Andrzej Stasiuk is considered to be one of Poland’s leading contemporary writer, journalist and literary critic. He is best known for his travel literature and essays that describe the reality of Eastern Europe and its relationship with the West. He was born in Warsaw in 1960, making his debut in 1992 with the book The Wall of Hebron, in which he writes about his experience of violence in prison. Stasiuk was drafted into the army in 1980, deserted after nine months, and served his sentence in military and civilian prisons. In 1986 he moved to Czarne, a mountain village in the Beskids, where he lives today and also runs a small independent publishing house. Stasiuk received the Nike literary prize in 2005. His award-winning work is published in 30 countries.
