Andrzej Sapkowski
Andrzej Sapkowski | |
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Ignotus Award European Science Fiction Society Award | |
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Andrzej Sapkowski (Polish:
He was born in Łódź and initially pursued a career as an economist after graduating from the University of Łódź. He turned to writing, first as a translator and later as an author of fantasy books, following the success of his first short story The Witcher published in 1986 in the Fantastyka magazine.
Described as the "Polish
Early life
He was born on 21 June 1948 in
Career
Major works
He says he wrote his first
The main character of "The Witcher" is
In her review of
In 2001, he published the Manuscript Discovered in a Dragon's Cave, an original and personal guide to
Sapkowski's next book series was The Hussite Trilogy set in the 15th century at the time of the Hussite Wars with Reinmar of Bielawa as the main protagonist. Mariusz Czubaj writes:[17]
Sapkowski's trilogy is a form of polemics with the Polish tradition of the historical novel, with let's say Kraszewski and Sienkiewicz, who wrote about cruel times while depriving them of that dose of atrocities and a most basic human dimension. Yet the author of The Witcher does not hide that his characters are not exactly subtle, but who nonetheless bask with delight in what the literature theoretician Mikhail Bakhtin once called "the material bodily lower stratum".
Although The Hussite Trilogy proved less popular compared to The Witcher, it has been described as the author's "
In August 2023, Sapkowski announced he was working on a new novel from The Witcher universe during an on-line meeting with his Ukrainian fans. He added that his work on the book "may take a year, but no longer" giving it a potential expected publication date at some point in 2024.[19]
Legal dispute with CD Projekt
In October 2018, he filed a lawsuit against
CD Projekt released a statement claiming that the author's demands are groundless and that the company had legitimately and legally acquired copyright to Sapkowski's works. His decision was criticized by many commentators and gaming journalists including Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author of Metro 2033, who described him as "an old fool" and noted that without the gaming franchise, the Witcher series "would never get this crazy international readership" and would have remained popular only in Central and Eastern Europe.[21][22]
On 20 December 2019, the writer and the company resolved the lawsuit with an amicable settlement. The company stated this deal was made in an effort "to maintain good relations with authors of works which have inspired CD Projekt Red's own creations." The details of this arrangement were not made public.[23]
Personal life
Sapkowski resides in his hometown of Łódź in central Poland. He had a son named Krzysztof (1972–2019), who was an avid reader of the Polish Fantastyka magazine, and for whom he wrote the first Witcher story, who has since deceased.[24][25]
Sapkowski is a member of the
In 2005, Stanisław Bereś conducted a lengthy interview with Sapkowski that was eventually published in a book form as Historia i fantastyka.[28]
Translations and adaptations of Sapkowski's works
Sapkowski's books have been translated into
In the years 1993–1995, a six-issue
In 2001, a television series based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled Wiedźmin (The Hexer). A film by the same title was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.[36]
In 2009, Russian heavy metal band Esse staged The Road with No Return, a rock opera based on the works by Sapkowski. Yevgeny Pronin is the author of the libretto and the composer of much of the opera's music. The premiere of the opera took place the same year in Rostov-on-Don and was subsequently released as a DVD in 2012.[37][38]
The Polish game developer,
In May 2017,
In September 2017, a musical Wiedźmin (The Witcher) directed by Wojciech Kościelniak was premiered at the Musical Theatre in Gdynia.[46]
The Witcher: Blood Origin is a fantasy miniseries created by Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich adapted from The Witcher book series which serves as a prequel to the Netflix television series. It was released on Netflix in December 2022.[47]
Awards and recognition
Sapkowski is a recipient of numerous awards and honours both Polish and foreign including:
- 2016: World Fantasy Award—Life Achievement for The Witcher saga[48]
- 2012: Tähtifantasia Award (Finland) for his short story Sword of Destiny translated from Polish by Tapani Kärkkäinen; Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Award nomination for his novel Spellmaker, translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel
- 2011: FantLab's Book of the Year Award (Russia) for his short story Żmija (Viper) in the Best Translated Novella or Short Story category
- 2010: European Science Fiction Society "European Grand Master" honorary award[49]
- 2009: David Gemmell Legend Award[50]
- 2008: Honorary citizenship of the city of Łódź[51]
- 2003: Narrenturm
- 2002: Narrenturm
- 1997: Polityka's Passport award,[52]which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success
- 1996: European Science Fiction Society Hall of Fame: author[53]
- 1995: Raczyński Library Award for lifetime achievements
- 1994: Krew elfów(Blood of Elves)
- 1993: Ikaros Award (Czech Republic); Janusz A. Zajdel Award for his short story W leju po bombie (In a Bomb Crater)
- 1992: Miecz przeznaczenia(Sword of Destiny)
- 1990: Mniejsze zło(The Lesser of Two Evils)
Orders
- 2014: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland[54]
Bibliography
The Witcher Saga
Short story collections
- The Witcher (pl:Wiedźmin, 1986), 5 stories. Currently out of print, although 4 of its stories were reprinted in The Last Wish along with new material, while the fifth story was reprinted in Something ends, Something begins and The Malady and Other Stories.
- Sword of Destiny (Miecz przeznaczenia, 1992), 6 stories. English edition: 2015[55]
- The Last Wish (Ostatnie życzenie, 1993), 7 stories. English edition: 2007 (in US: 2008).[56] Its stories (including both its original stories and the stories which it republishes from The Witcher) take place before Sword of Destiny even though it was published later.
- The short story "The Hexer" in the English anthology Chosen by Fate: Zajdel Award Winner Anthology (by SuperNOVA in cooperation with the Silesian Club of Fantasy Literature, 2000) is an English translation by Agnieszka Fulińska of the short story "The Witcher" which had previously been published in Polish in The Witcher and The Last Wish. The Last Wish was later translated into English in full.
- The short story "Spellmaker" in the English anthology A Polish Book of Monsters (edited and translated by Michael Kandel, 2010) is another translation of the short story "The Witcher" which had previously been published in The Witcher, The Last Wish, and Chosen by Fate: Zajdel Award Winner Anthology.[57]
- Something Ends, Something Begins (pl:Coś się kończy, coś się zaczyna, 2000), 8 stories. Only two of its stories are related to The Witcher saga ("The Road with No Return" and the titular "Something Ends, Something Begins").
- The Malady and Other Stories (pl:Maladie i inne opowiadania, 2012), 10 stories. It includes the 8 stories from Something ends, Something begins plus two new stories that aren't related to The Witcher saga. The only one of its stories that was translated into English is the titular "The Malady" which was published in 2014 under the title The Malady and Other Stories, although that English publication didn't include the other 9 stories from the Polish collection of the same name.[citation needed]
Pentalogy
- Blood of Elves (Krew elfów, 1994). English edition: 2009
- Time of Contempt (Czas pogardy, 1995). English edition: 27 June 2013[58]
- Baptism of Fire (Chrzest ognia, 1996). English edition: 6 March 2014[59]
- The Tower of Swallows (Wieża Jaskółki, 1997). English edition: May 2016[60]
- Lady of the Lake (Pani Jeziora, 1999). English edition: 14 March 2017[60]
Standalone Prequel novel
- Season of Storms (Sezon burz, 2013). English edition: 22 May 2018 – set between the short stories in The Last Wish[61]
Hussite Trilogy
- The Tower of Fools (Narrenturm, 2002). English edition: 2020[62]
- Warriors of God(Boży bojownicy, 2004)
- Light Perpetual (Lux perpetua, 2006)
Other novels
- Viper (Żmija, 2009), a stand-alone novel set during the Soviet–Afghan War
Other works
- The Eye of Yrrhedes (Oko Yrrhedesa, 1995), roleplaying game
- The World of King Arthur. Maladie (Świat króla Artura. Maladie, 1995), essay and an illustrated short story set in Arthurian mythology
- Manuscript Discovered in a Dragon's Cave (Rękopis znaleziony w Smoczej Jaskini, 2001), fantasy encyclopedic compendium
See also
- Polish literature
- Science fiction and fantasy in Poland
- List of Polish writers
- Stanisław Lem
- Jacek Dukaj
- Janusz A. Zajdel Award
- Toss a Coin to Your Witcher
- Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
- The Witcher: Monster Slayer
References
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- ^ "A Polish Tolkien? The fantasy world of Andrzej Sapkowski". 13 December 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "The Proper Reading Order For The Witcher Books". MSN. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "CD Projekt Red Offering More Compensation to Witcher Series Creator". 4 February 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- TV Insider. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "How did Slavic Mythology Influence Andrzej Sapkowski?". 30 June 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "Życiorys autora "Wiedźmina" jest pełen zaskakujących zwrotów akcji. Sapkowski miał zostać inżynierem, przeżył życiową tragedię i... był w wojsku z Markiem Belką" (in Polish). 15 December 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ISBN 83-7054-178-X.
- ^ "Wybitni absolwenci" (in Polish). Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ISBN 978-83-245-8425-3.
- ^ НО МЫ ЖЕ СЛАВЯНЕ! РАЗГОВОР С АНДЖЕЕМ САПКОВСКИМ, An interview with Sapkowski for Russian monthly magazine "World of Fatnastics"
- ^ a b (in Polish) Marek Oramus Jedynie słuszny wizerunek wiedźmina Archived 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Polityka – nr 36 (2261) from 2000-09-02; pp. 52–54
- ^ The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski , fantasybookreview
- ^ "Blood Of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski (The Witcher #3)". Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ Alex Jay (4 January 2020). "The real-world history that breathes life into The Witcher". polygon.com. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ "Manuscript Found in a Dragon's Cave - Andrzej Sapkowski". Retrieved 14 August 2022.
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- ^ Blanka Konopka (14 August 2023). "The Witcher author delights fans with surprise announcement there WILL be a new book". thefirstnews.com. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Andrzej Sapkowski wzywa CD Projekt do zapłaty 60 mln zł" (in Polish). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "CD Projekt Resolves Lawsuit with Witcher Author Andrzej Sapkowski". 9 February 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "The Witcher author and CD Projekt end royalties dispute with licensing agreement". Polygon. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ "CD PROJEKT SA (17/2019) Zawarcie porozumienia" (in Polish). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
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- ^ Orliński, Wojciech (26 October 2005). "Historia i fantastyka, Bereś, Stanisław; Sapkowski, Andrzej". wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 20 February 2019.
- ^ مجموعه حماسه ویچر. azarbadbook.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "The Last Wish Cover Reveal. . . of sorts!". Gollancz blog. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
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- ^ Alison Flood, Gemmell prize for fantasy goes to Polish novel, Blood of Elves, Guardian, Friday 19 June 2009
- ISBN 978-83-64863-05-9. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ Warnke, Agnieszka (18 December 2019). "The Witcher: The Road From Rivia to Hollywood". Culture.pl. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ "Before Netflix Adapted 'The Witcher,' There Was A Polish Version of the TV Series". The Inquisitr. 25 December 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ "Droga, z której się nie wraca zespołu Esse" (in Polish). Retrieved 25 August 2022.
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- ^ "The Witcher Official Website – Official Release Date!". Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2007.
- ^ Robinson, Andy (16 January 2010). "Witcher 2 release date confirmed". CVG. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ Karmali, Luke (8 December 2014). "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt release date delayed again". IGN. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015.
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- ^ "Netflix's New Show Has Made The Witcher Writer #1 on Amazon's Most Popular Author Rankings". Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ "'I Do Not Like Working Too Hard or Too Long': A Refreshingly Honest Talk With The Witcher's Creator". 27 January 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
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- ^ "ISBN Unavailable". Orion Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ a b "Gollancz Acquire Three More Witcher Novels". Gollancz blog. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ Aleksandra Ksann. "Sezon Burz - Wiedźmin - Andrzej Sapkowski - Serwis o filmach, książkach, grach i technologiach". mediarivermagazine.pl. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
- ^ "A brand new fantasy trilogy by Andrzej Sapkowski, New York Times bestselling author of the Witcher novels!". orbitbooks.net. Orbit Books. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2020.