Polish reportage among the 36 best in the world!

18.05.2026

Łukasz Pilip's reportage, "Izabela Dłużyk: The Bird Lady," has reached the finals of the prestigious True Story Award - one of the world's most important awards for literary reportage. The Polish reportage tells the story of Izabela Dłużyk - a blind translator, doctor of humanities, and documentarian of the sounds of nature.

Izabela Dłużyk is standing with a microphone in her left hand and a remote control in her right, recording. It's dark and gray outside, around dawn.

This year's edition featured 36 nominated texts, selected from 959 submissions from 103 countries. A Polish author was also among the finalists. Łukasz Pilip is the only Pole in the True Story Award finals.

The True Story Award is a global journalism award given to reportage that stands out for its research quality, storytelling power, and social relevance. Its goal is to strengthen independent, high-quality journalism and broaden our view of the world with perspectives beyond the dominant Western media landscape.

The award finals will take place on June 5th in Bern.

Reportage: "Izabela Dłużyk: The Bird Lady"

IZABELA DŁUŻYK: THE BIRD LADY - True Story Festival Shortlist - True Story Festival

Photos (3)

Izabela Dłużyk is crouching in a meadow, wearing a white blouse and light blue pants. A forest is visible in the background.

Łukasz Pilip is standing in a forest, among pine trees, listening to something, observing something. There are remnants of melting snow on the grass.