Lelkárna®

Éminences grises

Of origins of Lelkárna

Chapter 1: The First was a dream

Shared love for beauty, for letters weaving the stories and for the tenderness of the voices of the storytellers sitting in a circle around a warm fire, has often led us to discuss how books used to be carefully printed, clothed in beautiful bindings, and adorned with gold engravings. With a sigh, we watched today’s book production and applauded those who remained true to the art of bookbinding, seeing in the new book not just profit, but a nascent story that could circle the globe and bring joy to readers of all ages.

Until one day, when June was still young and the summer sun was slowly opening its scorching eyes, we decided to start a publishing house together. But it would be no ordinary publishing house. It would be a publishing house that was there for the authors and for the stories. Not the other way around.

Chapter 2: Then there was Pippi Longstocking

Building a company was completely new experience for both of us. Yet we did not give up. After many challenges and sleepless nights, we created Lelkárna – a publishing house dedicated to books that make you stop in the rush of days, redirect the flow of your thoughts away from everyday musts and help your head rest in the world filled with stories.

We have piles of paper covered with stories and buried under the dust of hesitation. And we are not alone. There are others around us that are no different. So we decided to get together to build a creative platform where writers can grow and polish their style (and courage). Through our online newspaper and radio, writers and creative souls can experience what their voice sounds and their writing looks like when sent into the world. Through publishing, they can eventually hold the physical form of their work in their hands.

Epilogue

Our intention is not to hide behind the wall of anonymity of cyberspace, so we regularly sit down with a filtered coffee or leaf tea and chat with those who want to meet us in person. About books and Wonderland, where good stories sleep before someone lures them out and weaves them onto paper.

Us

Bára Dvořáková

Immunologist and science populariser. Since 2017, she has been telling people the stories from science, about the human body and its wondrous immune system. She teaches through stories and fairy tales. She helps to peek behind the curtain of the hidden mysteries, to look for the right words to describe them and paths to take.

She breathes in books and breathes out words that attract creative people. She loves to shine a light on them and help them be heard and seen. She loves the depth and width of the Discworld, the beauty of Middle Earth, the poetry of the East, the sunset on the West and the stars above. She has a blonde rocket for a daughter and a black meowing obstacle to trip over.

She takes care of the Sage Edition and its paper children. Furthermore, she is the chief editor of Tvůrcovské noviny and Tvůrcovské radio.

Ivana Štefková

Psychologist and storyteller. Since 2010 she has been exploring the depths of resilience ~ the art to bend, not to break. She studies and teaches how to reshape life’s mishaps. Since 2004, she has been helping people to tell stories in ways that strenghtens them.

She enjoys creating safe spaces for sharing tales, weaving connections between people, sipping Sonnentor teas and filtered coffee, and underlining interesting texts in Kindle books. She loves the poems of Jan Skácel, the short stories of Jan Čep, and the songs of Mumford & Sons. She likes to laugh. She has one husband, two children, two male cats and one cat lady.

She takes care of the Storyteller Edition and its paper children. Furthermore, she makes sure that everything is nice and nothing and no one is forgotten.