Poland in Sweden

"We sincerely congratulate Ms. Olga Tokarczuk, an unquestioned ambassador of Polish culture," Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacek Czaputowicz stated.

Olga Tokarczuk was born on January 29, 1962 in Sulechów near Zielona Góra to a family of teachers. Her father worked at a school library, where Olga Tokarczuk became interested in literature as a child. She studied psychology at the University of Warsaw. Following her college years, she moved to Wrocław, after which she worked as a therapist in Wałbrzych. Since 1998, the Polish writer has lived in the small village of Krajanów near Nowa Ruda. 

She is the author of 17 books, including novels, collections of stories, essays and film scripts. In 1993, she published her first novel, "The Journey of the Book People," which was well received in Poland and distinguished with the award for best debut of a novel in Poland. Her breakthrough was the publication of her third novel, "Primeval and Other Times," released in 1996. The family saga takes place in the mythical village of Prawiek in the heart of Poland, protected by four archangels. The book was translated into many languages, and Tokarczuk achieved international fame.

Her next publication, "House of Day, House of Night," is a mix of narrative and images that depicts a region shaped by many cultures, individual fate and perspectives. Inspired by maps and outside perspectives, Tokarczuk published "Flights" in 2007, for which she received the 2018 Man Booker International Prize.

In 2009, Olga Tokarczuk published the crime novel, "Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead." It became the foundation for the film "Spoor," directed by Agnieszka Holland. "Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead" found its way onto the short list of books nominated for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize.

Her magnum opus is the impressive, 2014 historical novel, "The Books of Jacob," which recounts the history of Jakub Frank, a Jew who, as a religious leader, led the conversion of his compatriots to Catholicism in the 18th century. 

Currently, Olga Tokarczuk is one of the most well-recognized and commercially successful Polish writers. She has received many awards, amongst which include the Polish Association of Literary Publishers Award, the Kościelski Foundation Award, and the International Literary Award Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm. In 2008 and 2015, she became the two-time recipient of the Nike Literary Award, and won the Nike Readers Award five times. In 2019, "The Books of Jacob," translated by Maryla Laurent, received the Prix Laure Bataillon Award for best foreign language novel translated into French. 

On October 10, 2019, Olga Tokarczuk joined the ranks of other Polish winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Czesław Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska.

Photo: Maciej Kulczycki/PAP