Alena Machoninová is a Czech Russian specialist, novelist, and translator. She specializes in contemporary Russian prose, camp literature, and unofficial poetry. Her Czech translations include works by Maria Stepanova and Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Oksana Vasyakina's "Rana" and "Steppe," Tamara Petkevich's memoirs, and Andrei Platonov's "Happy Moscow," among others. Together with Jan Machonin, she compiled and translated an anthology of poets from the Lianozovo school, "Stealers of Everyday Moments" (Zloději všedních okamžiků, 2016). In 2023, she published "Hella," which was awarded the Czech Literary Foundation Prize, the Magnesia Litera Book of the Year Award, and the Visegrad Literary Award. In April, her essay-novel “What Do You Think He Sees” (Co myslíš, co vidí) will be published by the Prague publishing house Maraton.
Photo by Tereza Hrubá.