Anton Hykisch

Anton Hykisch (23 February 1932 – 17 July 2024) was a Slovak writer, politician and diplomat. Hykisch was a member of the Slovak National Assembly (Slovak Parliament) from 1990 to 1992 and the first Slovak ambassador to Canada from 1993 to 1997.

Biography Hykisch was born in a family of a clerk and received his education in Banská Štiavnica, Pukanka, Levice and finally in Bratislava, where he studied from 1951 to 1956 at the University of Economics. In 1956–1958 he worked in a research institute, in 1958 at the Railway Construction, in 1958–1962 at the Horticultural and Recreational Services of the City of Bratislava. From 1962 to 1969 he worked as a literary editor at the Czechoslovak Radio, from 1969 to 1974 at the Central Library of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and from 1974 he worked at Diel. From 1987 he was editor and later director of the Mladé letá publishing house, from 1990 to 1992, he was a Member of Parliament and from 1993 to 1997 he was Ambassador to Canada. He died on 17 July 2024, at the age of 92.

Works For adults 1961 – Dream Enters the Station, short story 1963 – A Step into the Unknown, debut novel (written and published in 1959, scrapped immediately after publication) 1963 – I Met You, short story 1964 – Naďa, novella 1965 – Námestie v Mähring, novel 1971 – And you won't find peace anywhere, or Murder in the Spa, detective story (published only in Czech) 1977 – The Time of the Masters, a two-part historical novel 1978 – Relationships, short story 1979 – The Good Secret Brain, a collection of science fiction short stories and news 1980 – Desire, short story 1984 – Love the Queen, historical novel 1988 – Atomic Summer, novel – fictionalization of current events 1990 – Defense of Secrets, a collection of fantasy prose 1999 – Maria Theresa 2006 – The Thirteenth Hour. Time of the Masters (reissue) 2006 – Alone in Strange Cities 2007 – Remember the Tsar 2009 – The Delights of Old Times. A novel about the 20th century with autobiographical elements 2016 – Believe the Emperor, a historical novel from the reign of Joseph II.

For children 1987 – The Future is Today, a non-fiction book 1989 – Friend Čipko, author's fairy tale connected with popular science literature

Essays 2001 – Let's not be afraid of the world 2003 – What I Think About It

Nonfiction 1968 – Canada is not "Canada", a travel book of reports 1975 – Steering wheels to the skies, a factual book about car racing and famous racers 1990 – Vacation in Beijing, travelogue 2004 – What politics tastes like. Memories and Records from 1990-1992

Other 1965 – He doesn't play the blues for me, screenplay for the film, based on the novel A Step into the Unknown 1966 – Praskanie, radio play 1969 – Conception, radio play 1988 – Such Strange Conversations, radio work