The shortlist for the first-ever Tadeusz Bradecki Prize was announced on 31 March 2025, revealing six books that exemplify a new kind of storytelling—bold, boundary-defying, and deeply imaginative. The prize, established to honour the legacy of the late Tadeusz Bradecki, celebrates literary works that blend fiction and non-fiction in original and genre-crossing ways.
Selected from 97 submissions representing 70 publishers across the UK and Europe, the finalists include both celebrated authors and emerging voices. The diversity of the shortlist is geographical, stylistic and thematic—ranging from Mexico City to Ukraine, from fairytales to science, from memory to myth. The six shortlisted works are:
• Strangers I Know by Claudia Durastanti (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
• The Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight (Faber & Faber)
• The Maniac by Benjamín Labatut (Pushkin Press)
• Forgottenness by Tanja Maljartschuk (Bullaun Press)
• The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard (Fig Tree)
• Childish Literature by Alejandro Zambra (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
Francis Spufford, chair of the judging panel, described the selection as “boundary-crossing, genre-mixing, pleasure-giving, not afraid of the largest questions.” He praised the shortlisted titles for their imaginative ambition and thematic range, saying that they “cover the continents” and span “poetry to history to science writing to the fairytale.”
Each of the shortlisted works illustrates what the prize sets out to champion: literary forms that defy categorisation and invite readers to reconsider the relationship between truth and fiction. Whether through hybrid memoir, experimental narrative structures, or poetic prose, these books reflect Bradecki’s own passion for creative exploration.
The Origins and Vision of the Tadeusz Bradecki Prize
The prize is named after Tadeusz Bradecki (1955–2022), an internationally acclaimed Polish theatre director, actor and writer whose work traversed borders—linguistic, artistic and disciplinary. During his lifetime, Bradecki directed over 100 theatrical productions in countries as diverse as Canada, Italy, Romania and South Korea. He spoke five languages fluently, acted in over 40 films, and wrote several award-winning plays. In his final year, he completed The End of Ends, a literary meditation on storytelling and endings, which encapsulates the vision behind the prize.
In a quote from The End of Ends that has become emblematic of the prize’s ethos, Bradecki wrote: “If a fellow traveller journeying through the Land of Fiction would like to ponder, for a while, the many paths that pass through it, I would consider my intentions had been fulfilled.” This idea—of literature as a journey through interconnected genres and ideas—forms the guiding principle of the prize.
Founded by Bradecki’s wife, Kate Sinclair, the award aims to continue his intellectual and creative legacy by supporting books that refuse to be confined by traditional categories. As Sinclair put it, “It’s excitingly wide-ranging across many subjects, forms and places in a way that truly reflects his own eclectic adventures in the Land of the Written Word.”
A Prize for Imaginative Hybridity
The Tadeusz Bradecki Prize stands out in the crowded literary landscape because of its distinctive focus. Rather than honouring fiction or non-fiction alone, it recognises works that merge the two, bringing together elements of storytelling, reflection, reportage, and speculation. Submissions are open to prose, poetry, and playwriting in any genre—from historical fiction and sci-fi to philosophical inquiry and literary travel writing.
The prize’s inspiration can be seen in works like Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald, Travels with Herodotus by Ryszard Kapuściński, and Civilizations by Laurent Binet—all of which blur the lines between imagination and documentation, memory and myth.
This year’s shortlist embodies that spirit of hybridity. Claudia Durastanti’s Strangers I Know weaves autobiography with sociolinguistic and cultural reflections, while Benjamín Labatut’s The Maniac explores scientific genius and madness through a mix of biographical fiction and philosophical speculation. Sam Knight’s The Premonitions Bureau investigates real-world stories of prophecy and foreboding in postwar Britain, told with a journalist’s eye and a novelist’s narrative control.
Meanwhile, Tanja Maljartschuk’s Forgottenness meditates on historical erasure and personal memory with lyrical power. Clare Pollard’s The Modern Fairies reimagines folklore for contemporary readers, while Alejandro Zambra’s Childish Literature questions the boundaries between adult and children’s writing, mixing essay, fiction and literary play.
About the Judges
The 2025 panel is composed of three figures whose careers reflect the same spirit of intellectual openness the prize promotes.
Chair Francis Spufford is a celebrated author known for both fiction and non-fiction, and his own books often combine historical narrative with imaginative storytelling. His work has received awards across multiple genres—from theological writing to debut fiction—and he is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London.
He is joined by Krzysztof Zanussi, a long-time collaborator and friend of Bradecki, and a leading figure in European cinema. Zanussi has directed over 40 films, many of which engage with philosophical and ethical questions through narrative experimentation.
Carole Welch, the third judge, brings decades of experience as a literary editor and publisher. She led Sceptre, the literary imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, where she worked with major literary figures such as David Mitchell and Siri Hustvedt. Her background gives her a deep understanding of both literary craft and the publishing world.
Prize Details and Announcement
The winner of the Tadeusz Bradecki Prize 2025 will be revealed on 21 May at an event hosted at Ognisko, The Polish Hearth Club, in London. The prize includes a £1,500 award for the winner, with two runners-up each receiving £750. Though modest in monetary terms, the award carries significant prestige due to its originality and the calibre of the authors involved.
Beyond the financial reward, the prize offers a unique platform for works that might otherwise fall between the cracks of traditional literary categories. It brings attention to books that defy easy definitions and challenge readers to think differently about what literature can do.
A Literary Legacy in Motion
The launch of the Tadeusz Bradecki Prize signals a new chapter in the celebration of hybrid literary forms. It not only commemorates the wide-ranging interests and achievements of its namesake, but also pushes the literary conversation forward—toward works that explore complexity, contradiction and connection across genres and cultures.
