo (Ondřej Buddeus, Paseka publishing house)
Bibliography and author’s books
- Kratke zobaky (Alžběta Štenclová, publishing house: Bílý Vigvam)
The award ceremony will take place on 2 June 2025 and we keep our fingers crossed for all nominated titles, authors and publishers.*
* As the award ceremony took place after the deadline of this issue, we will bring you the results in the autumn edition of our newsletter.
NČKR also includes the Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia
As this year marks the 60th year of NČKR, it is not surprising that Slovak books and Slovak book culture have been part of this competition in the past. Since 1992, however, the Most Beautiful Czech Books of the Year has been held without a Slovak partner. In the same year, however, the Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia competition was created in our neighbours, organised by BIBIANA, the International House of Art for Children.
Since then, the two most beautiful books have been announced separately. However, this year is an exception.
The Czech organisers of the competition, especially in the last year, have been following with concern the developments in the cultural sphere in Slovakia and expressing solidarity with those who have drawn attention to a number of problematic and non-standard steps taken by the management of the Slovak Ministry of Culture.
As part of the ongoing protests, including the so-called cultural strike, many Slovak publishing houses have decided to boycott the current edition of the Most Beautiful Books in Slovakia competition.
That is why, as a show of support, the organisers of this year’s NČKR decided to give space to Slovak book culture. They offered the opportunity to submit Slovak books to the non-competitive section, which will be sponsored by the Memorial of National Literature.
“Cultural strike”
Cultural strike is a coordinated movement of the cultural scene in Slovakia, which aims to stop the destructive interference of the Slovak Ministry of Culture in the arts at all levels. Cultural strike demands a competent and professional administration of the ministry that respects the freedom, rights and expertise of people working in the ministry and contributes to improving the conditions for the creation and functioning of culture in Slovakia.
