During the pre-Christmas season, author Tomáš Hejna took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with us. He is a talented, incredibly hardworking, and prominent publicist. He is currently in what one might call the prime of his life, having published his thirty-third book just recently at the age of thirty-three.

Tomáš Hejna (born in 1991) studied at the School of Book Culture. He entered the literary scene in 2011 with his poetry collection, *First Blossoms*. He has long been involved in the study of literary history, Czech and world history, and prominent figures, often collecting legends and myths. His creative output is remarkable. He writes both prose and non-fiction, focusing in his books not only on important events and significant places, but also on those known only to a select few. Furthermore, he is dedicated to promoting the work of a wonderful group of people, purveyors of good entertainment, from singers to comedians, known as the ARTES Artistic Association. His booklets profiling the members and activities of ARTES are always a source of great interest to readers. We are certain that this new publication will also enrich our pre-Christmas selection.

We were curious to know the title and what we might find inside…

*Forgotten Figures of Czech Entertainment*… (laughs) It is a somewhat loose continuation of a series I started 12 years ago with a book titled *Forgotten Figures of Czech Literature*, and in reality, this is only the second book in the series, as I was not entirely satisfied with the first one.

As part of the exhibition celebrating the anniversary of Olympia Publishing House, there was a display of titles published over the years, along with discussions with authors, readers, and publishing staff.

How does ARTES and Tomáš Hejna connect?

They have been connected since 2016, when I was introduced to ARTES by its then-chairman and my friend, Václav Junek. We first collaborated on the publication of his book, *To Die for Film*, which I edited at Olympia, and in the years that followed, we have printed all of his works. I then became a member of the executive board, founded a new magazine called *Forbína* in 2021, and together with cultural sociologist Václav Soldát, I manage a large website, zabava-artes.cz, which has over 700 articles in the past three years about Czech actors, composers, writers, film, theater, music, variety shows, etc. We have also published a series of books together and are planning more.

Each year, ARTES awards prizes to selected "entertainers" for their activities, popularity, and their ability to maintain a sense of humor throughout their lives.

That's right, the award is called *Master of Entertainment*, and this year was the ninth edition, held at Studio Ypsilon. This year was a bit different; since February, Tomáš Magnusek has been at the helm of ARTES, and we are joined by musician Vladimír Kopp, Petr Salava, Martin Dejdar, producer Marie Schillerová, and economist Jana Jůnová. This is probably the best group since I joined ARTES. In recent years, we have also served as the jury, but other members also submitted nominations.

This year, we awarded the prize in the junior category for the first time, to Štěpán Kozub, and a posthumous award, which went to the son of Vladimír Menšík. Other recipients of the awards were Eva Hrušková, Jaroslav Suchánek, Zuzana Bubílková, Pavel Větrovec, and Láďa Kerndl. He was probably the happiest of all, because even though he has been working as a singer for several decades, this is his first ever award.

The book is being released at the end of 2024, marking the 70th anniversary of the leading Czech publishing house, Olympia. You are currently the editor-in-chief of this legendary publishing house. How did you celebrate this unique anniversary?

After a year-long hiatus, we returned to the Prague Book Fair with a completely new stand. The books from this year have a unique logo on the posters, which indicates that they were published during our anniversary year. On the Artes website, there is a series about the history of Olympia, which also forms the basis of the book *70 Years of Olympia Publishing in a Nutshell* – available on our website. And finally, at the end of October, we held a truly large two-day exhibition about our history in Velké Přílepy, where many of our former employees and authors were present.

Finally: What will Artes and Olympia surprise us with in 2025?

I can't reveal what Artes has in store, but we will definitely meet our members and supporters at a new location. We are already in talks with the management of Fidlovačka. Together, we are planning to publish the first volume of the continuation of the *Encyclopedia of Entertainment Arts* and we will be working with Václav Soldát to complete a joint book about Czech and Czechoslovakian film "firsts."

And at Olympia, a diverse publishing plan is in the works, which should include a book about Avia, the *Small Encyclopedia of Czech History*, a popular science "dictionary" of Czech composers called *Conservatory of Europe*, a new book by Martin Mahdal about the paratrooper Bublík, and we hope to realize the long-planned project *Atlas of Czech and Czechoslovak Industry*.

Liquid bread is an essential accompaniment to literature and its creators. It also tastes good to Tomáš Hejna.

As we mentioned in the introduction, Tomáš Hejna was born in 1991. He studied at the Book Culture Secondary School and entered literature with his poetry collection *First Flowers* in 2011. He writes prose and non-fiction. Among his many published works, we can mention *Forgotten Figures of Czech Literature, Iconic Places of Prague, The Přemyslid Middle Bohemia, Legends, Myths, and Tales from Okoř to the Vltava*, as well as *50 Interesting Facts about Kralupsko, Slánsko, and Kladensko*, and other titles. More information is available at www.iolympia.cz.

Ivan Černý

PHOTO - Archive of Olympia Publishing House