Monika Kompaníková is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Slovak fiction. She is a novelist, short-story writer, and author of books for children. She has also worked as a publisher and book editor at the Slovak newspaper Denník N. Boat Number Five, her best-known novel in English, was adapted into an award-winning Slovak film. Janet Livingstone was born in Boston and moved to Czechoslovakia soon after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, later living in Bratislava for more than fifteen years. She began translating Slovak films, plays, and books in 2003. Her translation of Monika Kompaníková’s Boat Number Five was named a finalist for the 2022 EBRD Literature Prize, which recognizes both author and translator.

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• Translator’s NoteBoat Number Five

Monika Kompaníková is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Slovak fiction. She is a novelist, short-story writer, and author of books for children. She has also worked as a publisher and book editor at the Slovak newspaper Denník N. Boat Number Five, her best-known novel in English, was adapted into an award-winning Slovak film. Janet Livingstone was born in Boston and moved to Czechoslovakia soon after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, later living in Bratislava for more than fifteen years. She began translating Slovak films, plays, and books in 2003. Her translation of Monika Kompaníková’s Boat Number Five was named a finalist for the 2022 EBRD Literature Prize, which recognizes both author and translator.

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• Translator’s NoteBoat Number Five