Ondřej Štindl
Ondřej Štindl (b. 1966) is a renowned journalist who works as a columnist for the news site and daily paper Deník N. In his texts, like those of other members of the revolutionary generation, the starting points and legacy of the Velvet Revolution are a constant given. Coming to terms with Czech post-war history also occupies his artistic work. Štindl has written two novels, Mondschein (2012) and To the Frontier (2016), and several screenplays, two of which won the Czech Republic’s most important film award, the Czech Lion. In February 2020, he was awarded the prestigious Ferdinand Peroutka Prize for Journalist of the Year. His latest novel, So Much Ash (2022), won the Czech round of the European Union Prize for Literature.
WINNER OF THE CZECH ROUND OF THE EUROPEAN UNION PRIZE FOR LITERATURE (2023)
AWARDED THE PRESTIGIOUS FERDINAND PEROUTKA PRIZE FOR THE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR 2020
One Day This Will Be Yours
September 2025, 248 pages
Available material: English summary, English sample
A cleverly crafted story of grotesque humor, sarcasm, sorrow, and longing
At first glance, the message seems straightforward–but what does it truly mean? Who is passing what to whom – and is it a gift or a burden? Luky, a young man from modern-day Prague, sets out on a journey for answers that takes him to life’s most fundamental questions: Who am I, really? Where do my true roots lie? What have I lost, and what can I still gain? Can I break free from my family’s legacy and the expectations of others?
This novel further explores where reality ends and the illusion of social media begins. Is it better to take control of your own life, or to let yourself be shaped by a role in a fabricated virtual story? And what happens when these two worlds – the real and the digital – collide?
“So Much Ash is a novel that transcends the norms of contemporary Czech literary fiction and can also attract foreign readers.”
— The Czech jury of the 2023 EU Prize for Literature
