Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Prize in Literature 2018: Official interview

Interview with the 2018 Nobel Laureate in Literature Olga Tokarczuk, 6 December 2019

0:00 - Your parents were both teachers. How did that influence you?
1:35 - Did you enjoy school?
2:31 - What did you want to be when you were younger?
3:59 - How has your training as a psychologist affected the way you tell stories?
5:19 - Which experience has most influenced your work?
6:07 - What do you enjoy most about the process of writing?
8:27 - Do you think there are specific qualities that you need to be a good writer?
8:59 - Which book of yours would you recommend a new reader to start with?
9:55 - Who has most influenced you as a writer?
11:31 - How can we make women’s voices more heard in literature – and beyond?
13:14 - You unmask borders and nationalism in your work. Can you tell us about this theme?
15:30 - Would you say that travel and movement is a key theme in your work?
16:58 - How does the issue of sustainability appear in your work?
18:48 - Tell us about the foundation you’re creating using the prize money?
20:02 - What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to aspiring writers?
21:02 - A reading from ‘Bieguni’ (‘Flights’) by Olga Tokarczuk, in Polish.