Author Szu-Hsien Chen Researches New Novel in Czech Republic, Visiting Crematorium and Forensic Center
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- 📰 Published: May 17, 2026 at 20:22
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(CNA, Prague, 17th) Taiwanese author Szu-Hsien Chen, whose novel "Ghost Town" was recently translated into Czech, has been invited for a one-month writer's residency in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, to work on a new novel focusing on the theme of "death." During his stay, he visited the Brno Crematorium and a forensic identification center to gather inspiration and material for his writing.
Since its publication in 2019, Chen's "Ghost Town" has been translated into multiple languages, including English, German, Korean, Japanese, and Ukrainian. This year, Czech publisher Větrné mlýny (Windmill Publishing) released the Czech version and invited Chen to Brno for a one-month residency.
● Taiwanese Local Traditions Spark Interest in European Readers
In an interview with CNA, Chen said that during his residency, he toured various locations to promote the Czech version of "Ghost Town," including the Prague International Book Fair, the eastern Czech city of Ostrava, and the Slovak capital, Bratislava. He said he would ask audiences everywhere, "Am I the first Taiwanese person you've ever met?" and many would indeed nod.
Chen noted that due to Taiwan's rising profile in the Czech Republic in recent years, locals are quite curious about Taiwan's politics, culture, and social issues. When he read a passage from his novel describing "striptease" at funerals in rural Changhua in the 1970s and '80s, it aroused strong interest among readers. "Even for many people who grew up in urban Taipei, it's hard to imagine that striptease appeared at funerals during that relatively conservative era in Taiwan," he said.
● Writing About Death in Brno, Deeply Experiencing Local Culture
For the past month, Chen has been living a special residency life in Brno, deeply experiencing the customs and culture of the Moravian region. He said the most important task of his trip is to complete a new novel set in Brno, with a theme related to "death." Due to his deep interest in the topic, he visited several places related to death that might be considered taboo for Taiwanese people. For instance, he was granted special access to the Moravian region's forensic identification center, which handled unnatural death cases and is not usually open to the public. He also visited the historic Brno Crematorium, designed by the renowned architect Ernst Wiesner, which is considered a highly representative early example of modernism and functionalism in Central European funerary architecture. These all became sources of inspiration for his next novel.
"Local writing, city writing—that is the core spirit of a residency: to bring a writer to a place, let them experience it, and then create freely," he said. Chen pointed out that if a writer ultimately produces an interesting novel that even becomes a classic, it can have a profound impact on that city, potentially even driving literary tourism. He cited "Ghost Town" as an example, after which his hometown of Yongjing in Changhua began to attract many readers who came specifically to find the scenes and atmosphere from the book. This new novel set in Brno is expected to be completed within the year. He hopes that through the new novel, more readers will get to know the city of Brno.
Since its publication in 2019, Chen's "Ghost Town" has been translated into multiple languages, including English, German, Korean, Japanese, and Ukrainian. This year, Czech publisher Větrné mlýny (Windmill Publishing) released the Czech version and invited Chen to Brno for a one-month residency.
● Taiwanese Local Traditions Spark Interest in European Readers
In an interview with CNA, Chen said that during his residency, he toured various locations to promote the Czech version of "Ghost Town," including the Prague International Book Fair, the eastern Czech city of Ostrava, and the Slovak capital, Bratislava. He said he would ask audiences everywhere, "Am I the first Taiwanese person you've ever met?" and many would indeed nod.
Chen noted that due to Taiwan's rising profile in the Czech Republic in recent years, locals are quite curious about Taiwan's politics, culture, and social issues. When he read a passage from his novel describing "striptease" at funerals in rural Changhua in the 1970s and '80s, it aroused strong interest among readers. "Even for many people who grew up in urban Taipei, it's hard to imagine that striptease appeared at funerals during that relatively conservative era in Taiwan," he said.
● Writing About Death in Brno, Deeply Experiencing Local Culture
For the past month, Chen has been living a special residency life in Brno, deeply experiencing the customs and culture of the Moravian region. He said the most important task of his trip is to complete a new novel set in Brno, with a theme related to "death." Due to his deep interest in the topic, he visited several places related to death that might be considered taboo for Taiwanese people. For instance, he was granted special access to the Moravian region's forensic identification center, which handled unnatural death cases and is not usually open to the public. He also visited the historic Brno Crematorium, designed by the renowned architect Ernst Wiesner, which is considered a highly representative early example of modernism and functionalism in Central European funerary architecture. These all became sources of inspiration for his next novel.
"Local writing, city writing—that is the core spirit of a residency: to bring a writer to a place, let them experience it, and then create freely," he said. Chen pointed out that if a writer ultimately produces an interesting novel that even becomes a classic, it can have a profound impact on that city, potentially even driving literary tourism. He cited "Ghost Town" as an example, after which his hometown of Yongjing in Changhua began to attract many readers who came specifically to find the scenes and atmosphere from the book. This new novel set in Brno is expected to be completed within the year. He hopes that through the new novel, more readers will get to know the city of Brno.