Dorota Maslowska was born in Wejherowo, Poland, in 1983. At the age of 17, excerpts from
her diary were published in the magazine Twój Styl, thanks to a competition which she won,
thus marking the beginning of a literary career.
A short while after, at the ripe age of 19, she was catapulted to the limelight of the Polish literary scene, not without some controversy, thanks to her debut novel Wojna polsko-ruska, which showcased an irreverent, innovative style and a youthful language which some found cynical and vulgar. The Protagonist-narrator is Nails, a young man who represents a generation of Poles with no recollection of the Communist period. Set in the war which provides for the book’s title, the descriptions and reasons behind it remain virtually unknown to the reader, because the narrator is frequently under the effect of drugs, making the distinction between reality and hallucination difficult. In 2009, this novel was adapted to the screen by Xawery Zulawski, with the participation of Maslowska, playing herself.
A provocateur, an enfant-terrible for those who are more conservative, the third novel of Maslowska was written in the shape of a long rap poem.
In 2006 she wrote the play A Couple of Poor, Polish Speaking Romanians, which was better received in London and New York than in Poland.
With a style characterized by a pessimistic and ironical view of the contemporary world and its youth, approaching themes such as drugs, sexuality, publicity and television, it is the power of her linguistic inventiness that indelibly defines her ascension within a new generation of polish writers who are breaking with the tradition of great names such as Wislawa Szymborska and Czeslaw Milosz.
In 2014, adopting the alter-ego of Mister D, Maslowska entered the world of music, with a record called “Society is Evil.”
In the 2014 edition of LEFFEST, Dorota was part of the Jury of the Official Selection – In Competition section, and returns this year to accompany Piotr Anderszweski at the piano.