Magdalena Kozak (born 25 June 1971 in Warsaw) is a Polish writer of speculative fiction. She is also a career military officer and emergency physician, and served as a parachute-trained paramedic during Polish deployments to Afghanistan in the early 2010s.
She has a strong interest in the military: she is an experienced parachutist and practices shooting (as an instructor and sports shooting judge). She studied medicine.
Military service A military physician specializing in emergency medicine, she served in the . She participated in Polish missions in Afghanistan (7th and 12th rotations of the Polish Military Contingent in Afghanistan, in 2010 and 2012). During the latter mission, she was wounded. Later she also served in Polish military missions in and .New aviation medicine specialist at WIML
In 2012 she graduated from the General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University of Land Forces. In August 2012, President Bronisław Komorowski awarded her the .
She is an experienced parachutist, having completed over 300 jumps by 2017. On 29 July 2017, she became the ceremonial godmother of the Gulfstream G550 aircraft “General Kazimierz Pułaski”.
Her rank progressed from second lieutenant in 2015, to lieutenant in 2017, to captain in 2019. She worked in the emergency department of the . In May 2025 she was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the .
Literary career Kozak's fiction is frequently noted for combining speculative premises with detailed and technically credible depictions of military life, reflecting her professional experience, it has often been classified as military science fiction.
Her literary debut was the short story Nuda, published in the online magazine Fahrenheit, where she served as an editor from 2005 to 2011. The story, a humorous pastiche of fairy tales about a princess guarded by a dragon, marked the beginning of her engagement with genre fiction. She has since published over two dozen short stories, often in Nowa Fantastyka, Science Fiction, and .
Her longest and best-known work is the Vesper series, which began in 2006 with , also her novel debut. The series blends urban fantasy with military science fiction, and follows a young counter-intelligence officer who becomes a vampire. It was followed by Renegat and Nikt, all three nominated for the Janusz A. Zajdel Award (for 2006, 2007, and 2008 respectively). The fourth installment, Młody, was published on 24 May 2017, followed by the fifth, Gracz, on 18 June 2025. The first four volumes of the series have been translated into English (published in 2017 and 2018 by New Zealand publisher Cheeky Kea Printworks as, respectively, Nighter, Renegade, Nobody, and Inanite); it is one of the relatively few works of Polish speculative fiction to reach an international readership.
Her novel (2010) is a near-future military SF thriller in which extraterrestrial violet-colored plants capable of releasing hydrogen cyanide begin colonizing Earth. A military unit is tasked with destroying the organisms during orbital descent. While the novel incorporates science fiction elements, critical attention has focused on its realistic and dynamic portrayal of military operations and parachuting.
(2015) is a military fantasy set on a desert planet shaped by foreign intervention and internal conflict, drawing clear parallels to Afghanistan. The novel combines elements of planetary romance with a setting influenced by real-world geopolitics, depicting a world affected by exploitation of a valuable narcotic resource.
Among her more overtly fantasy-oriented works, Paskuda & Co. (2012) expands on the humorous tone of her early short fiction, while Minas Warsaw (2020) presents a comedic urban fantasy scenario in which modern Warsaw is overtaken by a powerful wizard who establishes his seat in the Palace of Culture and Science and arrives riding a dragon.
Novels Vesper series (Wampiry w ABW) , Fabryka Słów, 2006, in English: Nighter, Cheeky Kea Printworks, 2017, Renegat, Fabryka Słów, 2007, in English: Renegade, Cheeky Kea Printworks, 2017, Nikt, Fabryka Słów, 2008, in English: Nobody, Cheeky Kea Printworks, 2018, Młody, Fabryka Słów, 2017, in English: Inanite, Cheeky Kea Printworks, 2018, Gracz, WarBook, 2025,
Other , Bellona / RUNA, 2010, Paskuda & Co., Fabryka Słów, 2012 , Insignis, 2015, Minas Warsaw, Fabryka Słów, 2020,
Short stories Dragon Paskuda cycle Nuda, December 2003, Fahrenheit Pryszcze, March 2004, Fahrenheit Interes, June 2004, Fahrenheit Czarna chmura, July 2004, Fahrenheit Zbójcy, July 2004, Fahrenheit Ekonom, September 2005, Fahrenheit Zapalmy choinkę, December 2005, Fahrenheit Pojedynek, March 2006, Fahrenheit Trubadur, August 2006, Fahrenheit Misja niemożebna, November–December 2007, Fahrenheit
Other Pędziwiatr, July 2004, Esensja Strój, October 2004, Esensja Świeczka, October 2004, Esensja Operacja „Faust”, Science Fiction Świt, January 2005, Fahrenheit Polowanie na jednorożce, January 2006, Nowa Fantastyka Nielegalna Krew, Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Cynglarze, Science Fiction 6/2006 Miasta tysiąca słońc, January 2007, Nowa Fantastyka Stoliczek, January 2010, Nowa Fantastyka Strasznie mi się podobasz, in Strasznie mi się podobasz (2011) Um Dabadib, Pismo. Magazyn opinii special issue 2021 Ostatni strzał strachu, in Gladiatorzy (2020)
Awards and nominations She received a number of literary award nominations: Year Award Work Result 2005 Nautilus Award Operacja „Faust” Nominated 2006 Nautilus Award Cynglarze Nominated 2006 Janusz A. Zajdel Award Nocarz Nominated 2006 Nautilus Award Nocarz Nominated 2007 Janusz A. Zajdel Award Renegat Nominated 2007 Nautilus Award Renegat Nominated 2008 Janusz A. Zajdel Award Nikt Nominated 2008 Janusz A. Zajdel Award Sznurki przeznaczenia Nominated 2011 Janusz A. Zajdel Award Strasznie mi się podobasz Nominated 2015 Janusz A. Zajdel Award Łzy diabła Nominated 2016 Jerzy Żuławski Literary Award Łzy diabła Nominated
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