Marcin Szczygielski

Marcin Szczygielski (born 1972) is a Polish writer, journalist and graphic designer. He is an author of theatrical plays, and novels for adults and teenagers. Since December 2012, he has been a member of Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich (Polish Writers' Association).

Biography

Szczygielski was born in Warsaw to actor Cezary Szczygielski and singer Iwona Racz-Szczygielska, vocalist of Polish girlsband Filipinki. His parents divorced while he was still a child and his mother raised him.

Szczygielski is openly gay and lives in Warsaw with his partner (since 1994) Tomasz Raczek, a journalist and film critic.

Career

His debut was PL-BOY (published 2003), a fictional, humorous account of the Polish Edition Playboy magazine editorial department of which Szczygielski used to be the art director. The novels that followed – Wiosna PL-BOYa (2004), Nasturcje i cwoki (2005) and Farfocle namietnosci (2006) – established him as one of the most-read authors of popular literature in Poland. Berek (2007) tells a story of a difficult friendship between an elderly lady - a conservative Catholic and her young neighbour, openly gay. The novel immediately hit the bestseller list. Its spinoff, titled Bierki, was published in 2010. In 2011 Poczet Krolowych Polskich (The Queens Saga) was published, which is claimed to be Szczygielski's most mature and most ambitious novel. This elaborate, multigenerational family saga that portrays the contemporary Polish history through the lives of women of 4 generations, was nominated for the Srebrny Kałamarz Literary Prize.

A separate part of Marcin Szczygielski's literary output are books aimed towards younger readers. Each of them has received numerous awards and recognition awards in literary contests, whereas novels Czarny Mlyn and Za niebieskimi drzwiami have been incorporated into the extracurricular reading list in Polish elementary schools.

Szczygielski's theatrical plays have been staged in many Polish theatres – among others in the cities of Warsaw, Łódź, Płock and Kraków.

Books Aimed towards adult readers:

PL-BOY, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2003) Wiosna PL-BOYa, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2004) Kuchnia na ciezkie czasy, cookbook (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2004) Nasturcje i Cwoki, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latanik, 2005) Farfocle namietnosci, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2006) Berek / Tag, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2007) Bierki, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2010) Furie i inne groteski, theatrical plays (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2011) Poczet Krolowych Polskich / The Queens Saga, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2011) Kallas, theatrical play (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2011) Filipinki – to my!, monograph of Filipinki, a Polish girlsband (Agora SA, 2013) Sanato, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2014) Bingo, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2015)

Aimed towards young readers:

Omega, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2009) Za niebieskimi drzwiami / Behind the Blue Door / Hinter der blauen Tür, novel (Poland – Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2010 / Germany – S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, 2016 ) Czarny Mlyn / The Black Mill, novel (Stentor, 2011) Czarownica pietro nizej, novel (Bajka, 2013) Arka Czasu / Ark of Time / Flügel aus Papier / Ковчег часу, novel (Poland – Stentor, 2013 / Germany – S. Fischer Verlag GmbH, 2015 / Ukraine – Urbino, 2016 ) Tuczarnia motyli, novel (Bajka, 2014) Teatr Niewidzialnych Dzieci, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2016) Klątwa dziewiątych urodzin, novel (Bajka, 2016) Serce Neftydy, novel (Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, 2017)

Theatrical plays:

Berek, czyli upior w moherze. Premiere: Warsaw – 2009 Wydmuszka. Premieres: Warsaw – 2010; Plock – 2011; Lodz – 2011; Cracow – 2014; Prague – 2016 Furie. Premiere: Warsaw – 2011 Kallas. Premiere: Warsaw – 2012 Single i Remiksy. Premiere: Warsaw – 2012 Kochanie na kredyt. Premiere: London – 2013

Awards and honors

Omega – recognition award in Halina Skrobiszewska Children's Literature Contest and incorporation into the Museum of Children's Books Treasure List, 2010 Omega – recognition award in the Most Beautiful Books of the Year 2009 Contest organized by the Polish Association of Book Publishers Czarny Mlyn – Grand Prix in the Second Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, 2010 Czarny Mlyn – 1st Prize in the Second Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, category: novels for children aged 10–14, 2010 Omega – Book of the Year 2010 in the contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY - International Board on Books for Young People, 2011 Arka Czasu – Grand Prix in the 3rd Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest for children's and teenager's books, 2013 Arka Czasu – 1st Prize in the 3rd Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, category: novels for children aged 10–14, 2013 Czarownica pietro nizej – Book of April 2013 according to Magazyn Literacki Książki Arka Czasu – recognition award in the Book of the Year 2013 Literary Contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY, 2013 Czarownica pietro nizej – Zielona Gaska 2013 Literary Prize awarded by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Foundation, 2014 Arka Czasu – 1st Prize in Halina Skrobiszewska Children's Literature Contest and incorporation into the Museum of Children's Books Treasure List, 2014 Guliwer w Krainie Olbrzymów (Gulliver in the Land of Giants) 2014 Literary Prize for significant and lasting contributions to children's literature awarded by a Polish magazine about children's literature Guliwer, 2014 Flügel aus Papier (German edition of Arka Czasu) – chosen one of the best seven books for young adults in Germany in April 2015 by Deutschlandfunk, 2015 Flügel aus Papier – Book of July 2015 by Deutsche Akademie für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, 2015 Tuczarnia motyli – 1st Prize in Halina Skrobiszewska Children's Literature Contest and incorporation into the Museum of Children's Books Treasure List, 2015 Flügel aus Papier – Kinderbuchpreis 2015, Children's Book of the Year in Austria by Jury der Jungen Leser, 2015 Teatr Niewidzialnych Dzieci – 1st Prize in the 4th Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, category: novels for children aged 10–14, 2016 Teatr Niewidzialnych Dzieci – recognition award in the Book of the Year 2016 Literary Contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY, 2016. Klatwa dziewiatych urodzin – Book of the Year 2016 in the contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY, 2016. Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis for distinguished contributions to the Polish culture and national heritage Klatwa dziewiatych urodzin – Warsaw Literary Prize, 2017.