Ewa Winnicka

Ewa Winnicka studied journalism and American studies at the Warsaw University and started her career while still a student. She has been associated with Polityka magazine since 1999. A lecturer in the art of interviewing, she has also co-written several screenplays for documentary films. She won the Grand Press Award in 2005 and 2009 for her articles on social topics. The Brits won her the Gryfia Award for the best book written by a womanin 2015. 

Immigration and the fates of immigrants are the main themes of Winnicka’s writing. She has taken a special interest in England’s Polish population, whom she has depicted in The Londoners and The Brits – but this is not all. Winnicka has also written about female Ukrainian labour immigrants in Poland, and her latest book is devoted to Barbara Johnson-Piasecka, a nurse who became a multi-millionaire through marrying a man in her care.Winnicka says that she does not see herself as a writer. Yet in her case, her journalistic skill in posing seemingly transparent questions goes hand-in-hand with a gift for storytelling. The result is a series of touching tales that are almost entirely bereft of authorial comment, and whose conclusions are left for the reader to develop alone.