About
Earlier this year, Alex received an NEA Literary Translation Fellowship to work on Biography of a Black-and-White Lamb, a translation of Afro-Czech author Tomáš Zmeškal's second novel.
Alex's translation of the Zuzana Říhová novel Playing Wolf is forthcoming from Catapult in September.
Currently, Alex is seeking publishers for five novels: Biography of a Black-and-White Lamb, by Tomáš Zmeškal; Dust Collectors and Deathmaiden, by Lucie Faulerová; and Cracks and Bodies, by Klára Vlasáková. For samples, synopses, and author bios, write alexz (dot) nyc (at) gmail (dot) com.
Featured Work
Life After Kafka
2024
While taking the measure of literary fame’s long shadow, Life After Kafka depicts the magic and poison of memories, and what we cling to when all else is lost. Most of all, it illuminates the bravery required to move forward through the shattered remains of one world to rebuild a life in a new one.
"Zucker, the preeminent translator of contemporary Czech fiction, is characteristically deft here, turning out an edition that few readers would ever suspect originated in a different language. Each character retains a distinctive voice, differentiated across eras. Narrative chapters sing while Platzová’s first-person accounts take on an almost conversational yet documentary tone of their own." — Words Without Borders
Other Works
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The Book of Prague
2023
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A Sensitive Person
2023
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The Lake, by Bianca Bellová
2022
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The Selected Writings of Jan Patocka: Care for the Soul
2022
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The Movement, by Petra Hůlová
2021
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Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, by J. R. Pick
2018
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Three Plastic Rooms, by Petra Hulová
2017
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Angel Station, by Jáchym Topol
2017
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Midway Upon the Journey of Our Life, by Josef Jedlička
2016
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Love Letter in Cuneiform, by Tomáš Zmeškal
2016
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The Attempt, by Magdaléna Platzová
2016
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Innocence; or, Murder on Steep Street, by Heda Margolius Kovály
2015
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Reconstructing Atrocity Prevention (editor)
2015
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The Devil’s Workshop, by Jáchym Topol
2013
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The Opportune Moment, 1855, by Patrik Ouředník
2011
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Case Closed, by Patrik Ouředník
2010
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All This Belongs to Me, by Petra Hůlová
2009
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City Sister Silver, by Jáchym Topol
2000
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More Than One Life, by Miloslava Holubová
1999
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A Trip to the Train Station, by Jáchym Topol
1995; 2011
Awards and Recognition
- Bianca Bellová’s The Lake, translated by Alex Zucker, winner of 2023 EBRD Literature Prize
- Bianca Bellová’s The Lake one of three finalists for 2023 EBRD Literature Prize
- Bianca Bellová’s The Lake shortlisted for 2023 EBRD Literature Prize
- Magdaléna Platzová’s The Attempt longlisted for 2018 International DUBLIN Literary Award
- 2017 English PEN Translates Award
- 2013 English PEN Award for Writing in Translation
- 2013 Typographical Translation Award
- 2012 National Endowment for the Arts Literary Fellowship
- 2010 ALTA National Translation Award
Press and Media Mentions
- The Lake by Bianca Bellová, translated by Alex Zucker, wins EBRD Literature Prize 2023
- My translation of Bianca Bellová’s The Lake named as finalist for EBRD Literature Prize 2023
- My translation of Bianca Bellová’s The Lake shortlisted for EBRD Literature Prize 2023
- A taste of Czech literature and translation: a visit from Jáchym Topol and Alex Zucker to the Queen’s Translation Exchange
- “Itʼs Just Pourin Outta Me: On Jáchym Topol’s A Sensitive Person,” at Los Angeles Review of Books
- “Start It Up and Let It Rip: On Jáchym Topol and Alex Zucker’s A Sensitive Person,” at Du Mois Monthly
- My translation of Jáchym Topol’s A Sensitive Person in “The 11 Best Book Covers of January,” at Lit Hub
- Excerpt from Translator’s Introduction to the Jáchym Topol novel A Sensitive Person, at Yale University Press Blog
- The Movement by Petra Hůlová, in “10 UW-Madison profs share their favorite books of 2022,” at The Capital Times
- The importance of the translator and changes within Czech literature – Alexandra Büchler interview with Alex Zucker, at Talking Translation
- Authors Guild Member Spotlight: Alex Zucker
- Writer Glen James Brown reviews The Lake by Bianca Bellová, at Wales Arts Review
- “Review: The Lake by Bianca Bellová, translated by Alex Zucker,” at Nation.Cymru
- The Movement by Petra Hůlová, in “9 Dystopian Novels in Translation to Read Now,” at Words Without Borders
- On the Origins of the Authors Guild Translation Model Contract: An Interview With Alex Zucker
- Excerpt from the novel Dust Collectors by Lucie Faulerová, translated by Alex Zucker, at Columbia Journal
- The Movement by Petra Hůlová, in “7 contemporary Czech novels everyone should read,” at Calvert Journal
- “Waiting for Dystopia,” review of The Movement and interview with Petra Hůlová, at Transitions Online
- The Movement by Petra Hůlová, at Kirkus Reviews
- Petra Hůlová, The Movement: Review at Publishers Weekly
- Petra Hůlová’s new dystopian feminist novel The Movement featured in “Other Worlds, Other Voices: Reading Translated Science Fiction by Women,” on LitHub
- Petra Hůlová’s Mongolian family saga All This Belongs to Me: No. 24 in the Radio Prague International series “The Czech Books You Must Read”
- Jáchym Topol’s The Devil’s Workshop – exploring dark chapters of region’s history: No. 19 in the Radio Prague International series “The Czech Books You Must Read”
- “Alex Zucker: I Don’t Want to Translate Books, I Want to Translate Authors” (Interview with Radio Prague)
- “J. R. Pick and a Brilliant Novel of the Holocaust – At Last Available in English: Part 2” (Radio Prague)
- “J. R. Pick and a Brilliant Novel of the Holocaust – At Last Available in English: Part 1” (Radio Prague)
- “Laughing in the Dark: On J. R. Pick’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” (Los Angeles Review of Books)
- Petra Hůlová, Three Plastic Rooms: Review by Dr. Helen Vassallo on the Translating Women blog
- “Sex, plugs and folderol” (TLS on Petra Hůlová’s Three Plastic Rooms)
- Petra Hůlová’s Three Plastic Rooms in “World Literature Today’s 75 Notable Translations of 2017”
- “Pleasure, Pity, Pain: On Petra Hůlová’s Three Plastic Rooms” (Los Angeles Review of Books)
- Full Stop review of Jáchym Topol’s Angel Station
- TLS on Jáchym Topol’s Angel Station
- Kirkus on Jáchym Topol’s Angel Station
- Magdaléna Platzová’s The Attempt in “10 Books about Occupy Wall Street You Need to Read” at Culture Trip
- TLS on Tomáš Zmeškal’s Love Letter in Cuneiform
- TLS on Josef Jedlička’s Midway Upon the Journey of Our Life
- Magdaléna Platzová’s The Attempt in “75 Notable Translations of 2016” at World Literature Today
- Wall Street Journal on Heda Margolius Kovály’s Innocence
- NPR on Heda Margolius Kovály’s Innocence
- Interview, “Translating Fact into Fiction”
- Interview, “The thrilling, tricky art of translation”
- Interview, “Translators, Rates, Money, and Unions”
- Interview, “Alex Zucker and His Authors”
