Jacek Dukaj

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Jacek Dukaj
Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2017)
European Science Fiction Award
(2023)

Jacek Józef Dukaj (pronunced: [ˈjat͡sɛk ˈdukaj]; born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. His fiction explores such themes as alternate history, alternative physics and logic, human nature, religion, the relationship between science and power, technological singularity, artificial intelligence, and transhumanism. He is regarded among the most popular Polish contemporary science fiction authors.[1]

He is the recipient of numerous national and international

.

Career

Jacek Dukaj and Anna Kańtoch - laureates of the 2010 Janusz A. Zajdel Awards

He was born on 30 July 1974 in Tarnów. He graduated from High School No. 3 in Tarnów and subsequently studied philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.[2] He made his literary debut at the age of 16 when he published his short story Złota galera [pl] (The Golden Galley) in the Fantastyka science-fiction monthly.[3] In 1997, he published his first novel Xavras Wyżryn. 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

Academy Award-nominated science-fiction short film of the same name directed by Tomasz Bagiński
.

In 2007, he published one of the most successful of his novels entitled Ice for which he won the Janusz A. Zajdel Award,[8] European Union Prize for Literature[9][10] and Kościelski Award.[11][12] In 2009, he published Wroniec whose action takes place in the background of the 1981 martial law in Poland.[13]

Dukaj (right) at the Literary Heights Festival, 2022

The Apocrypha of Lem, a

Head of Zeus. The publication date will be announced once the novel is translated.[15]

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,[16] 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.[17]

In 2023, he was awarded the European Science Fiction Award conferred by the European Science Fiction Society (ESFS) in the Best Author category.[18][19]

Style and themes

His works frequently feature elements of

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 fantasy with science fiction as is the case with The Iron General (2015).[20]

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

Black Oceans (2001), which is reminiscent of Lem's His Master's Voice (1968).[21]

Bibliography

Novels

  • Xavras Wyżryn (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)
  • Ice (Lód) (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2007)
  • Wroniec (The Crow) (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2009)
  • Starość aksolotla (The Old Axolotl) (Allegro, 2015)
  • Imperium chmur [pl] (Empire of Clouds) (SQN, 2018, titled Other Worlds; WL, 2020, extended version); a 2019 winner of the Jerzy Żuławski Literary Award

Awards and nominations

Sources

References

  1. ^ "Jacek Dukaj wśród 23 najbardziej wpływowych Polaków w AI". rynek-ksiazki.pl (in Polish). 16 November 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Jacek Dukaj" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Złota Galera" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Jacek Dukaj - Literature". Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. ^ Bence Pinter (24 September 2021). "Q&A with Jacek Dukaj". spekulativzona.substack.com. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Jacek Dukaj". britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. ^ Almir Šelahić (10 December 2021). "Jacek Dukaj "Led": U dubinama alternativne istorije". oslobodjenje.ba (in Bosnian). Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Kańtoch i Dukaj laureatami nagrody im. Janusza Zajdla za rok 2010" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Jacek Dukaj". Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Europa doceniła Polaka. Dukaj nagrodzony!" (in Polish). 29 September 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Jacek Dukaj". Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Jacek Dukaj laureatem Nagrody Kościelskich" (in Polish). 13 October 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Wywiad z Jackiem Dukajem" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Netflix Announces the First Belgian Original Series – Into the Night". Netflix Media Center. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  15. ^ "ICE: 1000-page Polish Science Fiction Masterpiece to HoZ". Head of Zeus. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  16. ^ "Jacek Dukaj założył spółkę Nolensum. Pracuje nad pierwszą grą opartą na swojej powieści". Wirtualne Media. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Bellwether Rocks ASI chce zainwestować kilkadziesiąt mln zł w projekty cyfrowej rozrywki". Stooq. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  18. ^ "2023 ESFS Awards Winners". locusmag.com. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  19. ^ "EuropeanScience-Fiction Society 2023 (ESFS) przyznało nagrody". wirtualnywydawca.pl (in Polish). 13 June 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Jacek Dukaj" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Jacek Dukaj" (in Polish). Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  22. ^ Śląfka Archived 31 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine; list ow winners (retrieved 27 March 2017)
  23. ^ "Jacek Dukaj laureatem Nagrody Kościelskich" (retrieved 27 March 2017)
  24. ^ "Polska Europejska Nagroda Literacka 2009 dla Jacka Dukaja" (retrieved 27 March 2017)
  25. ^ "Wykaz laureatów – Nagroda Literacka im. Jerzego Żuławskiego". (retrieved 4 November 2023)
  26. ^ "Nominowani i laureaci Nagrody im. Janusza A. Zajdla". Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Jacek Dukaj odznaczony medalem „Zasłużony Kulturze – Gloria Artis”" Archived 28 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine (retrieved 27 March 2017)
  28. ^ "2023 ESFS Awards Winners". locusmag.com. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.

External links

Media related to Jacek Dukaj at Wikimedia Commons