Eszter T. Molnár: With Unsettling Precision

'As Péter Esterházy once succinctly said, the Hungarian bourgeoisie as a class was made up of exactly one person, Márai himself.' – In our latest addition to the Starter Pack series, Hanna Zelma Horányi introduces Sándor Márai's Confessions of a Bourgeois I-II.

We kick off our author of the month focus on Eszter T. Molnár with Off-Season, a sweltering Balaton noir steeped in sunscreen, mafia mouthpieces, and political intrigue, translated by Austin Wagner. It is the opening story of her 2025 collection Landscape Before Gunshot.

Eszter T. Molnár, a writer whose incredible range across genre and language is matched only by her unflinching precision, is HLO's author of the month this July.

Two Hungarian children’s books by Judit Ágnes Kiss and Mariann Máray have been named among the world’s best on the IBBY list.

Tímea Tankó’s German translation of András Visky’s novel, Kitelepítés, has won the prestigious literary award Internationaler Literaturepreis.

"Péter Bognár, in what he terms an anti-detective novel, successfully employs trope upon trope of the detective genre, while subverting expectations at every turn," – Dániel Bálint Kemény's review of the author's third novel in the metafictional, anti-detective series.

The Theatre Critics Guild has awarded a posthumous lifetime achievement award to Ádám Nádasdy, who passed away on 29 March, 2026. The award will be symbolically presented on 20 September at the 47th Theatre Critics Guild gala evening.

Kinga Tóth was awarded the Kelag Prize for her work OstblockMädl (East Block Girl), which focuses on labor migration and xenophobia.

Can we read Lili Kemény’s novel Nem (No) – her ‘non-novel’? – in the context of the dysfunctionality of current literary existence; and if yes, is the novel trying to announce, complete or transcend this dysfunctionality? – From 2024, this is Imre Bartók's review of Lili Kemény's provocative and polarizing debut novel.

An excerpt from Gyula Krúdy's novella Autumn Meeting, exemplifying his sharp wit through Rizili, a charming yet ruthless socialite who leads a suspended jockey on an intoxicating night through Budapest’s City Parkone. One of three novellas in the recently published collection Mrs. Kleofas's Rooster by Gyula Krúdy, translated by John Batki and published by Seagull Books.

The Hungarian Translators’ House Foundation is organizing the 2nd edition of its fellowship targeted at European publishers of literary fiction. The fellowship will take place in Balatonfüred, Hungary, in the Translators’ House. Six fellows will be chosen among the applicants.

Get a copy of the latest issue of MPT for a few Hungarian treats, including Szilárd Borbély, János Pilinszky, Anna T. Szabó and István Vörös.

The Bloomsday Contemporary Art Festival was held in Szombathely on June 12–13 and 16 this week. The festival pays tribute to James Joyce and his world-famous work, Ulysses.

An excerpt from Lili Kemény's No, in a translation by Ilona Kappanyos, which looks back on memories from the author's premature childhood. The author describes the hybrid, autobiographical novel, which became a sensation in Hungary and won the 2024 Margó Prize for best debut, as "a concentrated account of twenty-five years of personal – aesthetic, ethical, political, sexual – experiences ... a bundle of energy".

“We will guarantee the free operation of the book market, initiate broad consultations with all stakeholders regarding its regulation, suspend the application of the fixed-price law, and review those laws that Fidesz-KDNP passed for their own ends, falsely using child protection as a pretext,” – announced Zoltán Tarr on Thursday in Budapest at the opening of the Festive Book Week.

The 97th Book Week was opened on Thursday, 11 June, by David Szalay, a British-Canadian writer of Hungarian descent, at Vörösmarty Square. His novel Flesh, which won the Booker Prize last year, was published in translation for Book Week under the Hungarian title Test. His speech was interpreted by the book's Hungarian translator András Barabás.

It's open call season again at HLO, and we want to read your writings and translations!

With opening remarks by Katalin Gál, president of the Hungarian Book Publishers’ Association (MKKE), a speech by Booker Prize-winning author David Szalay, and an address by Budapest mayor Gergely Karácsony, the 97th Book Week opens tomorrow at Vörösmarty Square.

"This kind of postconceptualist hybrid I wrote is not native to Hungarian literature. A concentrated account of twenty-five years of personal – aesthetic, ethical, political, sexual – experiences." – Hanna Zelma Horányi interviews Lili Kemény about her Margó Prize-winning debut novel, Nem (No).