During the press conference on 19 May 2022 at the Potocki Palace in Kraków, nominations for the 2022 Wisława Szymborska Awards were announced, as was the winner of the prize for the best Polish translation of a book of poetry published between 2018 and 2021.

A total of 276 Polish books of poetry were submitted for this year’s iteration of the award competition, all of them published in 2021. The five nominated books were selected by the Award Committee: Andrea Ceccherelli (Italy), Janusz Drzewucki (Poland), Xavier Farré (Spain), Alina Świeściak (Poland), Marta Wyka (Poland), and Yury Zavadsky (Ukraine).

Nominees for the Wisława Szymborska Award for a book of poetry published in 2021:

Zuzanna Bartoszek, Klucz wisi na Słońcu, Wydawnictwo WBPiCAK

Jerzy Jarniewicz, Mondo cane, Biuro Literackie

Małgorzata Lebda, Mer de Glace, Warstwy

Krzysztof Siwczyk, Krematoria I. Krematoria II, Austeria

Dariusz Sośnicki, Po domu, Biuro Literackie

The winner’s name is going to be announced on 9 July 2022 during the formal gala at the Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theatre in Kraków as part of the Miłosz Festival. 

The Wisława Szymborska Award for the best foreign book of poetry in Polish translation is presented  every other year. This year, by way of exception, books published between 2018 and 2020 have been admitted as well because two years ago the competition was suspended due to the pandemic, which is why no awards were given for books published in 2018 and 2019. In total, 96 translated volumes have been submitted for this year’s award. 

The award for the best Polish translation of a book of poetry for the years 2018 through 2021 goes to Wojciech Charchalis for his rendition of a selection of poems by Fernando Pessoa published by LOKATOR as Heteronimy. Utwory wybrane.

During the press conference, Xavier Farré, who spoke on behalf of the Committee, mentioned two other names worthy of recognition in the translation category: Jarosław Mikołajewski (Boska komedia by Dante Alighieri) and Aleksandra Małecka (Wiersze zrozumiałe same przez się by Guy Bennett).