Which Polish writer received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature?
Answer
Olga Tokarczuk
Olga Tokarczuk received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy praised her “narrative imagination” and her encyclopedic treatment of boundary-crossing as a way of life.
Tokarczuk was born in 1962 in Sulechów, Poland, and studied psychology at the University of Warsaw before becoming a full-time writer. Her fiction often combines mythology, history, philosophy, travel and fragmented perspectives rather than following a simple linear plot. Notable works include Primeval and Other Times, Flights and The Books of Jacob.
A common source of confusion is the award date. The 2018 literature prize was announced in October 2019, alongside the 2019 prize, because the Swedish Academy postponed the announcement amid a major sexual-abuse and conflict-of-interest scandal. Tokarczuk nevertheless remains the official 2018 laureate; Peter Handke received the 2019 award. She became the first Polish woman to win the Literature Nobel.