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In:The Moving Canon(s) of Slavic Children’s Literature
Edited by Mateusz Swietlicki, Dorota Michułka and Zofia Zasacka
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 20] 2026
► pp. 230–243

Chapter 12
The Witcher’s journey through media

The canon, transmedia storytelling, and Slavic fantasy

This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
Saga o Wiedźminie (The Witcher Saga, 1994–1999, Eng. 2008–2017) by Andrzej Sapkowski is arguably the most popular Polish fantasy novel series and possibly Poland’s globally most recognizable work of fiction, translated into thirty-seven languages worldwide. The Saga chronicles the journey of Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, as he navigates a meticulously crafted high-fantasy world of moral ambiguity. Owing to its place in the collective imagination, Sapkowski’s work may be situated within multiple canons. This chapter examines how The Witcher Saga can function within the Polish literary canon in school and beyond, how it offers a contemporary perspective on the canon, and how its reception exposes problems with curricula dominated by linguistically archaic and culturally distant nineteenth- and early twentieth-century classics.
Article outline
  • Literary Geralt
  • From the literary canon to the silver screen
  • Canons within canons
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (44)
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