Aleksandra Zielińska
The Conrad Award nomination
Born in 1989 in Sandomierz. Writer, translator, author of the novel Przypadek Alicji [The Case of Alice]. Graduate of the Jagiellonian University, student of the Faculty of Art at the Pedagogical University of Krakow. She made her debut in 2004 in the magazine Fahrenheit, and her short stories have appeared in many anthologies. She was the illustrator and cover artist for the poetry volume sensual states by Iza Smolarek.
Nominated for The Conrad Award
THE CASE OF ALICE, Aleksandra Zielińska
On a cold January morning, Ala wakes up in Krakow’s Podgórze district – hurt, exhausted and dirty. She recalls with difficulty scenes from the night before: alcohol, drugs and a stranger who left her an unwanted present – somewhere under her heart, a parasite begins to take root. Ala desperately tries to come to grips with her new situation, with only a new friend to rely on, but can the Weird Cat be trusted? And although everything should be back to normal, the real world is not quite how it should be. More and more rats appear in the city, cats change their habits and streets get all turned around. Well, everyone gets the Wonderland they deserve.
Dark, harsh and wild, but at the same time not without a sense of humour story of the painful process of growing up. This Case… demands not so much to be read, but to be lived.
Dawid Kain