Tomáš Zmeškal (b. 1966) was born in Prague to a Czech mother and a Congolese father. In 1987 he left Czechoslovakia to live in London, where he studied English language and literature at King’s College. He returned to Prague after the 1989 collapse of communism, and since then has worked mainly as a writer and teacher of creative writing. Read More He has published two novels, one work of literary nonfiction, and numerous radio plays. His debut novel, Milostný dopis klínovým písmem (2008; Love Letter in Cuneiform), won both the European Union Prize for Literature and the Josef Škvorecký Prize. Alex Zucker’s English translation of it is forthcoming from Yale University Press. Zmeškal’s second novel, Životopis černobílého jehněte (2009; Biography of a Black-and-White Lamb), was shortlisted for the Josef Škvorecký Prize. His works have been translated into six languages.