New voices from Eastern Europe

Iulian Bocai (b. 1986) is a Romanian novelist, essayist and reviewer. His debut will be published this year by De Geus in a translation by Charlotte van Rooden as Het vreemde en aangrijpende leven van Priță Barsacu. In his next novel, Constantin, Bocai tells the story of a young student who moves from the Romanian countryside to Bucharest and witnesses a series of tragicomic events involving colourful characters.

Myroslav Laiuk (b. 1990) is a Ukrainian poet, screenwriter and prose writer. As early as 2018, the Kyiv Post named him one of the most innovative Ukrainian artists under the age of 30. During the fiercest battles for Bakhmut (which is also the title of his latest book), he spent days and nights in 2023 with Ukrainian infantrymen and artillerymen, doctors and chaplains, rescue workers and children who had remained in the city.

Małgosia Briefjes (b. 1979, NL) grew up between books and two cultures. She studied visual arts and Slavonic studies and took a course in literary translation from Polish at the Vertalersvakschool. In 2023 her translation of Aleksander Fredro’s fables won first prize in the Polish ambassador’s translation competition. In 2024 she received a development grant from the Expertisecentrum Literair Vertalen for the translation of Cudzoziemka by Maria Kuncewiczowa. Mentor: Charlotte Pothuizen.

Charlotte van Rooden (b. 1993, NL) is a historian. She translates from Romanian and German. She graduated from the Vertalersvakschool in 2021. So far, she has translated three novels from Romanian. Hartenvrouw by Iulian Ciocan and De glazen tuin by Tatiana Țîbuleac were published by Pegasus. Het vreemde en aangrijpende leven van Priță Barsacu by Iulian Bocai will be published by De Geus in 2025. She translated Sekscultuur by Bettina Stangneth from German for Atlas Contact. She regularly publishes translations in literary magazines and is working on the translation of the debut novel by Ruxandra Burcescu. Mentor: Jan Willem Bos.