BIO

A distinguished Polish writer, essayist, and screenwriter. She holds a degree in psychology from the University of Warsaw and is the recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was also awarded the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her novel Flights (Bieguni) and has twice won the Nike Literary Award—for Flights in 2008 and The Books of Jacob (Księgi Jakubowe) in 2015.
Tokarczuk is the author of four short story collections, nine novels—including her most recent work, The Empusium (Empuzjon, 2022)—three essay collections, the libretto for the opera ahat ili. Sister of the Gods, and two graphic books created in collaboration with illustrator Joanna Concejo.
In Poland, the Nobel laureate has been honored with honorary doctorates from the University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, University of Wrocław, University of Gdańsk, and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. Internationally, she has received honorary doctorates from Sofia University and Hong Kong Baptist University. In Norway, she was awarded the Arne Næss Chair in Global Justice and the Environment. In 2023, she received the Jerzy Żuławski Literary Award and an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University.
Olga Tokarczuk has been decorated with the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture—Gloria Artis (2010), the Gold Badge of Honor for Services to the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (2018), the Honorary Badge of the Kłodzko County (2019), and the Medal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland (2019). She has been named an Honorary Citizen of Bardo (2005), Nowa Ruda (2009), Wrocław (2019), Warsaw (2020), and Kraków (2021).