Balla

05. 10. 2022

One of the most original writers on the Slovak literary scene, Balla is famous for his absurd stories about lonely, alienated and strange individuals incapable of relationships with other human beings. Although his outlook could be labeled pessimistic, his fiction is not devoid of humor. In 1996 he won the Ivan Krasko Prize for his first collection of short stories, Leptokaria. In 2011 he published V mene otca (In the Name of the Father), a novella with autobiographical elements that was awarded the prestigious Anasoft Litera Prize the following year. In 2015 he published another novella, Veľká láska (Big Love). His latest novel is called Medzi ruinami (Among the Ruins, 2021). In 2021, a selection of the author’s selection of short stories celebrating his literary debut 25 years ago, entitled 25 x Balla came out. Despite being the recipient of several important literary prizes, Balla lives outside the limelight in the small town of Nové Zámky, where, like Franz Kafka, he works as a public official at the local Labor Office.