“Reading can make us better” – An interview with Romanian-Moldovan writer Liliana Corobca

Born in the Republic of Moldova, LILIANA COROBCA is a novelist, essayist, and playwright whose work explores the fragile boundaries between history and memory, exile and belonging, censorship and resistance. She debuted with Negrissimo (2003), winner of multiple prizes, followed by A Year in Paradise (2005), Kinderland (2013), and The Old Maids’ Empire (2015). Her bold theatrical monologue Censorship for Beginners (2014) has been staged internationally, while The Censor’s Notebook (winner of the 2023 Oxford‑Weidenfeld Translation Prize), Kinderland, and her latest novel, Too Great a Sky, … Continue reading “Reading can make us better” – An interview with Romanian-Moldovan writer Liliana Corobca

Romanian Authors in English Translation: A Bibliography

According to general belief, translations from Romanian into English are scarce and mostly unsatisfactory. In reality, the major libraries of the English-speaking world host more than 500 Romanian books in English translation, including most canonical titles, from which English readers can get a clear idea about the evolution of Romanian literature over more than 100 years. Although the translations are unequal and some of the … Continue reading Romanian Authors in English Translation: A Bibliography

Happy Birthday, Norman Manea!

Norman Manea, the doyen of Romanian writers in the diaspora, turns 88 today, and congratulations and tributes have been pouring in for several days, in the press and on social media. A survivor of the two evils of the 20th century, Nazism and Communism, who has spent part of his life in exile in the United States, Norman Manea is not only one of the … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Norman Manea!

“I translate for pleasure, as an intellectual challenge” – Interview with translator Gabi Reigh

GABI REIGH moved to the UK from Romania at the age of 12 and currently teaches English at a college in Hampshire. She won the Stephen Spender Prize 2017 for her translation of Marin Sorescu’s poem “Călătorul” and was shortlisted for the Tom-Gallon Society of Authors short story award. Her translations, original fiction and articles have been published in Modern Poetry in Translation, World Literature … Continue reading “I translate for pleasure, as an intellectual challenge” – Interview with translator Gabi Reigh

New Books in Translation: 2023 (with a look back to 2022)

Romanian literature has so far had a hard time conquering the English speaking world. The (in)famous 3-4%, referring to the share of translations of the total annual publications in the US and UK, has become an obsession among translators, authors, agents, and literary promoters. The percentage is similar on the two sides of the Atlantic and has moved, albeit very slightly, upwards in recent years. … Continue reading New Books in Translation: 2023 (with a look back to 2022)