Achievements in 2025 and plans for 2026

Me and my newly launched book

Fellow-authors used to list all their literary activities in the past years and plans for the new coming year. I did the same last years, and now I am keeping with the tradition. Actually, I found out that I like keeping this yearly journal – it shows how my priorities change from time to time, how small or great are my progresses in certain fields…

NANOWRIMO is already a past story. I want(ed) to keep our group with a new name, RoWriMo, and severing the ties with NaNoWriMo. But the members are not too active. There is a sort of replacement programme at ProWritingAid. I joined this year, I managed to write about 16,000 words in November, but I will not join it again. The resources do not help me, as they are mostly video/ audio, and I function on written words, not focusing well with hearing words. And I did not do anything I would not have done without it.

PUBLISHED THIS YEAR:

• short stories and a few poems, in literary magazines and anthologies, and blog articles here.
• A short stories volume, launched this GAUDEAMUS International Book Fair. It is titled „Desene în cuvinte” (Drawings in words) and it gathers under one title, in one volume, my short stories having Greeks/ Greece as characters/ subject.

AWARDS  won:

• Mention at the National Short Stories Contest Nicolae Velea 2025.

OTHER WRITING – RELATED ACHIEVEMENTS:

• I am now a redactor of the literary magazines OAZA DE CULTURĂ, AGORA ARTELOR and ARTĂ ȘI CANDOARE. I will try my best to do my duties as highly as possible!
• I am a member of the National Union of Journalists, Cultural Press section, so I have an official press accreditation.
• I am a member of the Writers National League
• I was asked for the newly launched short stories volume, so that a professional translator would translate some texts from it for Greek language literary magazines.
• I got some recommendations of my books in book blogs
• I succeeded to attend more literary and cultural events and write about them
• I succeeded to make myself known more in various reader groups
• I published reviews of others books, of cultural events and interviews with writers in various literary magazines
• I spoke about several books at public launchings and presentations and I wrote a couple of fourth covers and forewords.
• I met the readers for a few days at BOOKFEST and  GAUDEAMUS international book fairs. I attended various book launchings but I also stood at the Hellenic Union stall and at the stalls of the publishing houses hosting my books.

• TRAVEL:  Besides armchair travel via books, videos and photos and researching intensively via Internet and books for my short stories, I went again this spring on a pilgrimage to Brăila. I also went to Drăgășani and Secu. (Two places in two opposite directions of my country).

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2025:

• I succeeded to do some volunteering activities and I will keep with it.
• I started again to take care of my health and I will keep doing it. I had neglected myself when I could not go to the doctors because my mother needed me permanently.

PERSONAL PLANS FOR 2026:

• to be able to sell well the studio (garsonniere) we moved from. This involves also lots of bureaucracy I have started tackling, but will seep into 2026
• to find a job and start saving again (if allowed and if possible, because the legislation is changing and I am not sure anymore it can be possible. I tried this year too, but unsuccessfully.) One can live from the pension, but not put anything aside, and one cannot live nowadays without savings, when there are doctors to think about and so…

LITERARY HOPES FOR 2026:

• To complete and send The grapes of love (Strugurii iubirii) to the publisher in spring.
• To write the monography of Bucharest Greek Community, to be launched at next Gaudeamus International Book Fair
• To get my books more widely known
• To learn about more literary contests and to participate in them.
• To get more chronicles
• to write and publish more short stories and book and event chronicles in literary magazines
• To complete two short stories volumes (Rebels of the Mountains and the Stories of Good Old Times) and send them to the publisher.

Other books in various stages of writing and revising get again pushed on lower priority…

As I said last year too – I am trying to keep living and going forward, according to the motto I have always lived according to: Caminante, no hay camino – se hace camino al andar! (Antonio Machado, as sung by Juan Manuel Serrat) – Traveller, there is no road – you are forging the road with your steps!