Jacek Dukaj

Jacek Dukaj (born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. He has received numerous literary prizes including the European Union Prize for Literature and Janusz A. Zajdel Award.

Dukaj studied philosophy at the Jagiellonian University. The first science fiction story he read was The Investigation by Stanisław Lem, which inspired him to write his own stories in that genre. He successfully debuted at the age of 16 with a short story Złota Galera (Golden Galley). Winner of the Janusz A. Zajdel Award for 2001 for his novel Czarne oceany (Black Oceans), for 2003 for his novel Inne pieśni (Different Chants), for 2004 for his novel Perfekcyjna niedoskonałość (An Ideal Imperfection), for 2007 for the novel Lód (Ice) and for 2000 for short story Katedra (The Cathedral). A short animated movie by Tomasz Bagiński based on this short story was nominated to Academy Award in 2003.

His short stories have been translated into English, German, Russian, Czech, Slovak, Macedonian, Hungarian, Italian, Bulgarian. His first story, "Golden Galley," was translated into English by Wiesiek Powaga and published in The Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy. Michael Kandel'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 is available online. "The Apocrypha of Lem", a mock-review in Borges' tradition, written as an afterword for reedition of Lem's "A Perfect Vacuum", was published in "Lemistry", translated by Danusia Stok. The Old Axolotl is the first book of Dukaj published in English (in 2015). In 2017, English language rights to Ice were acquired by London-based publisher Head of Zeus. The publication date will be announced once the novel is translated.

Dukaj is known for the complexity of his books, and it is often said that a single short story of Dukaj contains more ideas than many other writers put into their books in their lifetime. Popular themes in his works include the technological singularity, nanotechnology and virtual reality, and thus his books often can be classified as hard science fiction. Among his favorite writers is Australian writer Greg Egan, and Dukaj's books bear some resemblance to Egan's, or to the likes of David Brin's, although his stylistic brio makes him as much a 'literary' as a 'hard science fiction' writer.

• Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, December 11, 2013
• Janusz A. Zajdel Award (known as the Sphynx Award (Nagroda Sfinks) before 2015)
  • 2000, The Cathedral. The short animated film based onThe Cathedral was nominated in 2002 for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film for the 75th Academy Awards. The film won the title of Best Animated Short at SIGGRAPH 2002 in San Antonio as well as several other awards.
  • 2001, Black Oceans
  • 2003, Other Songs
  • 2004, Perfect Imperfection
  • 2007, Ice
  • 2010, The King of Pain and the Grasshopper
• SFinks Magazine Award [pl]
  • 1999 (for 1998) Polish Novel of the Year, The Heart of the Darkness (Serce mroku)
  • 2001 (for 2000) Book of the Year, In the Land of the Infidels (W kraju niewiernych)
  • 2002 (for 2001) Book of the Year as well as Polish Novel of the Year, Black Oceans
  • 2004 (for 2003) Polish Novel of the Year, Other Songs
  • 2008 (for 2007) Polish Novel of the Year, Ice
  • 2011 (for 1010) Book of the Year: The King of Pain
• Śląkfa, Author of the Year: 2000, 2007, 2009
• Żuławski Award [pl]
  • 2008, main award for Ice
  • 2010, special award for Wroniec
  • 2011, golden recognition for Line of Resistance (Linia oporu)
  • 2012, main award for science fiction
• Kościelski Award: 2008, novel Ice
• European Union Prize for Literature: Polish section, 2009, novel Ice