The Conrad Award 2019

Submissions for this year's edition of the Conrad Award – the most important Polish honour for literary prose debuts – are now closed. The Award distinguishes authors of books published in the previous year. We will meet the winner of this year’s Award – as has become tradition – on the last day of the Conrad Festival.

Since 2015, the Conrad Award has stood out among Polish literary laurels because it is addressed exclusively to debuting artists. It was established in order to promote new voices in Polish literature, arouse interest of the general public in new artists debuting in Poland, as well as support young writers in the difficult period between releasing their first and second book. The award includes a cash prize of 30,000 PLN, a month-long residence stay in Krakow, and the promotion of the winning book in Tygodnik Powszechny.

The Award jury, comprising Prof. Michał Paweł Markowski (chairman), Urszula Chwalba, Inga Iwasiów, Grzegorz Jankowicz, Krzysztof Koehler, Zofia Król, Michał Nogaś and Joanna Szulborska-Łukaszewicz (secretary) will name five nominees from among the submissions. The final verdict will be decided jointly by the members of the Jury and the readers. The official award ceremony is planned for the Conrad Festival finale, while meetings with the authors of the nominated books will take place during the entire festival week.

The first four Conrad Awards went to the following winners: Liliana Hermetz (2015), Żanna Słoniowska (2016), Anna Cieplak (2017) and Weronika Gogola (2018).

The Conrad Award constitutes a part of the debut support initiative, carried out as part of the Krakow – UNESCO City of Literature programme, as a joint undertaking of the organisers of the Conrad Festival: the City of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office, the Tygodnik Powszechny Foundation and the Book Institute.