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Wisława Szymborska Award

Polish annual international literary prize for the best poetry book, established in 2013 in honour of Wisława Szymborska.

Poetry collectionLiterary awardInternational literary award

Established: 2013
Organizer: The Wisława Szymborska Foundation
Category: Poetry and Contemporary Poetry
Selection Method: Open call / Recommendation
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Announcement Period: around June
Status: Active

Description

The Wisława Szymborska Award, established in 2013 by the Wisława Szymborska Foundation, is an annual international literary prize awarded for the best poetry book published in the previous year. Both books originally written in Polish and works translated into Polish are eligible. Submissions can be made by authors, publishing houses, cultural institutions and members of the award committee. The main cash prize is PLN 200,000 for the winner; the translator of a winning translated book receives PLN 50,000.

Prize

Main Prize: Winner: PLN 200,000; Translator (if applicable): PLN 50,000.
Cash Prize: 200,000 PLN

Translator prize: 50000 PLN
Considered one of Poland's most valuable literary prizes

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Submission / Nomination	Submissions accepted by the Wisława Szymborska Foundation; nominators include authors, publishers, cultural institutions and committee members.	—	—
Jury Selection / Deliberation	A jury/panel appointed by the Foundation (experts in poetry and literature).	—	—
Winner Announcement	The Foundation and jury announce the winner publicly.	—	Winner announced publicly by the Foundation (press release/ceremony).

Submission / Nomination

Judges Submissions accepted by the Wisława Szymborska Foundation; nominators include authors, publishers, cultural institutions and committee members.

Jury Selection / Deliberation

Judges A jury/panel appointed by the Foundation (experts in poetry and literature).

Winner Announcement

Judges The Foundation and jury announce the winner publicly.

Announcement Winner announced publicly by the Foundation (press release/ceremony).

Criteria

Poetic quality and literary merit
Originality and artistic achievement
Eligibility: book published in the previous year
For translated books: quality and fidelity of the translation

Application Tips

Dos

Confirm that the submitted work was published in the previous year
For translated works, clearly state the translator information and translation quality
When applying through publishers or cultural institutions, prepare the necessary documents
Check the official website in advance for submission guidelines and deadlines

Don''ts

Do not submit unpublished works
Do not omit the translator's credit
Do not submit after the deadline
Do not submit in a format that violates the submission rules

From Judges

Focus on the quality and originality of the poetry
For translated works, the quality of the translation and fidelity to the original work are evaluated
The completeness of the publication (proofreading, editing, binding) may also affect the impression