Radka Třeštíková to Publish Under New Pen Name: Velikovski

Radka Třeštíková, one of the best-selling Czech authors of the post-revolutionary era, has announced that she will publish future books under a new pen name — Velikovski. The news was confirmed by Martina Vydrová, spokesperson for the Motto publishing house.

Her forthcoming novel is set in a small medieval town in the south of France. According to the author, the setting was no accident: "There's so much sun there, and in my head this coming-of-age story is full of sunshine, so that's exactly where it had to take place." She admitted the story had been "ringing in her ears" and simply needed to come out — "otherwise you could go mad."

The name change isn't the main point, publisher says

Vydrová stressed that neither Třeštíková nor the publishing house wants the name change to become the focus of attention. "Both sides hope that the media and readers will concentrate above all on the story itself and the text," the spokesperson said.

If the new book sells well, its print run could approach a million copies — though it's unlikely to surpass the popularity of "Někdo to udělat musel" ("Someone Had to Do It"), one of the author's biggest hits.

An unusual move for the Czech book market

Changing the name under which an author has published for years is uncommon in the Czech book market — the practice is far more widespread in the English-speaking world, where it signals to readers that a new work departs from an author's usual genre. The best-known example is J.K. Rowling, who found fame with the Harry Potter series and later wrote crime novels under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

In Czechia, writer Leoš Kyša took a similar path: his 2023 novel "Sudetenland," about his home region, was published under his real name, even though for years he had been known in literary circles — including in science fiction — under the pen name František Kotleta. Both names now sell successfully.

In the past, male pen names for female authors were also common — partly to protect the writers, partly because publishers believed books by men sold better. A classic example is Felix Háj, the pseudonym behind which Marie Wagnerová-Černá (1887–1934) hid, the author of the legendary books about Kája Mařík.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz