2018
2018
Grand Prize
Phot. by Mikołaj Starzyński
Rafał Kosik
Born in 1971 in Warsaw, writer, columnist, screenwriter and publisher. He has published twenty-four books: science fiction for adults (including the novels "Mars", "Vertical", "Kameleon" and "Różaniec"), the series "Felix, Net and Nika" for young people and the series for children "Amelia and Kuba". His works have won numerous awards, incl. Żuławski Literary Award, the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, the IBBY Polish Section Book of the Year Award and the Little Dong Award. Kosik's books have been translated into German, Czech, Hungarian and Lithuanian. Author's interests: literature, new technologies, sociology, cuisine and automotive.
(2018)
Różaniec
(The Rosary)
This is a dystopian story set in an undefined future in the Warsaw Ring. A Ring created on the basis of an former city, which is no longer what it was - it is one of the capsule cities connected in a string called the Rosary, created at a time when the Earth ceased to function. Actually, no one of the Ring's inhabitants knows how it works, and very few are really interested in it. The hero of the story - the nuzzler Harpad - will be entangled in a game here, from which it will be hard to get out.
An interesting vision of a dystopian world, the mechanism of which we gradually discover with the protagonist, fascinates. The vision of the Warsaw Ring full of elements bearing names inspired by the communist era is full of flavors scattered here and there. The hero's extraordinary abilities are also intriguing. How can a human connect with artificial intelligence? What can it achieve? How will it affect him? What are the principles of the 'prevention' formation? With these - and other - puzzles, we are seduced and drawn into the story planned by the author.
(Source: zaczytasy.blogspot.com)
2018
Gold Distinction
Phot. by Mikołaj Starzyński
Anna Kańtoch
Born (in 1976) and living in Katowice, an Arabist by education, although she has never worked in the profession. He writes fantasy/science fiction for adults and teenagers, and recently also detective stories. Two-time laureate of the Jerzy Żuławski Literary Award (Grand Prize in 2013 and the Gold Disctiction in 2018) and a five-time winner of the Janusz A. Zajdel Award.
(2018)
Niepełnia
(Incompleteness)
What mystery is hidden in a snow-covered white house in a remote area? Who lives in it, who is (was) imprisoned in it and who dies (died) in it? Reading "Niepełnia" is like wandering through the rooms of a palace. As more doors are opened, the tension grows, and the relationship between the characters takes on new meanings. What happened to the child who refuses to decide whether he is a girl or a boy. Every time it said to itself: Not yet. Not today. Later, when I will be big (he) and strong (she). A girl of incomplete girlhood or a boy of incomplete boyhood - who do they feel, who are the heros really?
"Niepełnia" is a non-obvious crime story. A mysterious and romantic literary journey to gender identity, full of hidden meanings.
(Source: lubimyczytac.pl)
2018
Silver Distinction
Paweł Majka
Paweł Grzegorz Majka - born in 1972 in Krakow, Polish author of speculative fiction. His first short story was published in 1987, as a reward for the third place in the Golden Spur competition, organized annually by the magazine "Świat Młodych". He published his next short story only in 2006. He worked in the local media – the press and radio stations, and later on one of the nationwide Polish television stations. He is the author of the published novels: "Pokój Światów", "Dzielnica obiecana", "Niebiańskie Pastwiska", "Człowiek obiecany" (continuation of: "Dzielnica obiecana") and "Wojny Przestrzeni". He was three times nominated for the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, is a three-time laureate of the Jerzy Żuławski Literary Award (Grand Prizes in 2015 and 2016, Silver Distinction in 2018).
(2018)
Space Wars
(Wojny przestrzeni)
The circle of revenge is endless.
When you avenge yourself, you make another avenger follow your track. Not today, not tomorrow, but in a year, in a decade... for sure! We remember nothing as well as the wrongs we suffered. We want nothing more than even the scores.
Mirosław Kutrzeba has already killed five torturers. The sixth is still hiding from him, but he is not waiting with his arms folded. He is assisted by those who have been hurt by Kutrzeba in carrying out his mission.
A conflict initiated by a vendetta may bring a cataclysm back into the world. Neither gods nor humans will survive it. There is no salvation, however, for such is the inevitable logic of an infinite circle of revenge.
(Source: lubimyczytac.pl)