Szczepan Twardoch receives Ambassador of New Europe award and wins Nike Readers' prize for novel Null

Recognition in Gdańsk

Polish author Szczepan Twardoch received the Ambassador of New Europe award for his novel Null during an evening ceremony on 1 October 2026. The 13th edition of the prize, celebrating works published in 2025, was presented in the auditorium of the European Solidarity Centre in Gdańsk. Acting director of the centre and jury chair Magdalena Mistat presented the honour alongside jury member Piotr Leszczyński, an editor and publisher at Przegląd Polityczny. The jury evaluated the work as deeply humanistic, artistically outstanding, and necessary during an era when European security is tested on the Ukrainian front. The competition also honoured publisher Wydawnictwo Marginesy, represented by promotion and PR director Magdalena Śniecińska.

Such gestures are important to me, because I do not feel alone then in my faith in the significance of the novel as a phenomenon. The novel is an unprecedented achievement of our civilization, serving for reflection, for examining the human condition. As representatives of Euro-Atlantic civilization, we have no better tool to examine our situation than the novel.

Frontline experience and inspiration

Following the ceremony, Dom Literatury director Elżbieta Foltyniak moderated a public conversation with Twardoch before a book-signing session. The author noted that Null resulted from real-world events rather than intentional research trips. In 2023, Twardoch began a two-year effort transporting humanitarian and military assistance to Ukrainian soldiers at the front. The narrative was additionally influenced by inherited family memories from the First and Second World Wars.

The war experience was formative for me, and to this day I probably still do not know how it changed me. When one day I went outside to pee at night and heard the roar of artillery for the first time, I realized that this was happening for real. I saw modern war from very close, as close as possible.

I try to tell a piece of the world. I try to tell slightly different lives than my readers might know and understand. That is probably what the point of literature is.

Awards calendar and upcoming novel

Literary honours for Null expanded further on 2 October 2026, when organizers announced that the novel won the Nike Readers' Award. The book is also among the finalists contending for the main Nike Literary Award on 4 October 2026. Twardoch is preparing for the release of his next novel, Waldkauz, scheduled for 14 October 2026, which he has characterised as a classical historical novel.

Commercial reach and literary background

Born in 1979 in Knurów and living in Pilchowice in Upper Silesia, Twardoch graduated in sociology from the University of Silesia in Katowice in 2003. His previous recognitions include the Paszport Polityki and Nike Readers' Award for Morfina in 2012, the Kościelski Foundation Award in 2015, and the Kazimierz Kutz Award in 2022. In 2023, Wydawnictwo Literackie reported that total sales of his books surpassed one million copies across print, digital, and audio editions.