Jakub Plachý studied at the Studio of Illustration and Graphics at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He is the author of educational author's books including Velká kniha čůrání (The Big Book of Peeing), Hakenkreuz in Ordinary Life, and Jak žijí dnes (How They Live Today), among others. His focus is on illustration, sign painting (Chyba & syn), and graphic design. He plays the drums and is one of the innovators behind the Xao gallery and bookstore. His latest publications include a book for young readers "Je Ráno" and a risograph-printed book for caffeine enthusiasts "Barista."

Painter, illustrator, and writer, Daisy Mrázková is the author of more than a dozen picture books for children. She studied at the School of Applied Arts under Professor Antonín Strnadel between 1943 and1944. As an artist, she participated in numerous exhibitions and, along with her husband, was a member of the art group UB 12. Her artistic pursuits included oil painting, and from 1962, children's literature and book illustration. Later in her career, she predominantly focused on pen drawings, colored pencil sketches, and in the 1990s, egg tempera painting. She began exhibiting in 1958 and was a member of the Artistic Association. Her literary works have been translated into Slovak, English, German, Japanese, Lithuanian, and Slovenian. In the 1970s, she pioneered the 'bilderbuch' genre for children. Until her death in 2016, her life remained entwined with of her husband’s, painter Jiří Mrázek (1920–2008).

Luboš Drtina specializes in book and magazine design, illustration, poster creation, exhibition design, author's books, CD design, and free graphic work. Since 1990, he has been designing book layouts and illustrations for various publishers including Pražská imaginace, ERM, Eminent, Thyrsus, Paseka, Volvox Globator, Knihcentrum, Nakladatelství Franze Kafky, Mladá fronta, Akropolis, Academia, Argo, and others. He has graphically designed over 500 book titles. Since 2003, he has been publishing his own bibliophile edition. He has received awards in both domestic and international competitions and from 2003 to 2013, he worked as a lecturer in the studio of type design and typography at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague.

Vojtěch Mašek, a librettist, screenwriter, artist, composer, and lyricist born in 1977, graduated in screenwriting from the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He made his directorial and screenwriting debut with the absurdist story of an exhibitionist called Tomík and his parents, which was featured in the anthology film Šest statečných (1999). He’s also contributed to several short student films. He and his classmate Džian Baban created, among other things, the comic trilogy Monstrkabaret Freda Brunolda uvádí (2004 to 2008) and a series of theater performances titled Jožkalipnikjebožíčlověkaneumílhát!, which were performed at Studio Hrdinů. Vojtěch Mašek introduced the concept of Recykliteratura, which involves combining photographs and texts found in books and magazines to create mainly short anecdotes, often absurd in nature, which sometimes form a cohesive story. This concept gained a lot of popularity on Facebook. In collaboration with director Václav Kadrnka and dramaturg Jiří Soukup, Vojtěch Mašek wrote the screenplay for the historical drama Křižáček (2017). The film, inspired by the epic poem by Jaroslav Vrchlický, is set in the high Middle Ages and received nine Czech Lion nominations, including for the screenplay.

Ivana B. Englmaierová graduated from the Faculty of Education at Charles University in Prague. After her studies, she began teaching, initially at a primary school and later at an art school, focusing on literature, drama, and visual arts. She is dedicated to working with and for children, organizing and co-organizing exhibitions of children's work. She co-authored three books for children about visual arts (Divus 1997) and is an active member of the Klášter association. She lives and works in Bechyně.

Klára Zahrádková studied illustration and graphics at Prague's UMPRUM with Juraj Horváth, interned with Kryštof Kintera and at Berlin's UDK under Henning Wagenbreth. She has authored books such as Návody k použití (Instructions for Use), Kůže kožešina trofej lasička fretka kuna otazník (Skin Fur Trophy Weasel Ferret Marten Question Mark, a photo collection from aukro.cz), Z oceli a větru (Of Steel and Wind), Gewalttätige Rezepte ohne Blut (Recipes of Bloodless Violence), Aroma souznění (Harmony’s Aroma), and Jaro (Spring). She focuses on illustration and graphic design through onkubator.com, and collaborates with the Czech experimental music scene. Living and working in Prague and Leipzig, she co-runs the XaoXax gallery and bookstore with Alžběta Zemanová, Zuzana Bramborová, and Jakub Plachý.

Schaap studied at an art school in Kampen (Christelijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten) and later at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. One of her teachers was Peter van Hugten. Between 1995 and 1999 she studied at a writers' school in Amsterdam. In 1988, she illustrated her first children's book, Joppe, Julia and Jericho by Austrian writer Christine Nöstlinger. Schaap went on to illustrate numerous books for numerous authors, including Francine Oomen, Jacques Vriens, Mieke van Hooft, Thea Dubelaar and Janneke Schotveld. Other authors include Liesbeth van der Jagt, Paul Biegel and Astrid Lindgren. Her illustrations have also been published in children's magazines, such as Okki and Taptoe. In 2017, she made her debut as author with the book Lampje. For this book she won the Nienke van Hichtum-prijs, the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs and the Gouden Griffel. Schaap is the first author to win the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs with a debut novel. She became the second author to win these three awards for her book, Peter van Gestel being the first with his book Winterijs in 2001. In 2018, Schaap also won the Boekenleeuw award for Lampje. The book has been translated by Laura Watkinson into English as Lampie and the Children of the Sea. In 2020, the book was nominated for the Carnegie Medal award. This was the first time a translated book was nominated for the award.

Photo: Bonnita Postma

Eva Volfová, born in 1979 in Teplice, is a versatile artist focusing on drawing, printmaking, collage, textile collage, embroidery, and mixed media. She also runs art workshops for children and adults and teaches art education. Eva studied textiles at VŠUP in Prague and completed internships in Jiří Lindovský's graphics studio at AVU, Juraj Horváth's studio of illustration and graphics at VŠUP, and the Textile Department at the University of Ljubljana. She has authored several illustrated and picture books for children and regularly exhibits her work.

Sylva Fischerová studied French at a language school in Brno. In 1983, she began studying philosophy at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and physics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University. In 1985, she switched to classical philology at the Faculty of Arts, where she graduated in 1991 with a thesis on Problém jednoty areté u Platóna (The Problem of Unity of Virtue in Plato) on the Protagoras dialogue. From 1995 to 2003, she completed her postgraduate studies there, culminating in her dissertation Mohou Múzy lhát? (Can the Muses Lie?). Since 1992, she has been working at the Institute of Greek and Latin Studies as a senior lecturer. Currently, she teaches ancient Greek literature, religion, and philosophy at Charles University. She is the author of eleven poetry collections and also writes short stories, novels, and children's books. For her book interview with philosopher Karel Floss, Bůh vždycky zatřese stavbou (God Always Shakes the Building) (Prague 2011), she received the Czech Literary Fund Foundation Award. In 2018, she became the first Poet Laureate of Prague.

Born in Hradec Králové but raised in Zlín, Alžběta was profoundly influenced by painter and poet Jaroslav Kovanda at the Robinson art school, who taught her to appreciate colors, percieve the world around her and observe life. She completed her education at the Secondary School of Arts and Crafts in Uherské Hradiště before advancing to study illustration and graphics at UMPRUM in Prague. Zemanová now works at the NaPOLI studio, specializing in creating paper foldings, cutouts, and author’s books. She is also a co-manager of the Xao Bookstore and Gallery in Prague's Vršovice district, alongside Klára Zahrádková, Jakub Plachý, and Zuzana Bramborová. A lover of nature, she cultivates a variety of plants including cornflowers, beans, and herbs in her garden in the Podkrkonoší region. Zemanová has a passion for bringing fictional characters to life, crafting them into both fabric and paper toys with their unique stories and personalities under her brand AKA.

Stanislav Setinský is a graduate of the illustration and graphics studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He has created a series of graphic sheets titled Apokalypsa aneb Nowiny strašliwé o konci swěta (Apocalypse or Terrifying News From the End of the World) and has illustrated books for Etgar Keret. Setinský is involved in comics, illustration, and plays in the punk band Kočkolit. His latest authorial book, To je Jeruzalém (This is Jerusalem), is a rich pictorial dictionary created both on-site and in a cottage in a garden colony in Veleslavín.

Her works are distinctly graphic, with an emphasis on the effect of colour and simple shapes. Toys, books, notebooks and clothes, Aino-Maija Metsola's homely and subtly melancholic illustrations are everywhere. Her interest in pattern, decor and surface rhythm is also evident in her work for the textile company Marimekko.

Jan Čumlivski studied Hungarian Philology and Culturology at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University (1998–2005), as well as animation, lettering, and typography at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (since 2002), completing internships in Budapest, Berlin, St. Petersburg, and New York. He writes, draws, engraves, designs fonts, and prints... all of which culminate in his unique authorial books such as Kvartira 77 (2004), Ni čest, ni slávu / Weder Ruhm, noch Ehre (Not For Honor, Not for Glory)(2005), Palmáre (Attorney Fee) (2007), Union – Ideální stát (Union – The Ideal State) (2008), Kolchoz 2047 (2010), Jesus Gym (2010), Střed (Center) (2011), Žár (Blaze) (2014), Póvl (Scum) (2017)... He earns his living through graphic design and teaching (Typolab at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava and at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague). He co-organizes the Tabook festival and is editor of the Baedeker. In 2017, he held a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Drsná škola exhibition at the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava.

www.cumlivski.com

Painter, illustrator, and writer, Daisy Mrázková is the author of more than a dozen picture books for children. She studied at the School of Applied Arts under Professor Antonín Strnadel between 1943 and1944. As an artist, she participated in numerous exhibitions and, along with her husband, was a member of the art group UB 12. Her artistic pursuits included oil painting, and from 1962, children's literature and book illustration. Later in her career, she predominantly focused on pen drawings, colored pencil sketches, and in the 1990s, egg tempera painting. She began exhibiting in 1958 and was a member of the Artistic Association. Her literary works have been translated into Slovak, English, German, Japanese, Lithuanian, and Slovenian. In the 1970s, she pioneered the 'bilderbuch' genre for children. Until her death in 2016, her life remained entwined with of her husband’s, painter Jiří Mrázek (1920–2008).

Jakub Čermák is a songwriter, poet, and director. He is the author of the books Resumé 17, Padavčata (Fallen Apples), Stroboskopy (Stroboscopes), Do vesmíru! (Up To Outer Space) and Středohoří. Under the moniker Cermaque, he has released 9 studio albums: Krajiny bez rytíře, Dům slzí, Přítel holubů, Divozemí, Démon v Paříži, Rodinné album, Gravitace, Neboj, and Teorie dospělosti.

Photo: Tomáš Vodňanský

Marie Štumpfová graduated from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, where she specialized in Illustration and Graphics after studying fashion design and completing an internship at the Academy of Fine Arts under Vladimír Kokolia. Her work today mainly revolves around illustration, book and magazine design, and the creation of author's books. She collaborates with notable publishers including Baobab, Paseka, Běžíliška, Meander, and Euromedia. Marie designed Page magazine for the Luxor bookstore and serves as its art director. She was also behind the previous design of Hybris magazine. Her passion for interdisciplinary work has led her to design projects, including a wooden construction set for children. Her thesis project, Jak zvířata spí (How Animals Sleep), has been celebrated by critics and readers alike, and is now available for children in Japan, Poland, the Netherlands, Korea, and Hungary.

Helena Beguivinová was born in 1951 in Prague and graduated high school in 1970. She spent the 1970s mostly in Brittany. Upon returning to Prague, she worked as a librarian at the Institute of Paint Materials while also engaging in technical translations from French and English. Gradually, she shifted to specialized translations in the humanities. Since the beginning of 1989, she has worked as a freelance translator and interpreter. From 1995, she has translated books, mainly in the humanities but also fiction. She has translated works by authors such as Raymond Aron, Jean-Claude Schmitt, René Girard, Arnold Van Gennep, Gilles Lipovetsky, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Fernand Braudel, Jean-Luc Chalumeau, Maurice-Ruben Hayoun, Marthe Robert, Evelyne Sullerot, Jacques Heers, Marc Bloch, Enzo Traverso, Renaud Camus, Daniel Pennac, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Jorge Semprun, Jean-Michel Guenassia, Michel Pastoureau, and even a poetry anthology from the work of Edmond Jabès.

In 2005, her translation of Michel Rozenfarb's detective novel Chapeau! received a creative award from the Translators' Association. Her translation of the youth book Winter’s End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat was nominated for the Golden Ribbon award in 2008. In 2009, Helena Beguivinová received the Jan Vladislav Prize, awarded by the French Embassy for translations supported by the Šalda Program. In 2012, her translation of Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky was awarded the Magnesia Litera prize in the category of translated literature.

Michaela Kukovičová graduated from the animation studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, where she now works as an assistant in the Illustration and Graphics Studio. She focuses on book and magazine illustration, animation, directing music videos and short films, and illustrating for websites. She leads children's art workshops in cities including Prague, Brno, Bratislava, Warsaw, Bucharest, and Vienna. Kukovičová collaborates with the graphic studio REDESIGN and publishes books with Baobab, Akropolis, Labyrint, and Albatros publishers. Her work breathes new life into the poetic and pop-art approach to using found materials, and is playful and often surprising. Michaela Kukovičová has won awards in competitions such as the Most Beautiful Book of the Year and the Golden Ribbon.

Graduate of the Faculty of Graphic Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. She draws and writes books for children and adults. In 2016 she was nominated for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Ola Cieślak! That's a really smart girl, smart as a waterfall! (Grażka Lange)