Jan Němec
area: Literature
Key Facts
nationality
Czech Republicarea
Literatureresidence
Brnorecommending institution
BMEIAtime period
May 2021 - June 2021Jan Němec (1981, Brno) studied Sociology at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University and Dramaturgy at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. His debut was a book of poetry The First Life / První život (2007), followed with the book of short stories Game for Four Hands / Hra pro čtyři ruce (2009). His first novel A History of Light / Dějiny světla has been published in eleven languages (German, Spanish, Italian etc.). The author received for this novel European Union Prize for Literature and the novel is being adapted for the screen by Negativ Film Productions. Němec´s second novel Ways of Writing about Love (2019) was shortlisted for Magnesia Litera in the Prose category and became widely discussed in Czech republic. The novel is being translated into three languages by now (Arabic, Russina, Serbian).
As a journalist, Nemec has worked with Respekt weekly, Czech Television, Czech Radio and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, among others. Currently, he is editor of Host literary monthly. For two years, Jan Němec was a chairman of Czech Writers Association (till the end of 2016).
Jan Němec is currently working on his third novel. The first one – A History of Light – was a biography of the famous Czech photographer and spiritual teacher František Drtikol; the second one – Ways of Writing about Love – was an autobiography / autoficion; and now the third novel should yet be different again: a complex social novel covering the time from the eighties of the 20th century until now.