Marek Krajewski
Marek Krajewski is a Polish crime writer and linguist.
He is best known for his series of novels set in pre-war Wrocław with the policeman Eberhard Mock as the protagonist. His novels have been translated into 20 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Greek, Swedish and Russian.
Life and career
He was born in Wrocław, Polish People's Republic. In 1985, he graduated from the Juliusz Słowacki High School No. 9 in Wrocław. Between 1985 and 1991 he studied classics at the University of Wrocław. In 1992, he obtained an MA degree and in 1999, he received a doctoral degree. He worked as a librarian and later as an assistant professor and lecturer at the Institute of Classical Philology and Ancient Culture of the University of Wrocław. Since 2007, he has focused on pursuing his professional career as a writer of primarily crime fiction.In 2005, he was the recipient of the Paszport Polityki Award presented by the Polityka magazine. His other awards include the High Calibre Award, the Witryna Award conferred by Polish booksellers and the Book Institute Award for best Polish crime novel. In 2015, he was awarded Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. In 2016, he also won the Georg Dehio Book Prize – a prize which recognizes authors who "in their literary, scholarly or public work, address the themes of the common culture and history of the German people and their Eastern neighbors at a high level and from a broad perspective."
In 2018, Polish filmmaker Patryk Vega directed a crime thriller The Plagues of Breslau, which is loosely based on a series of crime novels by Krajewski.
In 2019, he received the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of Regaining Independence conferred by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda to individuals with significant contributions to Polish culture. The same year, the Wrocław-based Capitol Theatre staged for the first time a musical entitled Mock. Czarna burleska directed by Konrad Imiela and inspired by Krajewski's novels revolving around the main character - Eberhard Mock.
In 2023, he was awarded the title of an honorary citizen of the city of Wrocław.