Dorota Terakowska

Barbara Rozalia Terakowska (August 30, 1938 – January 4, 2004), known as Dorota Terakowska, was a Polish writer and journalist best known for her fantasy books for children and young adults, two of which became required reading at Polish schools. Her novel Córka czarownic was included in the IBBY Honour List and received the Polish IBBY section literary award; it also became her most translated work. Before focusing on literature in 1980s, Terakowska wrote for various newspapers and magazines such as Gazeta Krakowska and Przekrój.

Early life and education Terakowska was born on 30 August 1938, in Kraków. She was expelled from her secondary school and continued her education in a secondary school for adults. She began to work early and also quickly started taking part in the cultural life of Kraków, in May 1956 she joined the youth organisational committee at the Piwnica pod Baranami, where she bartended and also sang two songs in shows. In 1969, after working for a couple years as a sociologist, she started writing for the Gazeta Krakowska daily until the period of martial law in Poland. Although the first novel she wrote was Babci Brygidy szalona podróż po Krakowie aimed at young adults, it was the 1983 collection of her journalistic text, Próba generalna, which became her first published book. Suffering, death and child's loneliness were frequent motifs in her writing;

Terakowska died on 4 January 2004, in Kraków, and is buried at the Rakowicki Cemetery.

Terakowska's popularity did not wane after her death; in the decade which followed, there were almost 400 thousand copies of her books sold in Poland. Her most translated work is the fantasy novel Córka czarownic, which has been translated into German, Czech, Lithuanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene and Italian.

Private life Terakowska was married twice. First, to the jazz musician Andrzej Nowak, then to the journalist and filmmaker Maciej Szumowski. She had two daughters, the journalist Katarzyna T. Nowak and film director Małgorzata Szumowska. Nowak wrote about her mother in Moja mama czarownica. Opowieść o Dorocie Terakowskiej (2005), while Szumowska based a character on Terakowska in 33 Scenes from Life.

Published works

Novels

Guma do żucia, 1986 Babci Brygidy szalona podróż po Krakowie, 1987 Władca Lewawu, 1989 Córka czarownic, 1991 Lustro pana Grymsa, 1995 Samotność Bogów. Baśń nie nowa i nie stara, 1998 Tam, gdzie spadają Anioły, 1999 W krainie kota, 1999 Poczwarka, 2001 Ono, 2003 Dzień i noc czarownicy, 2003

Non-fiction

Próba generalna, 1983 Dobry adres to człowiek, 2004 Muzeum Rzeczy Nieistniejących, 2006