Agnieszka Szpila was born in 1977 in Poland. A graduate in cultural studies, she is a writer, screenwriter and activist. She made her literary debut in 2015 with the publication of a short story, Łebki od Szpilki (untranslated). Her first novel, Bardo (untranslated), was published in 2018 and quickly became a bestseller. Her second novel, Hexes (translated into French by Cécile Bocianowski, Notabilia, 2026), for which the rights have been sold in eight languages, was a finalist for the prestigious Nike Prize, adapted for the theatre, and was a huge success with the Polish public and highly acclaimed by critics. In France, it received an exceptional critical reception and was a finalist for the Prix des Inrockuptibles.