Polish writer Olga Tokarchuk received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. The writer was born in a family of natives of Ukraine, in the small town of Sulechów in western Poland. Olga was born in a family of a librarian and a teacher of Polish language and literature. The family, where the cult of books prevailed, was able to instill a great love for literature to their children. The 17-year-old writer made her debut on Scouts magazine. Olga Tokarchuk graduated from the Faculty of Psychology at Warsaw University. After receiving her diploma, she worked as a psychotherapist, but the desire to write won.

Olga Tokarchuk is a well-known writer outside Poland. She has repeatedly been honored with prestigious awards for her literary work. Her story “Runners” (“Bieguni” in Polish), and “Flights”  in English translation received the Man Booker International Prize in 2017. Olga Tokarczuk is the first Polish author to win the award, and shared the prize with the translator Jennifer Croft. Experts from the British edition of The Guardian have recognized her novel “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” as one of the 100 best books of the 21st century. The film versions of the novel was made in 2017. Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland made the film “Track of the Beast” that was based on the novel’s events. Olga Tocharchuk twice received Nike award – the most prestigious national award in the field of literature in Poland. Olga Tokarchuk is one of the Polish writers whose books are often translated into other languages. Publishers of more than twenty countries have purchased the rights to translate the writer’s works.

 The writer told in her interview that the news of the Nobel Prize was a big surprise to her. However, the decision that was announced of the Nobel Committee meeting, was not unexpected for the bookmakers. The writer has been in quite high positions in the bookmakers’ ratings for some time.

Nowadays, the writer does not intend to rest. Olga Tokarchuk is working on her new novel based on the story of her family. We wish Olga Tokarchuk great success in her writing field.