I am Klára Smolíková (1974) and I have been writing books for twenty years—especially for children and young people—and I still find it incredibly fulfilling. I often combine text with comic pages and fun extras like information boxes. So far, I have written over sixty books, and my publishing pace really picked up ten years ago when I went freelance.
My comic-book album Viktorka a vesmírná dobrodružství (Victoria and Her Adventures in Space, 2015) received the Golden Ribbon. I won this award again for S Komenským do komiksu (Comenius in Comics, 2020), which also features a large proportion of comic-book pages.
I studied aesthetics and cultural studies at Charles University in Prague, then taught library studies for ten years in the town of Tábor and led a seminar on media education at Charles University for eight years. During this time, I also wrote for children’s magazines and created educational materials for primary schools.
I worked at the Hussite Museum in Tábor and the National Museum in Prague, and my books often focus on bringing history to life. Some examples include:
- Jednooký: Malá knížka o velkém Žižkovi (One-Eyed: A Little Book about the Great Žižka, 2024)
- Cha cha chá, zasmál se Mordechaj (Mordechai Laughed, Bahhahah! 2020), a book about the history of Jews in Bohemia and Moravia, which I wrote together with my son, Tobiáš Smolík, an ethnographer and Hebraist
- Pozor, v knihovně je kocour (Beware, There’s a Cat in the Library, 2019)
- Hus úplně světovej (H. U. S. – Hus Unambiguously Superlative, 2015)
- Husité (The Hussites, 2012)
My work mostly targets young readers—Dubánci (Acorn Elves, 2021–2024, with photos by Petr Václavek) is one of my newest series—but I’ve also written for adults, such as Mrtvá šelma (The Dead Beast, 2015). I created the screenplay for a TV bedtime story Vynálezce Alva (Alva the Inventor, 2012 & 2015) and have authored several scripts for radio fairy tales.
I live in a secluded spot near a forest, just outside Prague. Last year, I spent 130 days meeting readers and drove 20,000 kilometers by car! I love traveling to share my stories and frequently collaborate with librarians and teachers all over the Czech Republic. I’m also open to partnering with foreign publishers, translators, or festival organizers.
In summary:
- 60+ published books
- 6 playful workbooks for nurturing reading and writing skills
- 1 detective novel for adult readers
Feel free to reach out if you’d like to discuss translations, licensing, or other creative projects.
You can contact me at: klara.smolikova@tiscali.cz
