Romanian writer Iulian Bocai was writer-in-residence at Passa Porta (06.10.2025 – 01.11.2025). This year, his novel The Strange and Moving Life of Priță Barsacu was published in a Dutch translation by Charlotte van Rooden. Both the author and his translator were selected for the European programme CELA – Connecting Emerging Literary Artists.
During his stay in Brussels, Iulian Bocai held a public event with Flemish author Jeroen Theunissen at Passa Porta and also worked on his new novel about a woman who disappears in today’s Bucharest. He also made this beautiful video portrait with Sarah Baur – in residence: Iulian Bocai.
CELA is a talent development project for the new generation of European literary voices across 11 different countries, supported by Creative Europe of the European Union. The Romanian partner in the project is reprezented by Muzeul Național al Literaturii Române Iași (MNLR Iași) / Festivalul Internațional de Literatură și Traducere Iași (FILIT), in association with Asociația Română a Traducătorilor Literari (ARTLIT) and Asociația Editorilor din România (AER).
© Iulian Bocai. Photo: Gaby Jongenelen for CELA