Mircea Cărtărescu (Bucharest, 1956)

First and foremost a poet, he has published prose, diaries, translations, essays and literary criticism; he is emeritus professor at the University of Bucharest. Considered the most important Romanian author today, his writing continues to explore the continent of the self in all its dimensions, between real life and that of dreams, and thanks to his books Bucharest is on the literary map. His work has been translated into some thirty languages, including Spanish, Catalan and Basque as well as English. His last novel, Theodoros (2022), was published in Spanish by Impedimenta (2024), translated by Marian Ochoa de Eribe. Recognised by readers and literary critics all over the world, Mircea Cărtărescu has won prestigious Romanian and international accolades, most recently including the Formentor prize in 2018, the FIL award for literature in Romance languages in 2022, the Mondello international prize and the Dublin Literary Award in 2024, as well as the Oh Poetry! honorary award in Albacete last year.