Olga Tokarczuk (born 1962) is a Polish novelist, essayist, and public intellectual who received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature - the first Polish female prose writer to do so. Trained as a psychologist at the University of Warsaw, she weaves mythology, history, and Jungian psychology into layered narratives that cross borders of time, culture, and belief. Her novels Flights and The Books of Jacob each won Poland's top literary prize, the Nike, and Flights also brought her the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. Her works have been translated into nearly 40 languages.
Tokarczuk announced her forthcoming novel - set in post-war Lower Silesia and described as her last major work of fiction - is due for publication in autumn 2026.
Tokarczuk sparked public debate after remarks at the Impact'26 conference in Poznań about using AI as a research tool; she subsequently clarified that none of her texts were written with AI assistance.
Tokarczuk was appointed Vice President of PEN International at the organisation's 91st Congress in Kraków.
Tokarczuk appeared as a featured guest at Book World Prague 2025, the Czech Republic's largest international book fair.
The Empusium, Tokarczuk's first novel since winning the Nobel Prize, won the Europese Literatuurprijs and was published in English translation.
in progress
Mountains of Literature Festival is a multi-day celebration of literature and music at Sarny Castle, combining author meetings and concerts in a picturesque mountain setting.
(3 days)
A literary festival bringing together author meetings and musical concerts in the picturesque setting of Sarny Castle.
Góry Literatury Festival is a multi-day celebration of literature and music at Zamek Sarny, bringing together author meetings and concerts in a picturesque mountain setting.
in 2 days
Góry Literatury Festival is a multi-day celebration of literature and music at Sarny Castle, combining author meetings and concerts in picturesque mountain surroundings.
in 2 days
A literary festival bringing together author meetings and musical concerts in the beautiful mountain setting of Zamek Sarny.
in 3 days
Mountains of Literature Festival is a multi-day celebration of literature and music at Sarny Castle, combining author meetings and concerts in the picturesque Kłodzko region.
Nobel Prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk reads from her novel Empusja in Bad Mergentheim. Actor Johann von Bülow interprets this spirited 1913 story set in a Silesian mountain spa town.