The Gdynia Literary Prize in Translation 2023 was awarded to Jerzy Koch for the translation of the novel "Mijn lieve gunsteling" (Polish translation: “Mój mały zwierzaku”, 2022 Wydawnictwo Literackie) by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld. The names of the winners in all categories were presented during the gala, which took place on August 25 at the Musical Theatre in Gdynia.

It was an extraordinary event. Not only was Jerzy Koch nominated for this prize for the second year in a row, but he was also nominated for translating the novel by the same author (in 2022 he was nominated for "Niepokój przychodzi o zmierzchu", translation of "De avond is ongemak")! The jury appreciated the translator for his “masterly, truly refined, surprisingly tender, endless sentences, reflecting the suffocating atmosphere of the terrifying monologue of the main character.”

In July 2022 Jerzy Koch hosted an interview with Marieke Lucas Rijneveld in Poland, on the occasion of the Festival Mountains of Literature, just a few months before the Polish translation of “Mijn lieve gunsteling” was published.

(Małgorzata Dowlaszewicz)