Anouk Niko Herman

(b. 1998) – an editor, writer, poet and literary scholar.

Their research focuses on ecofeminism, queerness and girlhood. Their poems were first published in the collection “Pragnienie. Antologia Nowego Dokumentu Tekstowego” (Desire. An Anthology of Nowy Dokument Tekstowy, 2021), but their book debut is the poetry volume “right into pod tramwaj” (2022). 2023 saw the release of their young adult novel “Nigdy nie będziesz szło samo” (You’ll Never Walk Alone). They have published in magazines including “Nowy Napis”, “ArtPapier” and “Czas Kultury”.

Anouk’s debut work created a stir in literary circles – right into pod tramwaj is considered one of the first manifestos of Polish non-binary poetry. Critics also appreciated the work’s “twothousandness” (Jakub Skurtys): its glittery aesthetics, lively allusions to Internet culture and its attendant Anglicisms, recurring glimpses of Silesian housing estates, the lyrical “I” who tries to find a way to describe a dynamically shifting modernity.

Anouk received a nomination for the Gdynia Literary Prize and the Wiesław Kazanecki Literary Award (both in 2023) for right into pod tramwaj. Their second poetry volume, Silesian Gothic, was nominated for the Silesius Poetry Award and won the Gdynia Literary Prize (both in 2025). In aesthetic and thematic terms, it alludes to the debut – it is a gothic tale about Silesia shot through with the mythology of the Polish People’s Republic, a surreal sense of humour and Internet culture. It also marks the beginning of a new stage in Herman’s oeuvre – they experiment with a fresh lyrical form, one more oriented towards plot, and search for new aesthetic inspirations. The decay and stifling atmosphere of Southern Gothic, strongly rooted in the culture of the American South and associated with the work of William Faulkner or Carson McCullers (Anouk acknowledges these inspirations), are combined here with ghosts of the past, time travel and kitsch, creating a completely new Silesian mythology.

After the success of their debut, Herman published the YA novel You’ll Never Walk Alone. These projects share themes and setting – Anouk’s prose is also set in Silesia, and its protagonists are queer, non-binary, transgender and neurodivergent. Because the book is meant for young people, the issues it addresses focus on adolescence and being nonconforming to the system. The colourful protagonists are united by a feeling of rebellion against established reality and their active effort to change it.

Anouk Herman’s work has been translated into English.