Łukasz Orbitowski (born 26 October 1977) is a Polish essayist and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

and horror writer. As of April 2012 he has published six novels and numerous short stories, collected in four anthologies.

Biography

Orbitowski is alumnus of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, with a degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. He debuted in 1999 with a short story anthology, ''Złe Wybrzeża''. His debut in fantasy genre was with the 2001 story ''Diabeł na Jabol Hill'' in the first issue of the Polish magazine ''

Science Fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

''. In addition to ''Science Fiction'', his stories have appeared in '' Machina'', ''

Nowa Fantastyka ''Fantastyka'' (est 1982, in 1990 renamed ''Nowa Fantastyka'') is a Polish speculative fiction monthly fantasy and science fiction magazine. History ''Fantastyka'' was established in 1982 by sci-fi fans Andrzej Krzepkowski, Jacek Rodek and , un ...

'' and the Polish edition of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

.'' Most of his works fall in the fantasy and horror genre, although he has published one children's book (''Prezes i Kreska''). He is a co-author of the script for the CG movie by

Tomasz Bagiński Tomasz "Tomek" Bagiński (, born 10 January 1976 in Białystok) is a Polish illustrator, animator, producer and director. He is a self-taught artist. Education Bagiński studied architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. Works His firs ...

about the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

, '' Hardkor'44''. He also developed the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

''Bakemono''. He also publishes essays in the

Przekrój ''Przekrój'' (; ''Cross-section'') was the oldest Polish weekly newsmagazine in operation, established in 1945 in Kraków. After temporary closure in 2013, it was bought by photographer Tomasz Niewiadomski and subsequently relaunched in December ...

magazine (from 2006–2008, and from 2010 till present). Orbitowski identifies as an atheist.

Reception

His 2007 novel ''Tracę ciepło'' has been nominated for the

Janusz A. Zajdel Award The Janusz A. Zajdel Award (''Nagroda imienia Janusza A. Zajdla''), often called just Zajdel, is the annual award given by the Polish science fiction and fantasy fandom for the best stories published in the previous year. The winners are chose ...

. This novel has also received the Krakowska Książka Miesiąca (Kraków Book of the Month) award. Maciej Robert in the ''

Życie Warszawy ''Życie Warszawy'' (meaning ''Life of Warsaw'' in English) is a Polish language newspaper published in Warsaw. History and profile ''Życie Warszawy'' was founded in 1944 as an initiative of Polish Workers' Party. The paper is published by Grem ...

'' newspaper has noted that Orbitowski is "developing into a Polish

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

." He was one of the pioneers of horror stories set in mundane Polish backgrounds, in the modern cities of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

and

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Works

As of April 2012, Orbitowski has published six novels and numerous short stories, collected in four anthologies. Two more novels are officially planned, one with a release date for 2012, one not yet announced. Since 2010, Orbitowski's novel ''Warszawiacy'' is being published online in installments. * ''Złe Wybrzeża'' – short story anthology, Związek Literatów Polskich 1999 * ''Szeroki, głęboki, wymalować wszystko'' – short story anthology, Ha!art 2001 * ''Wigilijne psy'' – short story anthology, Editio 2005 * ''Horror show'', Ha!art 2006 * ''Tracę ciepło'',

Wydawnictwo Literackie Wydawnictwo Literackie (abbreviated WL, lit. "Literary Press") is a Kraków-based Polish publishing house, which has been referred to as one of Poland's "most respected". Company history Since its foundation in 1953, Wydawnictwo Literackie has b ...

2007 * ''Pies i klecha'', t. 1. ''Przeciwko wszystkim'',

Fabryka Słów Fabryka Słów (English: ''Factory of Words'') is a Warsaw-based Polish publishing house. It was founded in Lublin in 2001 by Eryk Górski and Robert Łakuta who always wanted to publish good literature they liked reading themselves. It is focused ...

2007, with Jarosław Urbaniuk * ''Prezes i Kreska. Jak koty tłumaczą sobie świat'', Powergraph 2008 * ''Pies i klecha'', t. 2. ''Tancerz'',

2008, with Jarosław Urbaniuk * ''Święty Wrocław'',

2009 * ''Nadchodzi'' – short story anthology,

2010 * ''Widma'', Wydawnictwo Literackie 2012 * ''Ogień'', Narodowe Centrum Kultury 2012 * ''Szczęśliwa ziemia'', Wydawnictwo SQN 2013 * ''Rękopis znaleziony w gardle'' – short story anthology, BookRage 2014 * ''Zapiski Nosorożca. Moja podróż po drogach, bezdrożach i legendach Afryki'', Wydawnictwo SQN 2014 * ''Inna dusza'', Od Deski Do Deski 2015 * ''Rzeczy utracone'', Zwierciadło 2017 * ''Exodus'', Wydawnictwo SQN 2017 * ''Kult'', Świat Książki 2019 * ''Chodź ze mną'', Świat Książki 2022

References

External links

Official homepage

2007 interview at horror.pl

2008 interview at Katedra

2009 radio interview
NINA {{DEFAULTSORT:Orbitowski, Lukasz 1977 births Polish fantasy writers Polish horror writers Living people Polish atheists