Justyna Bargielska, winner of the Gdynia Literary Prize in 2010 & 2011
photographed by Jerzy Furgał / www.poezja.exe.pl
The jury of the sixth edition of the prestigious literary prize was given to Justyna Bargielska, Ewa Lipska, Stefan Chwin and Andrzej Sosnowski in the categories of prose, poetry and essay
This year, there were 308 books in total in the running for the distinction. According to Professor Piotr Śliwiński, jury chairman, "each category is represented by works that are quite diverse in many ways, but equally remarkable".
The winners were announced at the gala ceremony on June 18, which closed the Literaturomania festival in the coastal city. Writer Justyna Bargielska won the award in the prose category for the second time in a row for her book "Obsoletki" / "Obsolettes". Ewa Lipska won in the poetry category for her collection "Pogłos" / "Reverbation" and Professor Stefan Chwina's "Samobójstwo jako doświadczenie wyobraźni" / "Suicide as an Experience of the Imagination" won in the essay category. A special independent prize was given to Andrzej Sosnowski for his collection "Poems".
Winners receive 50,000 złoty apiece, with the special distinction carrying a 10,000 złoty prize. The authors will return to Gdynia later this year for the Autumn Literature Meetings event.
Source: nagrodaliterackagdynia.pl
2011 Gdynia Award - Nominees
On the first day of the Warsaw Book Fair the Gdynia Literary Award Committee announced its nominees for the sixth edition of the award. Chaired by Professor Peter Śliwiński, the committee released the list of nominated a total of fifteen titles in three categories: poetry, prose and essay, along with a special Jury prize. The winners are to be announced at a final award gala on June 18.
All nominated titles are books published in the course of 2010:
Poetry
Andrzej Niewiadomski, "Tremo" published by Stowarzyszenie Literackie "Kresy" Tomasz Różycki, "Księga obrotów" (Book of Revolutions) published by Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak; Adam Wiedemann, "Dywan" (Divan) Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna i Centrum Animacji Kultury w Poznaniu; Maciej Woźniak, "Ucieczka z Elei" (Escape from Eleia) published by Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna i Centrum Animacji Kultury w Poznaniu.
Prose Justyna Bargielska, "Obsoletki" (The Obsolettes) published by Wydawnictwo Czarne Andrzej Kasperek, "Back in the DDR and other stories" published by Wydawnictwo słowo/obraz terytoria Radosław Kobierski, "Ziemia Nod" (The Land of Nod) published by Wydawnictwo W.A.B. Kazimierz Kutz, "Piąta strona świata" (Fifth Side of the World) published by Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak Michał Olszewski, "Zapiski na biletach" (Writings on Tickets) published by Wydawnictwo W.A.B.
Essays Stefan Chwin, "Samobójstwo jako doświadczenie wyobraźni" (Suicide as an Experience of the Imagination) published by Wydawnictwo Tytuł Zbigniew Kadłubek, "Święta Medea. W stronę komparatystyki pozasłownej" (Medea's Holidays. In the Way of Extra-verbal Comparative Studies) published by Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego Piotr Matywiecki, "Dwa oddechy. Szkice o tożsamości żydowskiej i chrześcijańskiej" (Two Breaths. Sketches on Jewish and Christian Identity) published by Towarzystwo "Więź" Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz, "Samuel Zborowski" published by Wydawnictwo Sic! Jan Tomkowski, "Klasztor Maulbronn" (The Maulbronn Cloisters) published by Wydawnictwo Dom na wsi.
There were a total of 308 submissions for this year's award. The nominees were selected by the Jury on the basis of their originality and significance with regard to each particular genre. The committee also announced the decision to award a separate Jury award to the author of their choice irrespective of category. Each winner receives a trophy and a prize of 50,000 złoty.
The Gdynia Literary Award (NLG) was founded in 2006 by the Mayor of Gdynia Wojciech Szczurek to honour the exceptional achievements of contemporary Polish authors. It is awarded annually to authors of best books published during the previous year. This award is an initiative developed a de facto city, addressed to the Polish writers and consumers of contemporary literature. The city also publishes a 24-page Literary Supplement (Dodatek literacki), a niche magazine of articles and reviews written by respected writers and critics surveying the contemporary literature scene.
2011 NLG Jury:
-Jury Chairman: Dr. Peter Sliwiński, Adam Mickiewicz University Professor AMU, historian, literary critic and scholar
-Dr. Agata Bielik-Robson, University of Warsaw Professsor and author
-Dr. Mark Bieńczyk, writer, historian, translator, essayist
-Dr. Jerzy Jarniewicz, University of Warsaw and Łódź Professor, poet, translator and critic.
-Zbigniew Kruszyński, writer and translator
-Malgorzata Lukasiewicz, translator of literature, literary critic, essayist and eminent scholar of German culture
-Dr. Alexander Nawarecki, head of the Department of Theory of Literature at the University of Silesia and author
-Jury Secretary: Violetta Trella, director of the Public Library in Gdynia
For more information on the award and nominees, see: nagrodaliterackagdynia.pl
Source: press materials