The Donkey Is Swiss

Bratislava, December 7, 2017 Before the end of the year, a new book written by the popular Slovak writer Jozef Banáš has been introduced to the domestic book market. Short reflections, aphorisms, essays, jokes, stories, poems, dialogues, sayings, morals. Illustrations by the father and son duo, Ivan and Dávid Popovič, complement all of this perfectly. Let us introduce Jozef Banas´ new, fifteenth book The Donkey Is Swiss. Why such an unusual title? Right on the first pages we find the answer to this question from a story based on a true occurrence which happened in […]

Code 9.1.7 – The first Slovak illustrated novel

Slovakia´s book market has welcomed the first Slovak illustrated novel Code 9.1.7 written by Jozef Banáš. Following the striking success of the novels Code 9, Code 1 and Code 7, of which 115,000 copies have been sold up to now, the reader gets to hold their illustrated omnibus edition. Such an edition is unique in Slovakia. Photographs, maps, notes, comments and explanations enable the reader to have an insider´s view into the author´s travels and to take a glimpse of the countries in which the stories of the Code-trilogy have been born; to visit attractive […]

Jozef Banáš´ presentation in Spain is quite a feat

In its August 2017 issue, the monthly periodical of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) published Jozef Banáš´ short story Messi´s Miracle (Messiho zázrak) in which the author pays tribute to the nurse Peggy at the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Kramáre Hospital in Bratislava and to the football player Lionel Messi. The thrilling story is part of the collection Last Infidelity (Posledná nevera) of which nearly ten thousand copies have been sold. The director of the magazine Fútbol, Luis Arnáiz Arizmendi, personally expressed his gratitude to the Slovak author writing: “It is an […]

Which Slovak books rank among the most-translated?

Czech, Hungarian, Russian as well as Turkish, Arabic or Latvian – these are all languages into which Slovak literary works have been translated. Let’s just say it clearly: Some Slovak books are only good as a free supplement to a feminine magazine or as heating material. The fact that popular stories are often mere junk without artistic value, fortunately, does not define the whole of literature. Original Slovak fiction can pride itself on works that have achieved success in the world and received international awards. As the Slovak book market offers a huge assortment of imported […]

The Russian edition of Banas’ novel The Jubilation Zone has been launched

The most translated Slovak novel the Jubilation Zone has scored another international success. The book written by the award-winning author, Jozef Banas, has been introduced to the Russian market this week. On May 30th, the novel was launched at the Slovak Institute in Moscow. “In the presence of the translators Alla Maskova and Ludmila Sirokova, the book was introduced by the editor-in-chief of the publishing house MIK Moscow, Jelena Parskova and the director of the publishing house Ikar Valeria Malikova,” Jozef Banas confirms. The director of the Slovak Institute, Jan Smihula, appreciates that after a […]

The most popular Slovak man in the Czech Republic launched the Czech edition of Idiots in Politics

On Thursday May 18th, 2017, a festive atmosphere reigned in the Slovak Cultural Center in Prague. The Czech edition of Banas´ bestseller Idiots in Politics released by the publishing house Beskydy was launched by the most popular Slovak man in Czechia, the Vice Prime Minister of the Czech government and Minister of Finance Andrej Babis. Among the guests were the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Prague Peter Weiss and the director of the Slovak Cultural Center Vladimir Valovic. The book was sent on its course in an untraditional way – with a song. The present […]

Jozef at the 2017 Cairo Literature Festival

In February this year, the third round of the Cairo Literature Festival organized by Sefsafa Culture and Publishing took place. It welcomed eighteen writers from sixteen countries – Syria, Egypt, Germany, Canada, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Sudan, USA, Austria, The Netherlands, Great Britain and Iraque.   Slovak literature was represented by Jozef Banas who participated in two discussion panels.   The meet-the-author and reading session for students of the Bohemian and Slovak Studies at the Faculty of Languages of the largest Egyptian University Ain Shams was led in a truly familiar atmosphere. […]

Jozef Banas – the most popular novelist in Slovakia in 2016

On Friday April 7th, 2017, the daily paper Sme brought the wonderful news in its insert Magazín o knihách (The Book Magazine). Readers of the bookstore chain Panta Rhei voted for their favourite author of the year 2016. Jozef Banas placed second right behind Dominik Dán and before another core author of the publishing house Ikar, Jozef Karika. The results were announced during the festive evening Panta Rhei Awards 2016 in Bratislava´s Raffinery Gallery on March 30th. Amongst the female authors another colleague from the publishing house Ikar, Táňa Vasilková Keleová, placed second right behind […]

Jozef Banáš has sold more than a quarter of a million books

Bratislava, November 24th (TASR) – On November 22nd, the author Jozef Banáš passed the threshold of a quarter of a million sold books. This success has been facilitated by his latest novel Kód 7 (Code 7). The year 2016 obviously is one of the most successful years in the author’s career. By the end of the year the overall sales of his books have amounted to more than 200,000 copies released by the publishing house Ikar. And by the end of November, Banáš has received another wonderful news – the total number of sold books […]

The Slovak author Jozef Banáš has a dream of Europe

On May 9th, 2016, the Hungarian PEN Club organized a prestigious roundtable debate in the historic building of the Petöfi Literary Museum in Budapest. The talks were attended by writers from Central European countries such as Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, including Slovakia represented by Jozef Banáš. The debate was led by Mátyás Sárközi, a BBC moderator from London. At the end of the talks, the writers signed an appeal addressed to the citizens of the European Union which stated among other things: “We have to say a clear NO to any attempts aiming at […]