MEET AJA WARSAW
Anna Jarota
Founder, CEO
Anna grew up in Poland and obtained a diploma in English philology and psychology from Lodz University. She left Lodz for Paris, where after having validated her Polish diploma in psychology at La Sorbonne University, she started working as a bookseller. It totally converted her into book business. She moved to London where she worked as an agent at Andrew Nurnberg Associates, then as foreign rights director at XO Editions. She later moved to Paris to set up the agency in 2008 and in 2014 decided to open a Warsaw office.
Izabela Cupiał
Foreign Rights Director
Iza graduated from the University of Warsaw with a Master’s Advanced degree in American Studies. She has been working in the publishing industry for almost ten years. She has worked with Foksal Publishing Group, Czarne Publishing House, and Filtry Publishing House. Before joining AJA as a Literary Agent in 2022, in previous years she worked at Agora Publishing, and as an editor of literary fiction at Proszynski Publishing House. Iza has introduced many authors to the Polish market, including Ta Nehisi-Coates, Jennette McCurdy, Coco Mellors, Rachel Yoder, Marilynne Robinson, Sarah M. Broom, and S.A. Cosby. Iza specializes in literary fiction and non-fiction (essays! race/US studies!). However, she admits that working on commercial titles and pop-science gives her the biggest thrill. She still can't decide whether big auctions give her more satisfaction than discovering and selling a forgotten backlist title. After hours, she compulsively reads, swims, runs and attends literary and music festivals.
Adriana Mleczak
Head of Administration
Adriana graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań with a degree in Polish literature and linguistics. She worked as a project manager and editorial secretary in Wydawnictwo Poznańskie Publishing House and Virtualo. Adriana is a picky bookworm. She always has at least ten books on her currently-reading shelve and mostly prefers non-fiction and Scandinavian novels. After work, she looks for a balance on yoga mat. She joined AJA in March 2022 and manages the administration of both the Warsaw and Paris offices.
Barbara Szablisty
Rights Assistant
Barbara Szablisty is a graduate of the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw. Researcher of Jewish culture, mainly Yiddish culture. Lover of silent cinema, fashion, and Taylor Swift. Her main interests consists of Central and Eastern European literature, Italian women writers and critical essays. She likes to discover forgotten classics. Her inspirations are Walter Benjamin, and Miffy the bunny. Barbara joined AJA Warsaw in April 2025 as a Rights Assistant.
Małgorzata Kopeć
Administrative Specialist
Małgorzata handles administrative duties at the agency. She is a gradute of TV Journalism from Wroclaw University. Before joining AJA, Małgorzata gained experience on film sets, in festival production and as a project coordinator in the creative industry.
Julia Kusiak
Rights Assistant
Poetka, archiwistka, flanerka. Zbiera z ziemi dużo rzeczy i zachowuje na inną okazję. Absolwentka historii sztuki na University of Aberdeen oraz Badań Artystycznych na warszawskiej Akademii Sztuk Pięknych. Przez trzy lata pracowała w wydawnictwie Tajfuny na stanowisku Editorial Assistant. Z zapałem czyta fikcję, feministki, New Narrative i Franka O’Harę. Szuka pola do eksperymentów, swoich i cudzych. Trwoni, nie zawsze ma śmiałość, jeździ komunikacją miejską. W Warszawie współtworzy kolektyw wcierka. Julia dołączyła do AJA Warsaw w czerwcu 2025 na stanowisku Rights Assistant.
Julia Łukaszewska
Junior Administrative Specialist
Julia graduated from the American Studies Center of the University of Warsaw. She particularly enjoys reading poetry and modernist novels. She joined the AJA team in September 2023 as an administrative assistant.
Magdalena Rojek
Rights Assistant
Magdalena Rojek graduated from the Maria Grzegorzewska University with a master’s degree in Sociology of Media. Magdalena started their career in publishing as an Assistant at BookLab Literary Agency before fulfilling their dream to become a bookseller. At the Dwie Siostry [Two Sisters] Bookshop, they worked not only with books but also with children, showing them the amazing world of literature. They are immersed in Asian (Sang Young Park) and queer (Choi Eun Young, Kim Hye-jin) literature but also find time for children’s books (Yoon Ha Lee) and YA fiction (Judy I. Jin, Xiran Jay Zhao). Magdalena Rojek joined AJA Warsaw in July 2025 as a Rights Assistant.
Ewa Chodakowska
Co-agent for French rights
Ewa is a graduate of Université Paris-Dauphine and UCL (University College London), where she obtained a degree in economics and management. She was born in London, grew up in France, but has always remained close to her Polish roots. Art, history, literature, and horse riding are her biggest passions. She joined AJA Paris in November 2020 as an Administrative Specialist and AJA Warsaw as an co-agent representing French publishers in May 2024.
Cate Mleczak
Belly of Administration
Cate was born in Albania, but within the first few months of her life, she moved to Poland in search of better opportunities. She joined her mother, Adriana, first in Poznań and later in Warsaw. Cate has a passion for pigeons, hair ties, and corn puffs. At AJA, she manages the timekeeping records, oversees document circulation, and motivates the team. In the future, she aspires to become the head of the HR department.
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