Stop One: 17:00 Jan Žižka Barracks, read by Jakub Kabeš Valerij MARKUS (*1993) wrote his novel Traces on the Road based on his own experiences and real-life combat in a paratroop unit in eastern Ukraine. He has been in the army since he was 18 years old. He participated in the fighting in Eastern Ukraine since 2014 and returned to the front after February 2022, where he served as a senior non-commissioned officer of the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade "Magura". He is popular on social media, where he shares authentic experiences of the war.
17:30 MŠ Z Bertík, read by Veronika Khomová Ukrainian fairy tales are rich in folk wisdom, magic and nature. Among the most famous are Ivasik-Telesik, About the Donut (Kolok), About the Big Beet, and Goose-Legs. They often emphasize the triumph of good, cleverness and diligence over evil, often with elements of magic and animal heroes. In many, devils act as magical creatures who test human patience but are ultimately defeated by diligence and cleverness (often in combination with other creatures such as Frost, Hunger, Drought). The devils in these stories are not only scary but also friendly, and they abound with common human qualities and foibles. As part of Literatour, we will hear the fairy tale "The Cossack's Luck".
18:00 Kasárna 6. október, read by Jan Jedlinský Tomáš FORRÓ (*1979) is a Slovak journalist and reporter who covers crisis areas. The Siren's Song is a journey into the heart of the Ukrainian war. It is an authentic book of reportage that brings raw testimony from the front line. In it, the author charts the reality of life in Ukraine after the Russian invasion, the humanitarian situation, and brings first-hand accounts from people for whom the war is their daily bread. The book offers deep insight beyond the conventional media portrayal.
Stop four: 18:30 Technical Museum, read by Markéta Tallerová Tamara DUDA (*1976, also known as Tamara Horicha Zernya) is a Ukrainian writer and translator. Daughter (2019) is her debut novel. It is based on stories the author collected between 2014-2016. The main character observes with often surprising irony and humour the war events around her and herself. She finds new friends, but also witnesses how years of neighbourly ties turn into bloodshed at the snap of a finger.
Stop 5: 19:00 CPIC for Liberec Region (Voronezh Street), read by Václav Helšus Andrej KURKOV is a Ukrainian writer, screenwriter and journalist. His books have been translated into more than forty languages. He won the prestigious French literary prize Médics in 2022 for Grey Bees. Even during the ongoing war, he remains in Ukraine and frequently comments on the situation there for European and American media. A divorced man in his fifties, Sergei Sergeyevich wants little more than to help his bees collect pollen in peace. But he lives in the Ukrainian Donbas, where the war has been dragging on for years and has not been good for the bees, so he decides to go to Crimea, where his charges will have peace and quiet. The protagonist encounters a whole spectrum of people involved in the conflict, unwittingly and by choice. Despite the heavy subject matter, the novel is full of scenes delivered with hyperbole and dark humour.
Annotation:
Literatour 2026: Good evening, we are from Ukraine
