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According to a member of the jury of the Vilenica International Literary Festival, translator Jana Unuk, Tokarczuk stands out in the Polish literature because of her passion and joy with which she "creates new worlds".

Her works, which put her among the very top Polish contemporary prose writers, explore topical issues but also see dreams as a part of reality.

She has written eight novels, three of which in the style of what she dubbed a constellation novel.

Unlike her contemporaries who are marked by individualism, Tokarczuk perceives politics as a thing people deal with every day. This includes everything from "taking out the trash and shopping to alternative energy and parental leave for fathers".

"But it also includes a somewhat wider vision that stretches into the future - on how we should live ethically and well, what is important, how to support those who are weaker than us," Tokarczuk told the STA in an interview.

A long time ago when politics was in the domain of the rulers and kings, asking these questions was a matter of religion. But today, when religion no longer has such a strong influence and democracy has grown stronger, this chapter is no longer as important.

"Politics is our attitude to the rest of the world. Seeing things from this perspective, it is hard to get away from politics, as it comes in from all sides, even if you are an autistic individualist."

Being a psychoanalyst with a special affiliation to Swiss psychotherapist Carl Jung, Tokarczuk believes myths still play an important role in the modern world of rapid changes.

"We cannot easily forget a myth, because it is not something coming from the outside - I would say it is the myth that actually forms and creates our spirituality. If I use a technical term - it is our software."

However, today the myth often occurs in different forms than in the past - at the cinema, in computer games, celebrity stories, she said.

While some myths are fading, others are becoming more tangible. Simultaneously with the emancipation of women, myths of a female warrior, heroine that saves others from evil are starting to occur, especially in popular culture.

But apart from these myths, there are several others that Tokarczuk believes people are still internally struggling with - one of them is the myth of Narcissus: a self-centred never ageing eternal boy or a girl who subjects everything to his/her needs.

And there is also a new feature: a Homo Mercurius with a Latin name Hermes, the god of communication and trading. "This is a new type of human, focussed on quick communication, trading and profit, obtained on a 'creative', meaning not completely honest, way."

However, Tokarczuk points out that myths are never a one-way street. Hermes also represents the great scientific inventions, improvements in the communication, she says. "It's the communication-oriented, global world. I think we live in Hermes's era."

In her novel "Bieguni", the author deals with the constant migrations of modern travellers, which suggests that the men's wish to discover new worlds has been overshadowed by the neurosis and restlessness of the modern urban man.

"This restlessness is not new. It is what used to drive people to make geographical discoveries and fight the Crusades. People travel to get out of themselves, go beyond their normal experiences. It's an old, widely spread narcotic: to be there were you are not."

Tokarczuk also seems to be craving for the transcendental in her works. Although she says she is not religious, she believes this craving is an inborn human trait, an instinct that goes beyond culture, age or one's education.

She is also a strong supporter of the Polish Green Party.

Commenting on the current situation in Poland, the Vilenica laureate said that the country was now revising its collective myths and "re-examining history". Theatre as an art form has in a way taken over the role of newspapers in that it comments on topical issues, she said.

"One goes to the theatre on Friday evening to be a part of a discourse on what is going on in the collective consciousness and the unconscious. I like this role of the theatre very much."

Tokarczuk was announced the winner of this year's Vilenica on 15 May, but will receive the award as part of the 28th Vilenica International Literary Festival, scheduled from 11 to 15 September this year.