Zaffre has landed a two-book deal with Remigiusz Mróz, including Final Appeal, the first novel in his Polish legal thriller series starring protagonist Joanna Chylka. Mróz is the most popular author in Poland and each of his novels has reached the number one bestseller spot, selling more than seven million copies in total. Publishing director Ben Willis acquired world English language rights in a major deal from Olivia Maidment at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency.
Several of Mróz’s books are currently in development for TV and film. The Polish language Joanna Chyłka TV series has a viewership of over 17 million worldwide, and this year Netflix started shooting a TV show based on his crime series, Detective Forst. In January 2022, TVN began airing The Behaviorist in Poland, and it is earmarked for UK release in 2023. Further to this, the production company behind The Witcher is producing a series based on Mróz’s science fiction novel, The Chorus of Forgotten Voices, which will be in English. On October 14th, Vote of No Confidence – a political thriller series based on his books – will premiere on Polsat.
In Final Appeal, trainee lawyer Kordian Oryński has just started his job at the prestigious Anglo-Polish law firm Żelazny & McVay in Warsaw. Alongside legendary, mercurial criminal justice lawyer Joanna Chyłka, they are handed a case that seems a foregone conclusion: a man charged with killing two people and living with their bodies in his apartment for 10 days until his arrest. But the truth is far more complex and shocking than they could have imagined…
Willis said: “Like Steve Cavanagh and John Grisham, Mróz offers up a photo-real depiction of criminal law, a jaw-dropping story packed with clever twists, and utterly brilliant characters that you cannot forget. His lawyer protagonist Joanna Chyłka is one of a kind: a truly unconventional, angry force for good in a shady world of double-dealing and betrayal. I’ve not had this much fun with a character since Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, and I can’t wait for readers to discover her in the English language for the very first time.”
Mróz said: “For years during and after interviews I’ve been asked by journalists in my country: ‘what do you wish for in terms of publishing?’ I’ve been lucky enough to find over seven million readers here in Poland, but my response to the journalists was always the same: ‘To be published in English and to contribute to the spread of Polish literature abroad.’ We’ve made some significant progress, thanks to shows like ‘The Witcher’. All I can hope for is that readers in the UK will love Joanna Chyłka as much as I do – and that she’ll pave the way for others to come.”
Final Appeal will be published in winter 2023.
