Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

. He is best known for his series of books '' The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous monster-hunter, Geralt of Rivia. The saga has been popularized through television, stage, comic books, video games and translated into 37 languages making him the second most-translated Polish

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and fantasy writer after

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer. He was the author of many novels, short stories, and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fi ...

. Described as the "Polish Tolkien", he has written multiple novels and short story collections, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. The influence of

Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...

is seen as a characteristic feature of many of his works. He is a five-time recipient of the Zajdel Award, Poland's most popular science fiction and fantasy prize, as well as many other awards and honors including David Gemmell Award, World Fantasy Life Achievement Award and the Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture. Polish sci fi fantasy books

Early life

He was born on 21 June 1948 in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, in central Poland. His father served in the Polish People's Army and participated in the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, his parents lived near

Nowa Sól Nowa Sól is a city on the Oder River in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the capital of Nowa Sól County and had a population of 38,763 (2019). History The territory became part of the emerging Polish state in the 10th century, and foll ...

before settling in Łódź. He attended the Bolesław Prus High School No. 21. He also studied

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

University of Łódź The University of Łódź (, ) is a public research university founded in 1945 in Łódź, Poland, as a continuation of three higher education institutions functioning in Łódź in the interwar period — the Teacher Training Institute (192 ...

, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior

sales representative Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

for a foreign trade company. He started his literary career as a translator, in particular, of science fiction. Among the first works translated by him was ''The Words of Guru'' by Cyril M. Kornbluth.

Career

Major works

He says he wrote his first

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, ' (1986), ("Wiedźmin", also translated "The Hexer" or "Spellmaker"), on a whim, in order to enter a contest by Polish science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Fantastyka''. In an interview, he said that being a businessman at the time and thus familiar with marketing, he knew how to sell, and indeed, he won third prize. The story was published in ''Fantastyka'' in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of "The Witcher", comprising three collections of short stories and eight novels. This cycle and his other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s. The main character of "The Witcher" is Geralt of Rivia, trained as a monster hunter since childhood. Geralt exists in a morally ambiguous universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

's signature character

Philip Marlowe Philip Marlowe ( ) is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The genre originated in the 1920s, notably in '' Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Cont ...

. Marek Oramus
Jedynie słuszny wizerunek wiedźmina
'', Polityka – nr 36 (2261) from 2000-09-02; pp. 52–54 The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by

. In her review of '' Blood of Elves'', Alice Wybrew of ''Total Sci-Fi'' writes that "Moving effortlessly between moments of wrought emotion and staggeringly effective action, to lengthy periods of political discussion and war stratagems, Sapkowski addresses every aspect of a good fantasy novel eloquently and with ease. His style reads as easily as David Gemmel, but hits harder and deeper than his late fantasy comrade. Creating a world that is both familiar and comfortable, it is through his inventive use of character manipulation that he generates a new and realistic experience". Alex Jay of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' further observes that within Sapkowski's fantasy tales, "there are parallels to the complicated history of ethnic strife and resistance to oppression in Central and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

". The depictions of the disputes between nonhumans and humans "echo real-world disputes over territory and citizenship that draw dividing lines according to race, nationality, or ethnicity". In 2001, he published the '' Manuscript Found in a Dragon's Cave'', an original and personal guide to

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fan ...

. It was written in the form of an

encyclopaedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

and the author discusses in it the history of the

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by List of narrative techniques, literary technique, Tone (literature), tone, Media (communication), content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from mor ...

, well-known fantasy heroes, descriptions of magic terminology as well as major works of notable writers including

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

's ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'',

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

's '' Conan'',

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

's ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...

'',

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

's ''

Earthsea ''The Earthsea Cycle'', also known as ''Earthsea'', is a series of high fantasy books written by American author Ursula K. Le Guin. Beginning with '' A Wizard of Earthsea'' (1968), '' The Tombs of Atuan'', (1970) and '' The Farthest Shore'' (1 ...

'', Roger Zelazny's '' The Chronicles of Amber'',

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

's ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'', and

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...

's ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the first volume, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and published it in 1996. Martin, who originally envisioned the ser ...

''. Sapkowski's next book series was the '' Hussite Trilogy'' set in the 15th century at the time of the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

with Reinmar of Bielawa as the main protagonist. Mariusz Czubaj writes: Although the ''Hussite Trilogy'' proved less popular compared to ''The Witcher'', it has been described as the author's "

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

". Published between 2002 and 2006, the series was released as an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

in 2019. 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. The novel, titled '' Rozdroże Kruków'', was published in Poland in November 2024, and will release internationally as ''Crossroads of Ravens'' in September 2025.

Legal dispute with CD Projekt

In October 2018, he sent an open letter to

CD Projekt CD Projekt S.A. () is a Polish video game company based in Warsaw, founded in May 1994 by Marcin Iwiński and Michał Kiciński. Iwiński and Kiciński were video game retailers before they founded the company, which initially acted as ...

demanding 60 million zloty ($16.1 million) in

royalty payments A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

from the company for using the Witcher universe in their computer games. The letter was written despite the fact that Sapkowski had sold the video game rights to the Witcher for a single sum, rather than through a royalties contract. Sapkowski and his lawyers based their claims on Article 44 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act. 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 Dmitry Alekseyevich Glukhovsky (, born 12 June 1979) is a Russian author, best known for the science fiction novel '' Metro 2033'' and its sequels. As a journalist, Dmitry Glukhovsky has worked for Euronews, RT in its early years, and others. ...

, 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

. On 20 December 2019, the writer and the company resolved the dispute 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.

Personal life

Andrzej Sapkowski - Book World Fair 2010 Prague

Sapkowski resides in his hometown of

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. Sapkowski is a member of the Polish Writers Association. In an interview, he mentioned that his favorite writers included

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

and

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

. In 2005, Stanisław Bereś conducted a lengthy interview with Sapkowski that was eventually published in a book form as '' Historia i fantastyka''.

Translations and adaptations of Sapkowski's works

Sapkowski's books have been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, Dutch, English,

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

, Finnish, French, Georgian,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, Hungarian,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. In English, his official debut was from his The Witcher universe that was published in 2000 in a

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. However, when a distinction ...

anthology ''Chosen by Fate''. An English translation of '' The Last Wish'' short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007. From 2008, the Witcher saga is published by Gollancz. The English translation of Sapkowski's novel '' Blood of Elves'' won the David Gemmell Legend Award in 2009. In the years 1993–1995, a six-issue

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series entitled '' The Witcher'' was released in the ''Komiks'' magazine by Prószyński i S-ka

publishing house Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. The comic was written by Maciej Parowski and illustrated by Bogusław Polch. The comics were the first attempt to portray the Witcher universe outside the novels. Since 2014, a comic book series '' The Witcher'' has been published by the American publisher

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

. The stories presented in the series are mostly originals, written not by Andrzej Sapkowski but by other writers; the exception being volume 2, Fox Children, which adapted a story from the anthology '' Season of Storms''. In 2001, a

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

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. In 2009, Russian heavy metal band Esse staged ''The Road with No Return'', a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

based on the works by Sapkowski. Yevgeny Pronin is the author of the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

and the composer of much of the opera's music. The premiere of the opera took place the same year in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

and was subsequently released as a DVD in 2012. The Polish game developer, CD Projekt Red, created a role-playing game series based on ''The Witcher'' universe. The first game, titled simply '' The Witcher'', was first released in October 2007. The sequel, '' The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings'' was released in 2011. The third game in the trilogy, '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'', was released in May 2015. The game shipped over 40 million copies, making it one of the best selling video games of all time. In May 2017,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

commissioned '' The Witcher'', an English-language adaptation of the book series. ''The Witcher'' television series premiered on

on 20 December 2019. Sapkowski served for a while as a creative consultant on the project. The popularity of the Netflix show led to Sapkowski topping

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

's list of best-selling authors ahead of J.K. Rowling and

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

. A spin-off anime '' The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf'', produced by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, premiered in 2021. A second spinoff anime, '' The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep'', was released on February 11 2025, adapting the short story A Little Sacrifice from the collection ''Sword of Destiny''. In September 2017, a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

''Wiedźmin'' (The Witcher) directed by Wojciech Kościelniak was premiered at the Musical Theatre in

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

. '' The Witcher: Blood Origin'' is a

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.

Awards and recognition

Sapkowski is a recipient of numerous awards and honours both Polish and foreign including: *1990: Janusz A. Zajdel Award for his short story '' Mniejsze zło'' (The Lesser of Two Evils) *1992: Janusz A. Zajdel Award for his short story '' Miecz przeznaczenia'' (Sword of Destiny) *1993: Ikaros Award (Czech Republic); Janusz A. Zajdel Award for his short story '' W leju po bombie'' (In a Bomb Crater) *1994: Janusz A. Zajdel Award for his novel '' Krew elfów'' (Blood of Elves) *1995: Raczyński Library Award for lifetime achievements *1996: European Science Fiction Society Hall of Fame: author *1997:

Paszport Polityki Paszport Polityki (Polityka's Passport) is an annual Polish cultural award presented by the weekly magazine '' Polityka'' since 1993. It is presented in six major categories: literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written wor ...

, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success *2002: Janusz A. Zajdel for his novel '' Narrenturm'' *2003:

Ignotus Award Premios Ignotus are annual Spanish literary awards that were created in 1991 by the Asociación Española de Fantasía, Ciencia Ficción y Terror (AEFCFT, translation: Spanish Association of Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror). The awards, which a ...

(Spain) for ''The Last Wish'' in the Best Anthology category and for ''Muzykanci'' (The Musicians) in the Best Foreign Short Story category;

Nike Award The Nike Literary Award (, pronounced ) is a literary prize awarded each year for the best book of a single living author writing in Polish and published the previous year. It is widely considered the most important award for Polish literatu ...

nomination (Poland's top literary prize) for his novel '' Narrenturm'' *2008:

Honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the city of

*2009: David Gemmell Legend Award *2010: European Science Fiction Society "European Grand Master" honorary award *2011: FantLab's Book of the Year Award (Russia) for his short story ''Żmija'' (Viper) in the Best Translated Novella or Short Story category *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 Michael Kandel (born 24 December 1941, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American translator and author of science fiction. Biography Kandel received a doctorate in Slavistics from Indiana University. His most recent position was editor at the ...

*2016: World Fantasy Award—Life Achievement for ''The Witcher'' saga

Decorations

*2014: Silver Medal Gloria Artis, conferred by the

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage () is a Ministries of Poland, ministry within Polish government led by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage responsible for national heritage preservation and Culture of Poland, Polish cult ...

Bibliography

The Witcher Saga

Short story collections

*''The Witcher'' (', 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 *'' The Last Wish'' (''Ostatnie życzenie'', 1993), 7 stories. English edition: 2007 (in US: 2008). 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

, 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''. *''Something Ends, Something Begins'' (', 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'' (', 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 contents of the English translation is different, containing excerpts from the first and third novels, 2 stories from The Last Wish, and the titular short story.

Pentalogy

*'' Blood of Elves'' (''Krew elfów'', 1994). English edition: 2009 *'' Time of Contempt'' (''Czas pogardy'', 1995). English edition: 27 June 2013 *'' Baptism of Fire'' (''Chrzest ognia'', 1996). English edition: 6 March 2014 *'' The Tower of Swallows'' (''Wieża Jaskółki'', 1997). English edition: May 2016 *''

Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (, , , , ) is a title used by multiple characters in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. As either actually fairy or fairy-like yet human enchantres ...

'' (''Pani Jeziora'', 1999). English edition: 14 March 2017

Prequel novels

* '' Season of Storms'' (''Sezon burz'', 2013). English edition: 22 May 2018 – set between the short stories in ''The Last Wish'' * '' Crossroad of Ravens'' (''Rozdroże kruków'', 2024) – set before the short stories in ''The Last Wish''

New book

Shortly before the release of ''Rozdroże kruków'', in an interview for the Polish weekly periodical '' Polityka'', Sapkowski announced that it would not be the last book set in the ''Witcher'' universe. Again, he did not provide more details, saying only that "there'll be a new book" and "if I set the

time horizon A time horizon, also known as a planning horizon, is a fixed point of time in the future at which point certain processes will be evaluated or assumed to end. It is necessary in an accounting, finance or risk management regime to assign such a f ...

to three or four years, it'll be without much risk".

'' Hussite Trilogy''

*'' The Tower of Fools'' (''Narrenturm'', 2002). English edition: 2020 *'' Warriors of God'' (''Boży bojownicy'', 2004). English edition: 2021 *'' Light Perpetual'' (''Lux perpetua'', 2006). English edition: 2022

Standalone novel

*'' The Viper'' (''Żmija'', 2009), a stand-alone novel set during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

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 Found in a Dragon's Cave'' (''Rękopis znaleziony w Smoczej Jaskini'', 2001, 2008, 2011 (expanded)),

encyclopedic compendium

References

External links

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Andrzej Sapkowski
at Culture.pl
Canon of fantasy literature, by Andrzej Sapkowski
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapkowski, Andrzej 1948 births Living people People from Łódź Polish fantasy writers 20th-century Polish novelists 21st-century Polish novelists Polish male novelists Polish male short story writers 20th-century Polish male writers 21st-century Polish male writers 20th-century short story writers 21st-century short story writers Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Polish translators Polish economists Constructed language creators University of Łódź alumni Recipients of the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis World Fantasy Award–winning writers Slavic mythology in popular culture Works based on Slavic mythology Writers from Łódź People from Łódź Voivodeship Janusz A. Zajdel Award winners