Joanna Olech

Joanna Olech (born 1955) is a Polish graphic artist and author of books for children and young people. She also writes articles about children's literature. Since 2007, she has been on the board of the Polish Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). She is the co-author of Polish Scientific Publishers PWN Polish-language textbooks for junior high-school students. Early life Olech was born in Warsaw on 26 December 1955. She is the daughter of , a television journalist, and Janina née Cembrzyńska, an editor of popular science books. Her sister is the film set designer . Olech graduated in graphic design from the She is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, Warsaw. In 1980, she married the graphic artist and, in 1991, Grzegorz Olech, a mathematician and furniture designer.

Writing Olech is the author of a recognised series of books about the adventures of Pompon the Dragon Fiś family, stories about what appears to be an ordinary family and its extraordinary charge. She is particularly known for the attention she pays to the design of her books. Many of her books have been published in Spanish as well as in Polish. In addition to her own publications, Olech writes about children’s literature in the magazine, Tygodnik Powszechny, the newspaper, Rzeczpospolita, the journal, Nowe Książki, and in the daily newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza. Dynastia Miziołków (Miziołków Dynasty), 1994: Gdzie diabeł mówi: Do usług! (Where the devil says... at your service!) 1997: Trudne słówka: Niepoważny słowniczek dynastii Miziołków (Difficult words: A frivolous dictionary of the Miziołków dynasty), 2002 Pompon w rodzinie Fisiów (Pompon in the Fiś family), 2007 Kiedy byłam mała. Kiedy byłem mały (When I was a little girl. When I Was Little - with ), 2010 Pulpet i Prudencja: Smocze Pogotowie Przygodowe (Pulpet and Prudence: Dragon Adventure Emergency), 2010 Bal przebierańców (Fancy Dress Ball), 2011 Tadek i spółka (Tadek and Company), 2012 Tarantula, Klops i Herkules (Tarantula, Klops and Hercules), 2012 Pompon na wakacjach (Pompon on Vacation), 2013 Tytus - superpies (Tytus – Superdog), 2013: ArcyBolek, 2014 Mam prawo i nie zawaham się go użyć! (I Have the Right and I Will Not Hesitate to Use It!), 2014 Tytus w cyrku (Tytus at the Circus), 2014 Ząb czarownicy (Witch's Tooth), 2015 Bal piłkarzy (Footballers' Ball), 2016 Poppintrokowie: Opowiadania z magią i dreszczem (Poppintrokowie: Stories with Magic and Chills), 2016 Porwanie (Kidnapping), 2016 Szkoła na Dobrej (School on Dobra), 2021 Miziołki wracają czyli Kaszydło rządzi (Miziołki Return or Kaszydło Rules), 2022 Tym razem ci się upiekło! (You Got Away with it This Time!), 2022 Bolek i Lolek szukają skarbu. Bajka o wychodzeniu z tarapatów (Bolek and Lolek Are Looking for Treasure. A Fairy Tale about Getting Out of Trouble), 2023 Kajtek. Bajki mają moc (Kajtek. Fairy Tales Have Power), 2023 Guzik. Bajki mają moc (Guzik. Fairy Tales Have Power), 2023 Other activities Olech serves as an expert for the Polish Film Institute to assess grant applications and, since 2021, has been a member of the jury of the Hestia Literary Journey competition, which honours the best Polish books written for children and young people aged between 10 and 15. The competition is organized by the Hestia Artistic Journey Foundation, together with the Wisława Szymborska Foundation.