Romanian Science Fiction existed even before 1899, when the first Romanian SF novel by Victor Anestin (In The Year 4000 or A Voyage to Venus/ In anul 4000 sau O călătorie la Venus) was published. The first Romanian SF is a 1873 text under the Latin title Finis Rumaniae (End of Romania) and was written by a still unknown writer who used a pseudonym, Al.N. Dariu.
Romanian SF has a long history which began at the end of the 19th century.
An excellent and compact overview of the Romanian science fiction in two parts was written by Antuza Genescu (SF writer and translator), Silviu Genescu (SF author and journalist), Laurenţiu Nistorescu (SF writer and journalist) and Dorin Davideanu (SF writer and Editor of the Timişoara’s H. G. Wells Society fanzine Paradox) :
“A brief history of Science Fiction in Romania up to 1990” and “Science Fiction in Romania since the 1990 revolution”
and published on the UK’s The Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation site.
And Cătălin Badea-Gheracostea‘s Short (Hi)Story of Romanian Speculative Fiction told for strangers, aliens and secluded scholars.
There’s a selection of Romanian SF&F books translated into English for any international reader who wants to discover a neo-Latin European culture’s approach to SF&F. Academic studies dedicated to Romanian SF history or famous American writers like Edgar Allan Poe are also available.
Gheorghe Săsărman – “Squaring the Circle : A Pseudotreatise of Urbogony”, SF short stories translated and selected by Ursula K.Le Guin, Aqueduct Press, US, 2013
George Lazăr – “The Guardian Angel”, SF novel, Eagle Publishing House, 2011
Dan Doboș – “The Abbey”, SF novel, Better Karma LLC, US, 2010
Doru Tătar – “ Top Priority”, SF novel, Borgo Press, US, 2011
Cristian Mihail Teodorescu – “Bing Bang Larissa. Case 74“, Future Fiction, 2014
Ioana Vişan – “Human Instincts. An Apocalyptic Novella”
Ioana Vişan – „Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”, fantasy short stories collection, Amazon Digital Services, Inc., Kindle Edition, 2012
Ioana Vişan – “The Impaler’s Revenge” (The Impaler Legacy series), fantasy novella, Amazon Digital Services, Inc., Kindle Edition, 2013
Costi Gurgu – „Angels and Moths” – in Ages of Wonder anthology, edited by Julie E. Czemeda and Rob St. Martin
Marian Coman – “Fingers and Other Fantastic Stories”, speculative fiction short stories, Amazon Digital Services, Inc., 2011
Șerban Andrei Mazilu – “The Angellove Society: Crux”, fantasy novel, WheelMan Press, 2013
Eugen Stancu – “Politics and Science Fiction: Science Fiction in Communist Romania 1955-1974”, VDM Verlag, 2008
Lucian Vasile Szabo – “The Facts in the case of E.A. Poe: Fantasy, real life, science fiction, journalism”, Lap Lambert Academic Publishing, 2013
“Romanian SF Anthology Nemira ‘94”, edited by Romulus Bărbulescu and George Anania, presented by N.Lee Wood, Nemira Publishing House, 1994, Bucharest, Romania
“Romanian SF Anthology Nemira ‘95”, edited by Romulus Bărbulescu and George Anania, presented by N.Lee Wood and Norman Spinrad, Nemira Publishing House, 1995, Bucharest, Romania
“Romanian SF Anthology Nemira ‘96”, edited by Alexandru Mironov and Sebastian A.Corn, english version supervised by N.Lee Wood, Nemira Publishing House, 1996, Bucharest, Romania
“Twelve. A Romanian Science Fiction Anthology (Twelve of the Best Romanian SF Stories)”, edited by Cornel Robu, Sedona Publishing House, 1995, Timişoara, Romania
Bogdan Aldea – “Worlds in the Making. Science Fiction between Fabulation and Mannerism“, Napoca Star Publishing Press, 2006, Cluj, Romania
Florin Pîtea – “Art Wasn’t Quite Crime. The Context, Themes and the Consequences of (Post) Cyberpunk Fiction“, Millenium Books, 2010, Satu Mare, Romania
Several Romanian science fiction and fantasy stories translated into English (The Death of Mr. Teodorescu by Cristian-Mihail Teodorescu, Hunt Beneath the Moon by Marian Truță, Digits Are Cold, Numbers Are Warm by Liviu Radu) can be read in the ISF 2012 Annual Anthology (E-Pub version: CLICK HERE, Mobi version: CLICK HERE, PDF version: CLICK HERE).
Also, you may find useful The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction’s monography on the Romanian science fiction:
