Marcin Szczygielski


Marcin Szczygielski 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.

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 Tomasz Raczek, a journalist and film critic.

Career

His debut was PL-BOY, 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, Nasturcje i cwoki and Farfocle namietnosci – established him as one of the most-read authors of popular literature in Poland. Berek 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 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 Wiosna PL-BOYa, novel Kuchnia na ciezkie czasy, cookbook Nasturcje i Cwoki, novel Farfocle namietnosci, novel Berek / Tag, novel Bierki, novel Furie i inne groteski, theatrical plays Poczet Krolowych Polskich / The Queens Saga, novel Kallas, theatrical play Filipinki – to my!, monograph of Filipinki, a Polish girlsband Sanato, novel Bingo, novel
Aimed towards young readers:Omega, novel Za niebieskimi drzwiami / Behind the Blue Door / Hinter der blauen Tür, novel Czarny Mlyn / The Black Mill, novel Czarownica pietro nizej, novel Arka Czasu / Ark of Time / Flügel aus Papier / Ковчег часу, novel Tuczarnia motyli, novel Teatr Niewidzialnych Dzieci, novel Klątwa dziewiątych urodzin, novel Serce Neftydy, novel
Theatrical plays:Berek, czyli upior w moherze. Premiere: Warsaw – 2009Wydmuszka. Premieres: Warsaw – 2010; Plock – 2011; Lodz – 2011; Cracow – 2014; Prague – 2016Furie. Premiere: Warsaw – 2011Kallas. Premiere: Warsaw – 2012Single i Remiksy. Premiere: Warsaw – 2012Kochanie 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, 2010Omega – recognition award in the Most Beautiful Books of the Year 2009 Contest organized by the Polish Association of Book PublishersCzarny Mlyn – Grand Prix in the Second Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, 2010Czarny Mlyn – 1st Prize in the Second Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, category: novels for children aged 10–14, 2010Omega – Book of the Year 2010 in the contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY - International Board on Books for Young People, 2011Za niebieskimi drzwiami – Duzy Dong – 1st Prize awarded by the Professional Jury in Dong literary contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY, 2011Za niebieskimi drzwiami – Children's Jury recognition award in Dong literary contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY, 2011Za niebieskimi drzwiami – 2nd Prize in Halina Skrobiszewska Children's Literature Contest and incorporation into the Museum of Children's Books Treasure List, 2011Poczet Krolowych Polskich / The Queens Saga – nomination for Srebrny Kałamarz Literary Prize in the Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Literary Contest, 2012Za niebieskimi drzwiami – the novel incorporated into the international IBBY Honour List presenting the most outstanding children's books, 2012Arka Czasu – Grand Prix in the 3rd Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest for children's and teenager's books, 2013Arka Czasu – 1st Prize in the 3rd Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, category: novels for children aged 10–14, 2013Czarownica pietro nizej – Book of April 2013 according to Magazyn Literacki KsiążkiArka Czasu – recognition award in the Book of the Year 2013 Literary Contest organized by the Polish section of IBBY, 2013Czarownica pietro nizej – Zielona Gaska 2013 Literary Prize awarded by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński Foundation, 2014Arka Czasu – 1st Prize in Halina Skrobiszewska Children's Literature Contest and incorporation into the Museum of Children's Books Treasure List, 2014Guliwer w Krainie Olbrzymów 2014 Literary Prize for significant and lasting contributions to children's literature awarded by a Polish magazine about children's literature Guliwer, 2014Flügel aus Papier – chosen one of the best seven books for young adults in Germany in April 2015 by Deutschlandfunk, 2015Flügel aus Papier – Book of July 2015 by Deutsche Akademie für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, 2015Tuczarnia motyli – 1st Prize in Halina Skrobiszewska Children's Literature Contest and incorporation into the Museum of Children's Books Treasure List, 2015Flügel aus Papier – Kinderbuchpreis 2015, Children's Book of the Year in Austria by Jury der Jungen Leser, 2015Teatr Niewidzialnych Dzieci – 1st Prize in the 4th Astrid Lindgren Literary Contest, category: novels for children aged 10–14, 2016Teatr 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.Klatwa dziewiatych urodzin – Book of December 2016 according to Magazyn Literacki Książki, 2016.