Debut novella · Malvern, 2021
A lyrical story of returning to the grey town of one's childhood, of a lost friend and of the thin line between reality, dream and apparition.
Nominated for the Magnesia Litera 2022 award · DILIA Litera Debut of the Year
Eliška Beranová · novella
The story
A young woman returns to the anonymous grey Czech town of her childhood. The railway station, the former hospital, the villa, a little shop and the allotment colony gradually summon memories of her closest friend: a sensitive lover of fish, who is no longer alive.
The book is about childhood, friendship, loss and memory. And about the thin line between reality, dream and apparition.
Invite the author to your eventNomination
Magnesia Litera 2022 · DILIA Litera Debut of the Year
The debut Chlapec s rybí hlavou was nominated for the DILIA Litera Debut of the Year prize within Magnesia Litera 2022.
Recommendation
The poet and translator Petr Borkovec on the novella Chlapec s rybí hlavou. Translated from the Czech recommendation.
Beneath the town's seemingly superficial drabness lurk dark and profoundly human photographic moments, captured in a distinctive and stylistically exceptional language. In the end, The Boy with a Fish Head offers us a love story of the twenty-first century, free of stylised stereotypes, culminating in an almost mythologising rediscovery of oneself.
Video
A short video look at the novella Chlapec s rybí hlavou.
Published books
All three books are currently available in Czech only.
01 / 2021 · DEBUT
A lyrical dive into an anonymous Czech town where the railway station, the former hospital and the allotment colony stir up memories of a lost friend. About childhood, friendship, loss and memory.
Available in Czech only.
02 / 2022
Poetry in prose about the environmental problems of the present day. Urgent, colourful and full of arresting images.
Available in Czech only.
03 / 2023
A fragile, dark-violet novella about love across generations and about coming to terms with the fear of one's own mortality. In a fragmented composition we follow the bond between an anxious grandmother and a granddaughter overflowing with life.
Available in Czech only.
Moments
Foreign rights
Publishers interested in translation and publication rights are warmly invited to get in touch. Please share your territory, language and the title or titles you are considering.
About the author
Eliška Beranová (b. 1994) is a Czech writer and lawyer. Her debut Chlapec s rybí hlavou was nominated for the Magnesia Litera award and for the DILIA Litera Debut of the Year prize.
In 2025 she was selected for CELA, the European project for the emerging generation of writers. On the CELA website, readers canread excerpts from The Boy with a Fish Head in nine European languages.
International programmes
Events and conversations in English.
Eliška Beranová has appeared at international literary festivals and is comfortable taking part in conversations, moderating discussions and answering audience questions in English. To invite her to your festival, bookstore or literary event, use the enquiry form below.
Author events
A literary evening, a conversation and a meeting with what lies between the lines.