Mariusz Szczygieł

At 16, Szczygieł began writing for the weekly-paper Na przełaj. In spite of communist-era censorship, he published a shocking collection of reports titled The Shrift, which were about gay and lesbian youth in Poland.

Szczygieł graduated in journalism and political science from the University of Warsaw in 2000.

As a presenter of the popular TV cultural and current affairs programme Na każdy temat (On Every Topic) Szczygieł became the first person to utter the word "orgasm" on Polish television.

In 2002, he stopped working for TV Polsat and concentrated on writing for Gazeta Wyborcza. Presently, he is the senior deputy editor of the weekly supplement Duży Format and deputy editor of its reportage-section.

His works are cited in most anthologies of contemporary Polish journalism. Most notable are his studies of the Czechoslovak, and especially Czech, culture and life-style. His best-selling book Gottland (2006), was described by Adam Michnik, as the first cubistic reportage of the world. Gottland received the European Book Prize, the Polish Booksellers Prize. and the Nike Audience Award.

In 2019 he won Nike Award, for his reportage Nie ma, which won both the Jury Prize and the Audience Poll.

His works have been translated into Czech, English, Estonian, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, and Ukrainian.

Szczygieł is an outspoken atheist.

In his 2022 book Fakty muszą zatańczyć (The Facts Must Dance) he came out as a gay man.