Romanian author Mircea Cărtărescu Nominated for Femina Prize with “Theodoros”

Renowned Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu’s book, Theodoros, recently also published in France, is on the longlist for the Femina Award, a literary trophy that dates back to 1904. This year, in 2024, marks 100 years since the launch of this important trophy and this makes the presence of the Romanian writer on the list of potential winners all the more significant.

“The French translation of my novel “Theodoros” was selected on the long list of the Femina award,” Cărtărescu announced on his Facebook page.

15 French novels and 16 foreign novels are already nominated in the first Femina selection, launched on September 10. The next selection is for the Essay category and will take place on October 1, before the final list is displayed on October 22. Winners will be announced on November 5th.

Mircea Cărtărescu’s name is in the Foreign Roman category, where he will compete with Alaa El Aswan, Vera Bogdanova, Susie Boyt, Michael Cunningham, Richard Flanagan, Charles Frazier, Anna Funder, Nathan Hill, Benjamín Labatut, Marco Lodoli, Elizabeth O’connor, Katja Schönherr, Peter Stamm, Colm Tóibín and Alia Trabucco Zerán.

The Femina Award was the initiative of 22 collaborators of La Vie Heureuse magazine, with the aim of representing a kind of counterproposal to the prestigious Goncourt Award, which was awarded at that time exclusively to male writers. Today, the Femina prize rewards every year a valuable book, written in verse or prose, which represents a pinnacle of international talent, provided that said book is translated into French.