Alicja Gescinska

Alicja Gescinska is a Polish-Belgian writer and philosopher. She made her debut in 2011 with the award-winning book De verovering van de vrijheid (‘The Conquest of Freedom’), an autobiographical reflection on the meaning of freedom. In 2012, she obtained her PhD from Ghent University with a thesis on Max Scheler and Karol Wojtyła. Gescinska’s literary work is as versatile as it is impressive: she has written several philosophical books on music and morality, political engagement and responsibility, and also published the poetry collection Trojaanse gedachten (2021); the theatre monologues Apate spreekt (2022) and De ontdekking van de vrouw (2026); and the novella De gezichtslozen (2025). In 2026, she won the Socrates Cup for the most thought-provoking Dutch philosophy book of the year with Vrouwen in duistere tijden (‘Women in Dark Times’). As an academic, Gescinska has worked at Princeton University, Amherst College and the University of Buckingham amongst other institutions. Through her columns and opinion pieces, and as chair of the writers’ association PEN Vlaanderen, she is a prominent voice in public and cultural debate in Flanders and the Netherlands.