Petr Stančík: Hugo, Chrujda, initiation

Born in 1968 in Rychnov nad Kněžnou. Until 2006, he published under the name Odillo Stradický ze Strdic. He writes prose, poetry, plays for theatre and radio, books for children and young adults, and is also engaged in essay writing and journalism. A self-taught historian, he did not complete his studies in directing at the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He made a living as a “creator and consultant in the field of commercial and non-commercial communication”; for the past decade, he has worked freelance. He has published around fifty books. For children, he writes the successful series featuring the badger Chrujda; for young adults, a series about the trio Hugo, Hubert, and Ofélie. His latest novel is Zasvěcení temnotou (Initiation by Darkness, 2024), a postmodern blend of mysticism and playfulness, pulp and high literature, darkness and initiation.