Olga Tokarczuk

Olga Tokarczuk was born in 1962 in the city of Wrocław, Poland, where she continues to reside. Since 1989, when she published her first poetry collection, alongside her primary profession as a psychologist and psychotherapist, she has emerged as one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Polish literature. She has written novels and short story collections. Her works have served as the basis for theatrical texts and film scripts. She has been honored four times with her country's highest literary award, the Nike Award, and has received numerous European accolades. Her writing combines history and fiction, utilizes narrative elements from folk traditions, and reflects her dedication to Carl Jung. As a Green activist and anti-nationalist, she became a target for extremist elements following her extensive novel, "The Books of Jacob" (2014). "Primeval and Other Times" (original title: "Prawiek i inne czasy", 1996) was her first book translated into Greek (published by Kastaniotis). The release of her novel "Bieguni" (2007) in the UK (titled "Flights", translated by Jennifer Croft, published by Fitzcarraldo) led to her being awarded the Man Booker International Prize in 2018. In 2019, she was retroactively awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018, "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life," according to the announcement by the Swedish Academy.