Polish fantasy celebrates 250‑year legacy

In 2026 Poland will mark the 250th anniversary of its speculative‑fiction tradition, a milestone traced back to Ignacy Krasicki’s 1776 Enlightenment novel “Mikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadki”. Writer, publisher and anniversary organizer Tomasz Kołodziejczak explained that the work introduced utopian and dystopian ideas that form the foundation of Polish fantasy.

Kołodziejczak discussed the genre’s evolution through Romanticism, science‑fiction, cyber‑punk and fantasy, citing iconic authors such as Stanisław Lem, Janusz A. Zajdel, Andrzej Sapkowski and Jacek Dukaj. He also announced the re‑release of his own novel “Dominium Solarne. Kolory sztandarów”, for which he received the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, and reflected on the current market and the role of speculative literature in commenting on society, technology and Poland’s place in the world.