Karol Lagodzki

2025 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel Finalist

“Lagodzki's prose is as powerful as his plot is gripping. A historically astute tale with deep emotional impact. (...) OUR VERDICT: GET IT" -Kirkus Reviews

“Controlled Conversations (...) is a story not of future Nobel laureates but of regular people with different backgrounds and ambitions in a search for dignity, the freedom to love who they choose, and a decent cup of tea. At this time of threats to democracy in Poland and globally, Lagodzki’s novel reminds us of the precariousness of personal liberty.” - Lee A. Feinstein, President Barack Obama's Ambassador to Poland.

“In his exceptional and precise debut novel, Controlled Conversations, Karol Lagodzki delivers a taut, psychologically rich literary thriller set in morally fraught, Soviet-controlled 1980s Poland. (...) With a courageous voice, Lagodzki assumes the mantle of the late John le Carré.” - Fredrick Soukup, author of Ashes, Ashes

"Karol Lagodzki's debut novel (...), set in 1980s Poland under Martial Law, is both taut and timely, reminding us that conflicts in Eastern Europe have the power to shake the rest of the world. The book is riveting, and I loved reading it. I seldom find a contemporary novel this engrossing." - Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World