Jacek Józef Dukaj (born 30 July 1974) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

writer. He has received numerous

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

s including the

European Union Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

and Janusz A. Zajdel Award.

Career

He was born on 30 July 1974 in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

. He graduated from High School No. 3 in Tarnów and subsequently studied philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. He made his literary debut at the age of 16 when he published his short story ''Złota galera'' (The Golden Galley) in the '' Fantastyka'' science-fiction monthly. In 1997, he published his first novel ''

Xavras Wyżryn ''Xavras Wyżryn'' is an alternate history novel by the Poland, Polish science fiction writer Jacek Dukaj, published in 1997. Considered one of the best Polish alternate history novels, it discusses Polish martyrology, circling on the philosophi ...

''. His texts and short stories were featured in such science-fiction and fantasy magazines as ''Nowa Fantastyka'', ''Sfinks'', ''Framzet'', ''Fantom'', ''Fenix'', ''Science Fiction'' and ''Czas Fantastyki''. His short stories have been translated into English, German, Russian, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, Hungarian, Italian, Bulgarian. His first story, ''The Golden Galley'', was translated into English by Wiesiek Powaga and published in ''The Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy''.

Michael Kandel Michael Kandel (born December 24, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American translator and author of science fiction. Biography Kandel received a doctorate in Slavistics from Indiana University. His most recent position was editor at the M ...

's translation of "The Iron General" has been published in ''A Polish Book of Monsters'' and his translation of fragments of ''The Cathedral'' into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

is available online. ''The Cathedral'' served as the basis for the 2002

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated science-fiction

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

of the same name directed by

Tomasz Bagiński Tomasz "Tomek" Bagiński (, born 10 January 1976 in Białystok) is a Polish illustrator, animator, producer and director. He is a self-taught artist. Education Bagiński studied architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. Works His fir ...

. In 2007, he published one of the most successful of his novels entitled ''

Ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

'' for which he won the Janusz A. Zajdel Award,

and Kościelski Award. In 2009, he published '' Wroniec'' whose action takes place in the background of the 1981 martial law in Poland. ''The Apocrypha of Lem'', a mock-review in Lem's tradition, written as an afterword for reedition of Lem's '' A Perfect Vacuum'', was published in "Lemistry", translated by Danuta Stok. ''

The Old Axolotl ''The Old Axolotl'' ( pl, Starość aksolotla) is a 2015 Electronic literature, digital-only novel by Polish science-fiction author Jacek Dukaj. The novel was released in Polish on March 10, 2015, and shortly afterward, on March 24 that year, in ...

'' is the first book of Dukaj published in English (in 2015). The novel inspired a 2020

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

-original Belgian TV series '' Into the Night''. In 2017, English language rights to ''

'' were acquired by London-based publisher

Head of Zeus Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...

. The publication date will be announced once the novel is translated. As of 2021, Jacek Dukaj is also involved in business, being main shareholder and CEO of Nolensum company, founded to produce video games based on his stories and original ideas, as well as shareholder and member of Board of Directors of Bellwether Rocks, an investment fund with focus on gamedev industry and tokenization, NFTs, crypto etc.

Style and themes

His works frequently feature elements of

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and c ...

alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

, and horror stories. The use of religious themes is one of the most distinctive features of Dukaj's novels. They were already present in ''The Golden Galley'', his literary debut. The author is also known for undertaking literary experiments manifesting themselves in the combination of elements of

with science fiction as is the case with ''The Iron General'' (2015). Dukaj has stated that creating a cohesive vision of the universe in a particular work is the basis of any good fantasy or science fiction book. Hence his books scrupulously describe the scientific aspects governing this universe and make use of elaborate scientific terminology. The realism in presenting the boundaries of human understanding might be inspired by the works of

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...

, which introduce the theme of the wear and tear of future inventions. The secret relationship between science and power is also explored in Dukaj's works, most notably in '' Black Oceans'' (2001), which is reminiscent of Lem's ''

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

'' (1968).

Bibliography

Novels

*''

'' (SuperNOWA, 1997, contains two short novels - ''Xavras Wyżryn'' and ''Zanim noc'') *'' Czarne oceany'' (Black Oceans) (SuperNOWA, 2001) *'' Extensa'' (Extensa) (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2002) *'' Inne pieśni'' (translated as Different Chants or Other Songs) (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2003) *'' Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość'' (An Ideal Imperfection) (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2004) *''

'' (''Lód'') (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2007) *'' Wroniec'' (The Crow) (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2009) *'' Starość aksolotla'' (The Old Axolotl) (Allegro, 2015) *' (The Cloud Empire) (SQN, 2018, titled ''Other Worlds''; WL, 2020, extended version); a 2019 winner of the

Awards and nominations

* Śląkfa, Author of the Year: 2000, 2007, 2009 * Nautilus Award: 2003, 2004, 2007 *

Angelus Award The Angelus Central European Literature Award also known as Angelus Award (Polish: ''Nagroda Literacka Europy Środkowej Angelus'') is a Polish international literary award established in 2006 and presented by the city of Wrocław, Lower Silesia. ...

nomination: 2007 *

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award ( pl, Nagroda Literacka „Nike") is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award fo ...

nomination: 2007 * Kościelski Award: 2008, novel ''Ice'' *

: Polish section, 2009, novel ''Ice'' *

Paszport Polityki Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine ''Polityka'' since 1993. It is presented in six major categories: literature, film, theatre, classical music, popular music, visual art ...

nomination: 2009 * Janusz A. Zajdel Award: 2010 *Bronze

Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

from the

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego) is a governmental administration office concerned with various aspects of Polish culture. It was formed on 31 October 200 ...

: 11 December 2013"Jacek Dukaj odznaczony medalem „Zasłużony Kulturze – Gloria Artis”"
(retrieved 27 March 2017)

References

Jacek Dukaj's Official Website in Polish

Jacek Dukaj's Official Website in English

Jacek Dukaj's company's website

External links

Excerpts from the novel Ice

Passages from The Cathedral

Passages from Iron General

Passages from Black Oceans

Passages from Other Songs

More about contemporary Polish fantasy and sci-fi

The Old Axolotl: Man without Body, Book without Paper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukaj, Jacek Polish science fiction writers Polish alternate history writers People from Tarnów 1974 births Living people Recipients of the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis Electronic literature writers