Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk ([tɔˈkart͡ʂuk]; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual considered one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland. In 2019 she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature as the first Polish female prose writer "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life." For her novel Flights, Tokarczuk has been awarded the 2018 Man Booker International Prize (translated by Jennifer Croft). Her works include Primeval and Other Times, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, and The Books of Jacob.
Tokarczuk is particularly noted for the mythical tone of her writing. A clinical psychologist from the University of Warsaw, she has published a collection of poems, several novels, as well as other books with shorter prose works. For Flights and The Books of Jacob, she won the Nike Awards, Poland's top literary prize, among other accolades; she also won five times Nike audience award. In 2015, she received the German-Polish Bridge Prize for contribution in mutual understanding between European nations. Tokarczuk faced some backlash from nationalist groups in her homeland after the publication of The Books of Jacob, as set in 18th century Poland, the novel celebrates the country’s cultural diversity.
Her works have been translated into almost 40 languages, making her one of the most translated contemporary Polish writers. The Books of Jacob, her magnum opus, is set for the UK release in November 2021 and the US release in February 2022, after several years of translation work.
