The Apex Book of World SF 4 edited by Mahvesh Murad is coming in late August. Between now and then, we would like to feature some of the contributors in the anthology.
Julie Novakova was born in Prague, the Czech Republic. She is a writer, evolutionary biologist, and occasional translator who has published seven novels, one anthology, and more than thirty short stories in Czech. Some of her English stories have been published in Clarkesworld, Perihelion SF, and Fantasy Scroll.
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Tell us a little about your story in The Apex Book of World SF 4.
“The Symphony of Ice and Dust” opens with a small group of composers from a far future, heading to the distant dwarf planet Sedna for inspiration for their next piece. Upon arrival, they discover that they are not the first humans there; an expedition had actually been sent there during Sedna's last perihelion at the end of our century. The stories of those two missions intertwine and the far-future humans uncover the course of their long-gone predecessors.
Why do you feel it is important to read stories from around the globe?
Each culture has its own specifics: unique history, language specialties, myths, sights, natural environment, etc. that can become a basis for a remarkable and unique story. We're widening our horizons by reading fiction from all over the world, and it can be very entertaining and thought-provoking as well. And while the stories may be highly influenced by the author's culture, they can also show us how futile it usually is to try to strictly define some "national schools" and that the works can be accessible everywhere.
If you could tell people to read one author from your home country, who would it be and why?
That's a tough question. The great classics by Čapek or Nesvadba are available in translation but to get to know current Czech fiction, one should read works that mostly haven't been translated yet, like Vilma Kadlečková's Mycelium series in case of novels, or Hanuš Seiner's stories in case of short fiction. These are brilliant. But I've already translated two of them and hope they're accepted upon submission! I'd watch out for his name. I've also heard rumors about translation of Vilma's books, so we may encounter them on the English-speaking market in time... One day, I may get the ambition to compile a representative anthology of translations of contemporary Czech short fiction. I know of works by many authors that would deserve a place in it.
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