Book Launch: On Being Naked by Alice Hlídková

Come celebrate and discover the new short story collection from Valencia-based "autofiction" writer, Alice Hlídková!

You may recognize her and her work from our monthly Open Mic nights, and now she'll be at Book Lovers Valencia launching her newly published book, On Being Naked.

Through autobiographical fiction, Alice's On Being series examines identity, desire, purpose, belonging, and consciousness—one dimension of the human experience at a time.

🗓️ Thursday, November 12
🕗 20:00-21:00 (+ Q&A)
📍Book Lovers Valencia - c/del Historiador Chabàs 5, 46003, Valencia

Please note: This is an adults-only literary event. The book explores mature themes and readings may contain explicit language and sexual content.

ABOUT THE BOOK
In these provocative, darkly humorous tales, Czech-born author Alice Hlídková explores female desire across lovers, countries, and decades.

From New York to Prague, Miami to Valencia, eighteen interconnected stories trace one woman's pursuit of sexual freedom, intimacy, and self-discovery.

A seventeen-year-old discovers more about pleasure through frozen blueberries than her first lover. A birthday gift from a female friend awakens unexpected desire; a threesome complicates a friendship; a Syrian lover threatens her ambitions. From restaurant kitchens and swingers' clubs to encounters with dominatrices and strangers, each experience challenges her understanding of consent, power, and surrender.

Beneath the sexual adventures and uncomfortable revelations lies a deeper longing: to be desired without losing oneself. Written with candor and wit, On Being Naked explores what remains when shame, expectations, and defenses fall away, and the courage it takes to be truly seen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alice Hlídková is a Czech-born author raised in New York and now living in Valencia, Spain, where she hosts Storytelling Valencia, a literary community on Meetup, and participates in local book clubs and literary events.

She writes novels, short stories, and poetry exploring intimacy, identity, memory, and the quiet moments that shape a life, moving between literary fiction and autofiction.

She studied creative writing at New York University and holds a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University. In 2026, she was named a Community Pick's Finalist for the Chrysalis BREW Poetry Award.

On Being Naked is the first collection in her On Being series, a literary exploration of what it means to be human.