Rokita picked up the award at a ceremony in Warsaw on Sunday for his book Kajś. Opowieść o Górnym Śląsku, in which he examines his ethnic identity as a native of Poland's southern Upper Silesia region, which is a melting pot of cultures with a mixture of Polish and German influences.
The book also claimed the readers' choice award at the ceremony at the Warsaw University Library on Sunday night.
Seven books were in the running for the top prize this year, including four collections of journalistic pieces.
The Nike prize has been given out since 1997 to authors working in various genres.
Writers who have won the award in the past include Czesław Miłosz, Dorota Masłowska and Olga Tokarczuk.
Last year the award went to writer Radek Rak for his book Baśń o wężowym sercu albo wtóre słowo o Jakóbie Szeli, a fantasy novel based on the story of 19th-century Polish peasant uprising leader Jakub Szela.
Meanwhile, the 2019 winner, Mariusz Szczygieł's book Nie ma (There Isn't), a collection of real-life stories about people who have had to deal with various kinds of emptiness, was named the best book of the last quarter-century at this year's Nike awards.
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Source: PAP