Romania, guest country at Pisa Book Festival

Romania is the guest country at this year's edition of the Pisa Book Festival, the literary fair and festival dedicated to independent publishing houses, which has been organized for over two decades in the historic Italian city.

Romanian authors Mircea Cărtărescu, Irina Țurcanu, and Andreea Simionel will participate in Q&A sessions with Italian writers and journalists, taking questions from the public.

Cărtărescu will open Romania's program on October 2, at an event at the Auditorium of the Museo delle Navi Antiche, in a talk with professor and translator Bruno Mazzoni. At the same venue, he will meet the public again to discuss "the writer's creative laboratory."

Mazzoni has translated much of Cărtărescu's work into Italian, including the Orbitor trilogy, published by Voland Publishing House between 2008 and 2016. He also translated Solenoide (Il Saggiatore Publishing House, 2021), Melancolia (La nave di Teseo Publishing House, 2022), and Theodoros (Il Saggiatore Publishing House, 2024).

On October 3, 2025, professors Emilia David, Eva Marinai, and Dan Octavian Cepraga will present the work of Romanian writer and playwright Matei Vişniec. On October 4, Irina Ţurcanu, a Romanian author living in the diaspora, will discuss her work with journalist Francesca Franceschi, starting from her recent novel Manca il sole ma si sta bene lo stesso, published by Marsilio Publishing House.

Swiss writer of Romanian origin Eugène Meiltz will present the novel Lettera al mio dittatore on October 4, while author Andreea Simionel, who lives in Italy, will talk about her book Male a est.

The Pisa Book Festival will take place from October 2 to October 5. Ninety independent publishers from every region of Italy will participate in the event, which features meetings with authors, history lessons, masterclasses, reading marathons, and many guest appearances.

(Illustration: Romanian Cultural Institute)