Nautilus Award
Entry updated 15 September 2025. Tagged: Award.
Polish Award – Nagroda Nautilus in Polish – for the best Fantastika written in Polish and published in Poland in the preceding year, established in 2004 by Robert J Szmidt, editor of the magazine Science Fiction. The prize was presented annually in two categories – novel and short story (respectively defined as texts of more or less than 240,000 characters) – and typically included a single winner alongside four shortlisted runners-up in each category.
The name of the award references the titular submarine from Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1870), signalling its allegiance to the classic traditions of sf. The Nautilus was awarded regularly until 2011, with a hiatus in 2009 (due to a change in the magazine's publisher) and another in 2012 following the collapse of Science Fiction magazine that year. It was reactivated briefly in 2013 before its final discontinuation after 2014. Award ceremonies were typically held at various Polish Fantastika conventions.
From its inception, the Nautilus attracted criticism for its voting structure and perceived conflicts of interest. Early controversies included the appearance of one of Szmidt's own novels among the first-year runners-up, though this was mostly forgotten in subsequent years. More persistent concerns focused on the voting mechanism itself: early iterations of the award offered material incentives to voters who correctly predicted winners, leading to accusations that this encouraged strategic rather than sincere voting. The voting relied heavily on SMS voting, with insufficient safeguards against repeat votes. This culminated with the 2014 award, when the revised rules explicitly allowed numerous votes from a single number, leading to the shortlisting of a title widely considered unworthy, which in turn sparked boycotts by several nominated authors. The organizers promised reform, but the award was not continued.
Despite these issues, the Nautilus Award provides a useful record of popular Polish sf and fantasy in the early twenty-first century. At its peak, it was regarded – probably owing to its association with Science Fiction magazine – as the second most prominent Polish genre award, after the Janusz A Zajdel Award. On average, during its early period, the number of votes each year was under 2,000, although after reactivation, the numbers decreased significantly. [PKo]
Novel
- 2003: Andrzej Ziemiański, Achaja vol. 2 (2003)
- 2004: Andrzej Sapkowski, Boży bojownicy (2003; trans by David French as Warriors of God 2021)
- 2005: Jarosław Grzędowicz, Pan Lodowego Ogrodu Tom I ["The Lord of the Ice Garden Volume I"] (2005)
- 2006: Rafał Dębski, Czarny pergamin ["The Black Parchment"] (2006) and Rafał Kosik, Vertical (2006) (two winners)
- 2007: Rafał Dębski, Gwiazdozbiór kata ["Hangman Constellation"] (2007)
- 2008: award suspended
- 2009: Jarosław Grzędowicz, Pan Lodowego Ogrodu Tom III ["The Lord of the Ice Garden Volume III"] (2009)
- 2010: Andrzej Pilipiuk, Oko Jelenia. Tryumf Lisa Reinicke ["Eye of the Deer: Fox Reineke's Tryumph"] (2010)
- 2011: award suspended
- 2012: Stefan Darda, Czarny Wygon. Bisy ["Black Outback. Bisy"] (2012)
Short story
- 2003: Andrzej Ziemiański, "Zapach szkła" ["The Smell of Glass"] (October, November and December 2003 Nowa Fantastyka)
- 2004: Andrzej Pilipiuk, "Wieczorne dzwony" ["The Evening Bells"] (July 2004 Science Fiction)
- 2005: Łukasz Orbitowski, "Horror Show" (June 2005 Science Fiction)
- 2006: Szczepan Twardoch, "Rondo na maszynę do pisania, papier i ołówek" ["Rondo for typewriter, paper and pencil"] (September 2009 Science Fiction)
- 2007: Tomasz Bochiński, "Cudowny wynalazek pana Bella" ["The Miraculous Invention of Mr. Bell"] (in Niech żyje Polska. Hura! Tom 2 ["Long Live Poland. Hurrah! Volume 2"] anth 2007)
- 2008: award suspended
- 2009: Andrzej Pilipiuk, "Rzeźnik drzew" ["The Reaper of Trees"] (in the Rzeźnik drzew ["The Reaper of Trees"] coll 2009)
- 2010: Andrzej Pilipiuk, "Lazaret" ["Lazaretto"] (in Jeszcze nie zginęła ["Is Not Yet Lost"] anth 2010)
- 2011: award suspended
- 2012: Maciej Lewandowski; Czarna Leliwa ["Black Leliwa"] (1st quarter 2012 Fantastyka: special edition Fantastyka wydanie specjalne 1)
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