Marek Baraniecki (born June 16, 1954) is a 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 ...

writer and journalist. He graduated in

environmental engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...

. In 1985 he published a short story collection ', and for a novel with the same title he was given the Janusz A. Zajdel Award. Marek Baraniecki was born on June 16, 1954, in

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

, Poland. A graduate of

Silesian University of Technology The Silesian University of Technology (Polish language, Polish name: Politechnika Śląska; ) is a university located in the Polish province of Silesia, with most of its facilities in the city of Gliwice. It was founded in 1945 by Polish profes ...

, for several years he worked as an environmental engineer before committing himself to journalism and writing. His literary début was "Karlgoro godzina 18" ("Karlgoro, 6pm"), a short story published in ''

Fantastyka ''Nowa Fantastyka'' (established as ''Fantastyka'' in 1982, renamed in 1990) is a Polish speculative fiction monthly fantasy and science fiction magazine. It is the leading and oldest of the Polish magazines on this topic. History ''Fantastyk ...

'' magazine. The best-known of his works however is a novel titled ''Głowa Kasandry'' (''

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; , , sometimes referred to as Alexandra; ) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecy, prophecies but never to be believed. In modern usage her name is e ...

's Head'') published for the first time in 1985 and instantly awarded the Janusz A. Zajdel Award. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, in 2004 ''Głowa Kasandry'' was voted by ''

Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...

s readers one of the top seven

post-apocalyptic novels Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronomi ...

of all times, alongside the works by

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

, Herbert Wells 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 ...

. In late 2000s, Polish film director Paweł Czarzasty announced that he wants to adapt ''Głowa Kasandry'' for cinema under a

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

''Cassandra. Science fiction drama'' and is working on its screenplay

Sources

*Andrzej Niewiadomski, Antoni Smuszkiewicz, ''Leksykon polskiej literatury fantastycznonaukowej'', Wydawnictwo Poznańskie,

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

1990, Polish science fiction writers 1954 births Living people People from Gliwice Janusz A. Zajdel Award winners {{sf-writer-stub