Prague – Czech authors Petr Borkovec and Aleš Kauer were awarded the 2025 Literary Criticism Prize on Wednesday evening for their contributions to prose and poetry, respectively. The awards recognize outstanding works of Czech literature and are intended to foster critical discussion about the arts.
Borkovec received the prize for his prose collection, Nějaká Cécile a jiné, although Kauer was honored for his poetry collection, Lebka hoří neonovým snem.
The awards were presented at the Centre for Contemporary Art DOX in Prague, following a series of public debates held across the Czech Republic. The winning authors each received 50,000 Czech crowns, a signed print by artist Petr Sís, and a month-long stipend to reside in Mikulov.
Literary critic Kryštof Eder praised Borkovec’s work for subverting traditional notions of prose, noting that the essence of his writing lies not in the narrative itself, but in the language and descriptions of the settings. “The essential thing happens in the language and description of the environment,” Eder said of Borkovec’s approach.
Kauer’s collection was lauded by Jitka Bret Srbová for its powerful call to action regarding the world’s major crises. “Kauer writes about the suffering of victims with compassion, and about war with doubts about whether the language of poetry has the right to do so,” Srbová stated. “The result is a personal manifesto, a book-protest, a book-torch. A rebellion against a public world that offers no meaning and often no hope.”
During his acceptance speech, Borkovec expressed a sense of unease, stating, “The acceptance of a literary prize and the enthusiasm for it feels somewhat strange in March 2026, as if it’s stuck in the middle of something.” He went on to speak about the importance of uncertainty, resilience, restraint, and kindness, urging that “muses should not whisper embarrassing art even in the midst of great changes and wars.”
Kauer, who founded the Adolescent publishing house in Šumperk in 2007, expressed gratitude for the award and emphasized the importance of its continued existence. “It’s incredibly important that this award was created, that it works, and I hope it will continue to work,” he said.
The Literary Criticism Prize, organized by a collective of literary journals including A2, Host, Souvislosti, Prostor, and Tvar, was established as an alternative to the more well-known Magnesia Litera awards. This year marked only the second iteration of the prize, following the 2026 awards given to Emma Kausc and Iryna Zahladko.
