History

In 2004, Prague Writers´ Festival celebrates its 14th anniversary. The Festival is one of the most important cultural events in Europe with its unique combination of outstanding world´s authors, presentation in international media and live broadcast on the internet.

The Festival dates from Keats House, London 1980, when with "Index on Censorship" we brought vital authors, or translations of their work, from Central and Eastern Europe to the attention of the public. As Herzen noted: "Fish were born to fly, yet everywhere they swim." Fortunately in 1991, we could fly east and bring outstanding authors to Prague as part of the International Book Fair. In 1995, the Festival declared its independence, becoming a Czech cultural foundation in 1997.

The Prague Writers' Festival began in Valdštejnský palác in May 1991, through a symposium of twenty Czech authors who had opposed the communist regime: Josef Škvorecký, Karel Pecka, Ludvík Vaculík, Ivan Klíma, Milan Jungmann, Eva Kantůrková, and Jiří Stránský were among those who debated the theme: "Wedding Preparations in the Country".

Festival director Michael March

The doors were opened and have remained open at the Viola Theatre, the Franz Kafka Centre, the Celetná Theatre, the Studio Ypsilon and Theatre Minor, where the Festival has encamped over the years - where Prague has witnessed great writers and the art of literature: Martin Amis, António Franco Alexandre, Aharon Appelfeld, Margaret Atwood, Biyi Bandele, John Banville, Julian Barnes, Robert Bly, André du Bouchet, John Calder, Roberto Calasso, Robert Creeley, Bei Dao, Daniel de Roulet, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, E.L. Doctorow, Mircea Dinescu, Paul Durcan, Péter Esterházy, Per Olov Enquist, Lilian Faschinger, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Sylva Fischerová, Richard Ford, Janice Galloway, Erich Hackl, Miklós Haraszti, Dermot Healy, Miroslav Holub, Bohumil Hrabal, Zoë Jenny, Ján Johanides, James Kelman, Peter Stephan Jungk, Ryszard Krynicki, György Konrád, Menis Koumandareas, Hanna Krall, Agota Kristof, Arnošt Lustig, Patrick McCabe, Ian McEwan, Claudio Magris, David Malouf, Dacia Maraini, Robert Menasse, Anne Michaels, Frank Moorhouse, Sławomir Mrożek, Herta Müller, Adolf Muschg, Dimitris Nollas, Timothy O´Grady, Vladimír Páral, Brian Patten, Erica Pedretti, György Petri, Harold Pinter, Ishmael Reed, Sylvie Richterová, Salman Rushdie, José Saramago, Ingo Schulze, W.G. Sebald, Martin M. Šimečka, Josef Škvorecký, Susan Sontag, Marin Sorescu, Márcio Souza, Robert Stone, William Styron, Andrzej Szczypiorski, D.M. Thomas, R.S. Thomas, Colm Tóibín, Jáchym Topol, Josef Topol, Spiros Vergos, Gore Vidal, Michal Viewegh, Pavel Vilikovský, Gary Younge, Natan Zach, Zinovy Zinik, Rui Zink.

And so the Festival lives on.

Archive  Internet presentations of PWF 1998 to 2002

20 - 25 April 1998	12 - 16 April 1999	9 - 15 April 2000
1 - 6 April 2001	21 - 25 April 2002	6 - 10 April 2003