Running from early July through the beginning of August, Authors’ Reading Month (MAČ)—the biggest literature festival in Central Europe—offers readings by both local and international writers. Readings are held across three countries: Czechia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. In Slovakia, public readings have been being held in Bratislava, Trenčín, and Prešov. On July 23 though, this literary gathering expanded beyond Czechia and Slovakia to include the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
In past years, the event highlighted authors from a single featured country. This year, however, the spotlight is on exiled writers from around the world, offering audiences a broader and more diverse literary experience.
On July 22, Martina Greňová Šimkovičová attended a reading in Prešov. She was delighted to reconnect with her former university professor, acclaimed Slovak playwright Karol Horák, and to hear a short story from "Jokes for the Gunmen" by Palestinian writer Mazen Maarouf — one of 31 writers from 26 countries presenting their work to Slovak audiences as part of the program.
The following conversation about his collection of absurd grotesque stories—longlisted for a Man Booker International Prize in 2019—was conducted by Pavel Drábek, a theatre historian and academic living in the UK who was the program dramaturg of this event.
MAČ 2025
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