The selection of nominees for the15th edition of Poland's most prestigious literary competition was announced on the opening day of the Warsaw Book Fair, comprising 4 novels, 4 poetry volumes, 6 collections of essays, 3 books of literary reportage, an autobiography, a journal and a collection of short stories.
300 various works were considered by the jury. The 20 selections all touch upon universal issues, many pursuing the sources of contemporary dilemmas found specifically in Polish history and society. Some works deal with personal traumas, others attempt to draw a wider scope of social observation - both optimistic and pessimistic.Polish reportage has long enjoyed an exceptional position in literature around the world. Today, authors of this genre, traditionally occupied with commenting and observing reality, begin to take up the new task of addressing predicaments and fundamental questions this reality poses in works of literary reportage.
Nominees for the 2011 Nike Award:
Novels:
- Joanna Bator, Chmurdalia" title (Cloudalia) published by W.A.B., Warsaw
- Ignacy Karpowicz, Balladyny i romanse (Balladinas and Romances) published byWydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków
- Daniel Odija, Kronika umarłych (Chronicle of the Dead) published by W.A.B., Warsaw
- Marian Pilot, Pióropusz (The Plume) published by WL, Kraków
Poetry:
- Joanna Lech, Nawroty (Relapse) published by WBiCAK in Poznań
- Ewa Lipska, Pogłos, (Reverbation), published by WL, Kraków
- Tomasz Różycki, Księga obrotów, (Book of Revolutions), published by SIW Znak, Kraków
- Mirka Szychowiak, Jeszcze się tu pokręcę, (I'll Hang Around Here a Little More) Instytut Mikołowski, Mikołów.
Essays:
- Jacek Bocheński, Antyk po antyku, (Antiquity After the Antiquity) published by Świat Książki, Warsaw
- Dariusz Czaja, Gdzieś dalej, gdzie indziej, (Somewhere Further, Somewhere Else) published by Czarne, Wołowiec
- Wojciech Nowicki, Dno oka. Esej o fotografii" / "The Bottom of the Eye. An Essay on Photography , published by Czarne, Wołowiec
- Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz, Samuel Zborowski, published by Wydawnictwo Sic!, Warsaw
- Andrzej Stasiuk, Dziennik pisany później, (A Journal Written Later), published by Czarne, Wołowiec
- Piotr Wierzbicki, Muzykalny kosmos (The Musical Cosmos), published by Świat Książki, Warsaw
Literary reportage:
- Wojciech Górecki, Toast za przodków (A Toast for the Ancestors) published by Czarne, Wołowiec
- Witold Szabłowski, Zabójca z miasta moreli. Reportaże z Turcji (The Murderer from the City of Apricots. Reportages from Turkey) published by Czarne, Wołowiec
- Mariusz Szczygieł, Zrób sobie raj (Make Your Own Paradise) published by Czarne, Wołowiec.
Autobiography
- Michał Głowiński, Kręgi obcości (Circles of Estrangement) published by WL, Kraków
Diaries
- Sławomir Mrożek, Dziennik tom 1. 1962-1969 (Diary. Part 1, 1962-1969 ) published by WL, Kraków.
Short story collections:
- Justyna Bargielska, Obsoletki (Obsolettes) published by Czarne, Wołowiec.
The Nike award is given every year in October for the best book of the past year. Its goal is to promote Polish literature, with a particular regard for the novel. The winner is selected over a three-step competition. The first is the jury's approval of 20 nominees, announced in May. The second is the selection of seven finalists, announced in September. The decision regarding the jury's choice for first prize is made on the same day it is announced and presented to the winner. Up until that moment, neither the winner, nor the finalists, are informed of the competition results.
For more information, see: nike.org.pl
Source: wyborcza.pl