Vincent V. Severski

Name and pen name

According to media and secondary accounts · not confirmed by official sourcesVincent V. Severski is a pen name. The author also appears in public under his real name, Włodzimierz Sokołowski; this is how he is presented by, among others, tvn24.pl (2018), the magazine “Twój Styl” (2020) and Audioteka (2026). In an interview with “Twój Styl” he explained that the pen name alludes to the cover surname “Siewierski”, which he used in his work.^2,3,4

Service in the intelligence of the Polish People's Republic

According to the IPN catalogue of security apparatus officers, Włodzimierz Sokołowski served from 1981 in Department I of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that is, the foreign intelligence service of the Polish People's Republic.¹

UOP and the Foreign Intelligence Agency

According to media and secondary accounts · not confirmed by official sourcesAccording to Audioteka (2026), he served successively in Department I of the MSW, the UOP and the Foreign Intelligence Agency. He spent 13 years abroad, mostly after 1990, and carried out around 140 missions in nearly 50 countries. He ended his service at his own request in 2007 with the rank of colonel. The same figures – 13 years abroad and more than 140 missions – are given in a note by the publisher Czarna Owca.^2,5

According to media and secondary accounts · not confirmed by official sourcestvn24.pl (2018) reported that he had worked in intelligence for 26 years and left at his own request in 2007. The publisher's note adds that he trained in Poland and in the USA (with the CIA), that President Barack Obama awarded him the Legion of Merit, and that in Poland he received several high decorations.^3,5

According to media and secondary accounts · not confirmed by official sourcesIn the interview with “Twój Styl” he listed his covers: journalist, traveller and businessman running several companies.⁴

Writing

The first edition of the novel “Nielegalni” (The Illegals) appeared in 2011. In 2018 Studio Canal produced a ten-episode series based on the “Nielegalni” cycle, directed by Jan P. Matuszyński and Leszek Dawid.⁶

The Polish Literary Bibliography records, among others, the novels “Niepokorni” (The Defiant, 2016) and “Odwet” (Retaliation, 2019, a sequel to “Zamęt”), published by Czarna Owca. “Zamęt” (Turmoil) came out in April 2018.^3,7,8

According to media and secondary accounts · not confirmed by official sourcesAudioteka lists the “Nielegalni” series (“Nielegalni”, “Niewierni” – The Unfaithful, “Nieśmiertelni” – The Immortals, “Niepokorni”), the series opened by “Zamęt” (“Zamęt”, “Odwet”, “Nabór” – Recruitment, “Dystopia” – Dystopia) and the novels “Krawiec” (The Tailor), “Plac Senacki 6 PM” (Senate Square 6 PM) and “Christine” (co-written with Piotr Niemczyk).²

In 2025 the publisher prepared an English edition of the novel “The Tailor”, which brings back characters from the “Plac Senacki” (Senate Square) and “Sekcja” (The Section) series. According to the publisher, more than a million copies of his novels have been sold in Poland.⁵

Significance

His service up to 1990 is documented by an official source (the IPN catalogue), and his later service by the publisher and press interviews. According to the publisher, more than a million copies of his novels have been sold in Poland, and the “Nielegalni” series has been adapted for the screen.^1,5,6