# Andrzej Ziemiański

Andrzej Ziemiański, also known as Patrick Shoughnessy (born 17 February 1960), is a Polish author of fantasy, science fiction, thriller and crime, who by 2012 have sold over 500,000 copies of his books. Ziemiański was educated as an architect and he holds a PhD in architecture.
Ziemiański is best known for his epic fantasy/sci-fi series Achaia. His Achaia series was deemed to be one of the most important novels in modern Polish fantasy and it was called by Science Fiction magazine a series, which started a new era. Ziemiański fashioned a world that transgressed the border between life and fiction. The main protagonist of the series, Achaia, became synonymous with a certain type of female character and numerous readers identified with her. The novel entered Polish fantasy canon, and the author became one of the most recognizable brands in the Polish publishing market. His novels and short stories often top bestseller lists and popularity rankings. The author has been called the creator of "Polish urban fantasy" genre.
In 1997 he was one of the creators and the first chief editor of Fahrenheit, the first Polish Internet science fiction fanzine. In 2004, as he claims, he was thrown out by Eugeniusz Dębski. According to other members of the editorial office, Ziemiański left it himself.

## Biography

Andrzej Ziemiański was born in Wrocław, Poland, where he grew up and settled. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at Wroclaw University of Technology in 1983. Subsequently, he worked as a fellow researcher and professor in various institutions. In 1992, he acquired a PhD in technical sciences.
Ziemiański started publishing short stories and novels in 1978, at first in the sci-fi genre. However, his focus gradually changed and he wrote a mainstream novel Miecz Orientu, which was published in episodes in the prestigious Twórczość magazine. The novel was later published as a whole in 2006. During that time, Ziemiański would also publish using a pen name Patrick Shoughnessy (Przesiadka w piekle, 1991). Subsequently, the author withdrew from having his work published and remained silent for a decade. Ziemiański returned to writing at the turn of the century instantly gaining fame and raising controversy. He quickly became one of the most prominent Polish writers. His short stories, such as Bomba Heisenberga, Autobahn nach Poznań or Zapach szkła, would win first prize in popularity polls among readers, and two of them (Autobahn nach Poznań and Zapach szkła) won Janusz A. Zajdel Award. At the 2002 Sfinks Awards, four various Ziemiański’s short stories won subsequently: seventh, third, second and first prize. During that time, the first part of Achaia (2002) trilogy was published and it quickly became the bestselling book at the main Polish chain bookstore, Empik. The trilogy strengthened the author's position by settling into the Polish canon of fantasy genre. The following Achaia volumes (as well as their continuation – Pomnik cesarzowej Achai [2012]) would top bestseller lists. Ziemiański's other novels were also well-received leading publishers' books rankings . From 2010, Ziemiański writes a blog regarding railways, which was awarded the first prize by the Social Media, Poland, in the category of Corporate Blog.
Since 2010, the author teaches Creative Writing at the Faculty of Journalism at University of Wroclaw.
Ziemiański's novels and short stories were translated into Czech, Slovak and Russian language.

## Awards

* 2000, 2001, 2002 – first prize for Best Short Story of the Year from Nowa Fantastyka magazine
* 2001 Sfinks Award, Polish Short Story of the Year, „Bomba Heisenberga”
* 2002 Janusz A. Zajdel Award, „Autobahn nach Poznań”
* 2002 Sfinks Award, Polish Short Story of the Year, „Waniliowe plantacje Wrocławia”
* Bacchus Cup, „Autobahn nach Poznań”
* 2003 Nautilus, „Zapach szkła”
* 2003 Nautilus, Achaia volume 2
* 2003 Sfinks Award, Polish Short Story of the Year, „Legenda, czyli pijąc wódkę we Wrocławiu w 1999 roku”
* 2003 Sfinks Award, Polish Novel of the Year, Achaia
* 2004 Janusz A. Zajdel Award, „Zapach szkła”
* 2004 Sfinks Award, Polish Short Story of the Year, „Zapach szkła”
* 2010 Social Media, Poland, Best Corporate blog wroclawnowyglowny.pl/blog