Patrik Ouředník


About the author

* The Village Voice (USA): "Top Shelf 2005: Europeana, one of our 25 favorite books."

* La Stampa (Italy): "The Opportune Moment, 1855. Best book of the year 2007.

Patrik Ouředník (1957), is one of the best selling and most popular Czech writers of our time in the world. His book Europeana is being published in 36 languages, and is thus the most translated Czech work of the last 25 years. His books gets wide appraisal and are regularly nominated for various literary prizes. Also Europeana has been put on stage in various countries, like by Zuidpool Theater in Flanders, by the world famous director Heiner Goebbels. In 2020 the Royal Shakespeare Company will do do stage production of Europeana

Ouředník kicked off by writing the most original and much appraised linguistic work, Šmírbuch jazyka českého (The Smirbuch of Czech Language). That same year he also made his literary debut with the volume of verse Anebo (Either). In 1995 he came with Rok čtyřiadvacet (The Year Twenty-Four), which can be characterized as experimental prose.

His real breakthrough came in 2001 when Europeana - Stručné dějiny dvacátého věku (Europeana - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century) was published. It was proclaimed to be the book of the year by fellow-writers, publishers and critics in a nationwide newspaper in the Czech Republic and it also received a nomination for the 2001 Magnesia Litera Prize for literature.

Europeana is being published in 35 languages, such as English (Dalkey Archive Press), French (Allia), German (Czernin Verlag), Dutch (Fagel), Spanish (Tempora), Italian (Duepunti), Russian (Limbakh), Japanese (Hakusui-sha) and Arabic (Al Arabi). Second or more editions are published in Hungary (Kalligram), Slovenia (Publicisticno drustvo ZAK), The Netherlands (Uitgeverij IJzer) and Lithuania (Knygute)

Spring 2006 his novel Příhodná chvíle, 1855 (The Opportune Moment, 1855) was simultanously published in the Czech Republic (Torst) and France (Allia). Almost within a year came the German (Residenz Verlag), Hungarian (Kalligram), Spanish (Melusina) and Polish (Pogranicze) version. In the meantime it has been also for instance published in Italy (Duepunti) and the USA (Dalkey Archive Press). A Dutch edition (Uitgeverij IJzer) came out in 2013. An excerpt in English can be found on this website.

Later in 2006 appeared his novel Ad acta. The rights have been sold to more than 10 countries already, including the United States, France and The Netherlands. In 2016 Ouředník published his first book straight in French La fin du monde n'aurait pas eu lieu . The rights have been sold to the United States and Italy

His latest novel is La fin du monde n'aurait pas eu lieu came first out in French in 2017. A year later the authorized Czech version Konec světa se prý nekonal was published

Ouředník also writes plays and essayistic books. Next to that all he is a translator from French books (amongst others he has translated Beckett, Vian, Jarry and Rabelais). Since 1985 Ouředník works and lives in Paris, France.

More information on Patrik Ouředník and his work (reviews, interviews etc.) can be found on his own website Patrik Ouředník

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Bibliography
Publication Published in Published by
Novels
Rok čtyřiadvacet (The Year Twenty-Four) 1995 Volvox Globator Publishers, Prague
Europeana - Stručné dějiny dvacátého věku (Europeana - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century) 2001 Paseka Publishers, Prague
Příhodná chvíle, 1855 (The Opportune Moment, 1855) 2006 Torst Publishers, Prague
Ad acta (Case Closed) 2006 Torst Publishers, Prague
Histoire de France - À notre chère disparue (A History of France - For Our Dearly Departed) 2014 Allia, Paris
Konec světa se prý nekonal / La fin du monde n'aurait pas eu lieu (The End of the World Might Not Have Taken Place) 2017 Allia, Paris
1
Poetry
Anebo (Either) 1992 Volvox Globator Publishers, Prague
Neřkuli (Let Alone) 1996 Mladá fronta Publishers, Prague
Dům bosého (The house of barefoot) 2004 Paseka Publishers, Prague
1
Linguistic works
Šímrbuch jazyka českého. Slovník nekonvenční češtiny (Rough-book of the Czech Language: A Dictionary of Unconventional Czech) 1988 Edice K, Paris
Aniž jest co nového pod sluncem. Slova, rčení a úsloví biblického původu (And There Is Nothing New Under the Sun: A Dictionary of Words, Idioms and Phrases from Biblical Origin) 1994 Mladá fronta Publishers, Prague
Klíč je ve výčepu. Z folklóru WC (The Key Is At The Bar. WC Folklore) 2000 Volvox Globator Publishers, Prague
1
Essays
Hledání ztraceného jazyka (In Search of the Lost Language) 1997 Zdeněk Susa
Utopus to byl, kdo učinil mě ostrovem (It Was Utopus Who Made Me an Island) 2010 Torst, Prague
Svobodný prostor jazyka (On the Free Exercise of Language) 2013 Torst, Prague
Correspondances / Correspondencias - Angel Erro & Patrik Ouředník 2016 Erein, San Sebastián
Antialkorán (Antialkoran) 2017 Volvox Globator, Prague
1
Various
Pojednání o případném pití vína, totiž velikém a ustavičném (A Discourse on Possible Wine Drinking, Namely Grandiose and Continuous) 1995 Volvox Globator, Prague
O princi Čekankovi, jak putoval za princeznou, a o všelijakých dobrodružstvích, která se mu pritom prihodila (On Prince Chicory, His Journey to the Princess, and All Kinds of Adventures That Happened to Him Along the Way) 1997 Volvox Globator, Prague
1
French
Des 112 façons desquelles on peut faire rouler un tonneau a huile(co-author Jiří Pelán) 1999 Confédération du travail syndicaliste, Limoges
Des 55 especes de brodequins dont on peut s'entourer les pieds en hiver(co-author Jiří Pelán) 2001 Assemblée régionale des métiers, Limoges


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Translations
Publication Publisher Translated by
Rok čtyřiadvacet
Das Jahr vierundzwanzig 2003, Czernin Verlag, Wien Michael Stavarić
A huszonné gyes év 2007, Kalligram, Budapest Lészló G. Kovécs
Anno ventiquattro 2009, Samizadat, Rome Alessandro Catalano
French edition in progress Editions Allia, Paris
1
Europeana - Stručné dějiny dvacátého věku
Europeana. Eine kurze Geschichte Europas im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert 2003, Czernin Verlag, Wien Michael Stavarić
Europeana. Kratka istorija dvadesatog veka 2003, Samizdat B92, Belgrade
Europeana. Een zeer korte geschiedenis van de twintigste eeuw 2003, Fagel Publishers, Amsterdam Edgar de Bruin
Europeana. A huszadik szá zad rö vid tö rténete 2003, Kalligram, Budapest Lészló G. Kovécs
Europeana. Кратка история на XX век 2003, Faakel Express Publishers, Sofia Jovanka Trifonova
Europeana. Une bréve histoire du XXe siècle 2004, Editions Allia, Paris Marianne Canavaggio
Europeana. Trumpa dvidešimto amžiaus istorija 2004, Apostrofa, Vilnius Almis Grybauskas
Europeana. Zwiezla historia XX wieku 2004, Fundacja Pogranicze, Sejny Jan Stachowski
Europeana. Una breve historia del siglo XX 2005, Tropismos, Salamanca Kepa Uharte
Europeana. A Brief History of the Twentieth Century 2005, Dalkey Archive Press, Chicago Gerald Turner
Europeana. 2005, Kedros, Athens K. A. Lavrithiti
Europeana. Kortfattad historia om nittonhundratalet 2005, Natur och Kultur, Stockholm Mats Larsson
Evropeana. Kratka zgodovina 20. stoletja 2005, Borec Publishers, Ljubljana Andrej Rozman
Europeana. Breve storia del XX secolo 2005, Duepunti edizione, Palermo Elena Paul
Европеана. Краткя история двадцатого века 2006, Van Limbakh's Publishing House, St. Petersburg Jekatarina Bobrakova-Timosjkina
Europeana. Kratka povijest dvadesetog stoljeca 2006, Profil International publishing, Zagreb Branka Čačkovic
Europeana. Yirminci Yü zyilin Kisa Tarihib 2006, Dost Kitabevi Yayinlari, Ankara Ismet Birkan
Еўрапеана. Кароткі нарыс гісторыі дваццатага стагоддзя 2006, Magazine Arche, Minsk Julia Smatryčenka
Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century 2006, Xargol Publishing, Tel Aviv Ruth Bondi
Europeana. En kort historie om det 20. århundrede 2006, Gyldendal, Kopenhagen Niels Lyngsø
Evropeana: meoce saukunis mokle istoria 2009, Pegasus, Tibilisi
Europeana. Een zeer korte geschiedenis van de twintigste eeuw 2012, Uitgeveij IJzer Edgar de Bruin
Europeana - Arabic edition 2014, Al Arabi, Cairo Khalid Al Biltagi
Europeana - Japanese edition 2014, Hakusui-sha, Tokyo Kenichi Abe
Europeana. O scurtã istorie a secolului douãzeci 2014, Vremea, Bucharest Helliana Ianculescu
Europeana Stručné dejiny 20 storočia 2015, Premedia, Bratislava Miroslav Dacho
Europeana - det tjuende århundrets historie i korte trekk 2015, Bokvennen, Oslo Kristin Kilsti
Europeana -Belarusian 2015, Lohvinau Literature House, Vilnius Siarhei Smatrychenka
Europeana 2015, Petergailis, Riga Zita Zaca
Europeana - Ukraine 2015, Stareho Leva, Lviv Alex Sevruk
Europeana - South Korea 2015, The Open Books Co, Paju Book City Bora Chung
ΕΒΡΟΠΕΑΗΑ 2016, Templum, Skopje Margareta Karajanova
Europeana. Breve storia del XX secolo 2017, Quodlibet, Macerata Andrea Libero Carbone
Europeana. Një histori e shkurt e shei XX 2017, Ombra GVG, Tirana Elona Kodhel
Europeana. Uma breve história do s&oecute;culo XX 2017,Antigona, Lisboa Lumir Nahodil
Europeana (English stage rights) 2017, Artangel, Londona
Europeana. Kahekümnenda sajandi lühiajalugu 2018, Loomingu Raamatukogu,Tallinn Küllike Tohver
Europeana (new edition) 2018, Aspekt, Stockholm Mats Larsson
Europeana 2018, Nashremahi, Teheran Khasháyár Deyhimi
Europeana - Chinese edition 2018, Donain Publishing, Taipei City
Europeana (new edition) 2019, Czernin Verlag, Wien Michael Stavarić
Europeana (English stage rights) 2019, Royal Shakespeare Company, London
Europeana (German stage rights) 2020, Schauspiel Stuttgart
Europeana (Italian stage rights) 2020, Associazione Culturale Sotterraneo, Florence
Europeana (Italian stage rights) 2021, Associazione Mittelfest, Cividale del Friuli
Europeana (International film rights) 2021, Corso Film, Cologne, Germany i
Europeana - Philippine edition 2021 Czech embassy, Manila Collective of translators
Europeana. 20. vuosisadan lyhyt historia 2022, Siltala Publishers, Helsinki Eero Balk
Armenian edition in progress Vogi-Nairi, Yerevan
New American in progress Dalkey Archive / Deep Vellum, Dallas Gerald Turner
1
Příhodná chvíle, 1855
Instant propice, 1855 2006, Editions Allia, Paris Marianne Canavaggio
A megfelelõ pillanat, 1855 2006, Kalligram Kiado, Budapest László G. Kovács
Поgхоgящ nоnенм, 1855 2007, Faakel Express Publishers, Sofia Jovanka Trifonova
Die Gunst der Stunde, 1855 2007, Residens Verlag, St. Pölten Michael Stavarić
Dogodna chwila, 1855 2007, Fundacja Pogranicze, Sejny Jan Stachowski
Instante propicio, 1855 2007, Editorial Melusina, Barcelona Kepa Uharte
Istante propizio, 1855 2007, Duepunti edizione, Palermo Elena Paul
The Opportune Moment, 1855 2011, Dalkey Archive Press, Chicago Alex Zucker
Het geschikte moment, 1855 2013, Uitgeverij IJzer, Utrecht Edgar de Bruin
Momentul prielnic. 1855 2016, Vremea, Bucharest Helliana Ianculescu
Istante propizio, 1855 2018, Exorma Edizioni, Rome Elena Paul
Serbian edition in progress IPC Media, Belgrade
1
Ad acta
Ad acta 2009, Kalligram, Budapest László G. Kovács
Ad acta 2009, Prozoretz, Sofia Jovanka Trifonova
Case Closed 2010, Dalkey Archive Press, Chicago Alex Zucker
Classé sans suite 2012, Editions Allia, Paris Marianne Canavaggio
Ad acta 2015, Dereta, Belgrade Marija Ilić, Aleksandar Ilić
Lieta ir slēgta 2016, Petergailis, Riga Halina Lapiņa
Casa irrisolto 2016, Keller editore, Rovereto Alessandro Catalano
Een afgedane zaak 2017, Zirimiri Press, Amsterdam Edgar de Bruin
Case Closed - Arabic edition 2018, Al Arabi, Cairo Khalid Al Biltagi
Ad acta 2019, Editura Vremea, Bucharest Helliana Ianculescu
Macedonian edition in progress Magor Publishing, Skopje
Polish edition in progress Fundacja Pogranicze, Sejny
Turkish edition in progress Epona, Istanbul
1
Dům bosého
Haus des Barfüßigen 2010, Czernin Verlag, Wien Michael Stavarić
Le Silence aussi 2012, Editions Allia, Paris Benoît Meunier
Bulgarian edition in progress Faakel Express Publishers, Sofia Vitbo Rakovski
1
Pojednání o případném pití vína, totiž velikém a ustavičném
Trattato sul buon uso del vino 2009, Duepunti edizione, Palermo Alessandro Catalano
Traité de bon usage de vin 2009, Editions Allia, Paris Marianne Canavaggio
Tratado del buen uso del vino 2009, Melusina, Barcelona Julieta Lionetti
Hungarian edition in progress Kaligram, Budapest László G. Kovács
1
Konec světa se prý nekonal / La fin du monde n'aurait pas eu lieu
La fine del mondo sembra non sia arrivata 2018, Quodlibet, Macerata Andrea Libero Carbone
The End of the World Might Not Have Taken Place 2020, Dalkey Archive, Chicago Alexander Hertich
Portugese edition in progress Antigona, Lisboa
Macedonian edition in progress Slavika Libris, Skopje
Arabic edition in progress Al Arabi, Cairo
Greek edition in progress World Books, Athens


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