Masłowska was born in Wejherowo, and grew up there. She applied for the University of Gdańsk's faculty of psychology and was accepted, but left the studies for Warsaw, where she joined the culture studies at the Warsaw University. She first appeared in the mass-media when her debut book Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną (translated to English as either White and Red in the UK or Snow White and Russian Red in the US; literally means Polish-Russian War under White-Red Flag) was published. Largely controversial, mostly because of the language seen by many as vulgar, cynical and simple, the book was praised by many intellectuals as innovative and fresh.[1] Among the most active supporters of Masłowska were Marcin Świetlicki and Polityka weekly staff, most notably renowned writer Jerzy Pilch. A notable example of post-modernist literature, her book became a best-seller in Poland and won Masłowska several notable awards as well as general support among the critics. It was almost immediately translated onto several languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, English, Hungarian, Czech and Lithuanian, and won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.[2]
Her second novel Paw królowej (The Queen's Peacock) did not gain similar popularity, even though it won the NIKE Literary Award in 2006. As of 2009, Dorota Masłowska's permanent residence is in Kraków. In 2009, she resided in Berlin on a German Academic Exchange Service stipend.[3] She has collaborated with a number of magazines, most notably the Przekrój and Wysokie Obcasy weeklies, as well as Lampa monthly and the quarterly B EAT magazine.[citation needed]
2006: Dwoje biednych Rumunów mówiących po polsku. Warsaw: Lampa i Iskra Boża, ISBN83-89603-41-1. Translated into English as A Couple of Poor, Polish-Speaking Romanians, by Lisa Goldman and Paul Sirett, Oberon Books Ltd (29 Feb 2008), ISBN1-84002-846-7, ISBN978-1-84002-846-1. Staged at Soho Theatre, London, between 28 February – 29 March 2008.
2008: Między nami dobrze jest ("All's Good Between Us"), drama