Abstract The present dissertation analyzes the role of the fairy tale in the literary works of the Czech author Ota Pavel. Ota Pavel (1930–1973) started as a sports reporter and later became a popular and esteemed writer of fiction, mainly short stories. His works have been translated to many languages, among them Swedish. The study consists of a biographical reading of Ota Pavel’s texts and a discussion of the function of the fairy tale in his stories. My analysis of his literary development and use of various prose elements is based on narratological theories of the fairy tale – Karel Čapek’s motifs and fairytale characters, Gérard Genette’s paratexts and Vladimir Propp’s functions and dramatis personae – and includes remarks on the function of diminutives, etc. Ota Pavel is also viewed in the context of the literary landscape of his time – the 1960s and 1970s – and the reception of his work is discussed. Pavel’s stories contain a number of characteristic features which together form his unique style: direct allusions and references to fairy tales--for example, fairies and witches – and the linguistic markers and distinctive use of the narrator’s voice. One of the most common characters in Ota Pavel’s work is the hero, who, often with the assistance of magical objects or supernatural helpers, defeats supernatural antagonists or solves impossible tasks. Developing and growing as he – the hero is usually male–strives toward his goal, Pavel’s protagonist struggles not with dragons and giants, but with himself and his own difficulties and misfortunes. Earlier research refers to Ota Pavel’s two “genres”: sports prose and retrospective, or “memory” prose. This study shows that the boundary between the two is fluid, and that all Pavel’s work might be called memory prose. The title of this thesis – Ota Pavels sagovärld (The Fairytale World of Ota Pavel) – indicates the perspective from which the subject is approached. On the one hand, it alludes to the influence of the fairy tale on Pavel’s work, while on the other it points to the fact that his own life was such that he sometimes needed to retreat into a fantasy world of his own. Keywords: Tjeckisk litteratur, saga, Ota Pavel, narratologi, Tjeckoslovakien