Czech prize winner Dora Kaprálová joins 75-author line-up at Frankfurt Book Fair
Czech writer Dora Kaprálová is heading to the Frankfurt Book Fair with two major literary prizes to her name.
She is one of about 75 Czech authors travelling to the 2026 Frankfurter Buchmesse, where Czechia is Guest of Honour, meaning one country's literature sits at the centre of the fair's programme. Her appearance was previewed in a conversation with writer Olivia Snaije, published by Publishing Perspectives on 2 October 2026.
Kaprálová was born in Brno in 1975. She writes books for adults and for children. She has also produced radio documentaries, according to her European Union Prize for Literature biography.
Her novel in focus in Frankfurt is Mariborská hypnóza, rendered in English as The Hypnosis of Maribor. The book won the Magnesia Litera, the Czech annual national book award. It then took the 2026 European Union Prize for Literature, an award for fiction by writers early in their international careers. Kaprálová was chosen from a shortlist of 14 writers, according to the European Union Prize for Literature.
Two dates matter. She will discuss Die Mariborhypnose, the German title, at the Guest of Honour Pavilion's Harbour Stage from 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, 8 October, according to the fair's press preview programme. She is then listed for a Meet and Greet book signing at the mikrotext stand from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, 9 October, Berlin time, according to Frankfurter Buchmesse event listings.
For readers new to Frankfurt, these are two different ways in. Pavilion events are seated discussions, usually with translation. Stand signings are shorter, built around meeting the author and getting a book signed.
Frankfurt is the publishing trade's main meeting place for translation rights, meaning permission to publish a book in another language and market. A Guest of Honour year gives that market a large stage. In 2026, that stage is Czech.
