Keynote
Stanisław Lem vs. the institutions
and systems of Communist Poland –
something that even science fiction had
not come up with.

Selling Points
 A wide selection of Lem’s
correspondence with the institutions of
daily life in the Polish People’s Republic.
 The letters cast a new light on the life
of the brilliant writer, showing his daily
battles with the world in which he lived.
 A rich panorama of intellectual – as well
as ordinary – life in People’s Poland.
 A behind-the-scenes look at Lem’s
creative process: many of the plots in his
novels were lifted directly from daily life –
a phenomenon that, thanks to this book,
readers can finally follow themselves.
 A book for lifelong fans of Lem as well as
those just beginning their journey through
his work.
 An original selection of texts by Wojciech
Orliński, the world’s foremost expert on
Lem.
 A charismatic and much-adored figure,
known for his unique storytelling style.

Description
How do you write a story about
robots when there’s no paper, and it’s
impossible to get any in the shops?
What did the Communist censors see in

stories about other galaxies that was so
wicked? How did Lem avoid contact with
the authorities, while at the same time
trying not to incur their wrath? How
could he make money on the side, when
book sales weren’t enough to support
his everyday needs? And how could he
travel to distant stars, when he didn’t
even have the right parts to fix his car?
These are headaches that every citizen
of People’s Poland had to deal with every
day – Stanisław Lem was no exception.
The life of this extraordinary fantasist
wasn’t strewn with roses, but neither
was he a nobody! Wojciech Orliński,
Lem’s biographer and an expert on his
work, selected this collection of Lem’s
correspondence, which he exchanged with
unflagged stubbornness with the various
institutions and offices of Communist
Poland. The letters are often funny,
sometimes absurd, and on occasion even
threatening. Here’s a side of Lem (and
of the Polish People’s Republic) that you
haven’t seen before.

Target Market
Readers of biographies.
Fans of Lem.