Romanian-born writer and essayist Radu Pavel Gheo is interested both in the strangeness of the individual beings and in the everlasting values of the mankind. In the field of fiction, he oriented towards science fiction as a means of projecting a mirror from a twisted universe on the contemporary world. As an essayist, he uses an acute sense of humor and a keen perspective on the human society, whether it is about the contemporary America or about his native country. All his writings – including one volume of short stories, two volumes of essays, a novel, a book of literary theory and criticism, and a few anthologies - were published in his native country. Some of his eesays were translated abroad, in Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Serbia.

The author became notorious after a literary scandal concerning the myth of Eminescu, the greatest Romanian poet, which eventually became subject of debate even in the Romanian House of Parliament. Still, his major success was a book about America (as seem through the eyes of an immigrant), called Adio, adio, patria mea, cu i din i, cu a din a (approx. Farewell, My Homeland, Farewell....). The book immediately became a bestseller and it made the author quite famous across his native country.

In 2001, after having been drawn as one of the U.S.A. Visa Lottery winners, Radu Pavel Gheo immigrated in the United States . Still, he remained an overseas contributor to the monthly cultural magazine “Timpul” from Iasi , Romania. Following his return to Romania, he became a member of the Romanian Writers’ Association, a founding member of the cultural association Club 8, and also a member of the PEN Club Romania. In the same time, he is a regular contributor to „Orizont” (Timisoara), „Timpul” (Iasi), „Suplimentul de cultura” (cultural weekly from Iasi) and he has published essays and studies in all the major cultural magazines from his country.

In 2002, after having spent a year in the United States, he returned to Romania, where he published a collection of essays concerning his American experience - Adio, adio, patria mea, cu i din i, cu a din a (approx. Farewell, My Homeland, Farewell....). The book was his first bestseller, and two another books followed in a short period of time. As a consequence of his first public success, the other two volumes also drew the attention of the critics and the general public.

Radu Pavel Gheo graduated the Faculty of Letters (Romanian and English Studies) at University of West Timisoara , in June 1994. His first book was published in 1997, as a result of a literary award granted by “Orizont” monthly magazine ( Timisoara ) and Athena Publishing House ( Bucharest ). Entitled Valea Cerului Senin (The Valley of the Clear Blue Sky), the volume consists of a series of fantastic and science fiction short stories. The second book, Despre science fiction (On Science Fiction), was a kind of literary farewell: it had appeared in April 2001, only a month before the author left his country. Between these dates, Radu Pavel Gheo had also published more than 100 literary studies, reviews, essays and short stories in many of the cultural magazines from Romania . His stories were selected in three anthologies, and the first Romanian SF Dictionary (Nemira Publishing House, Bucharest, 1999) includes him among the co-authors. A fragment from his ironical Pink Book of Communism was published in “Wienzeile”, a quarterly magazine from Austria, and an essay from his book Romanii e destepti (Romanians IS Smart) was translated and published almost simultaneously in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia.

After his return in Romania, he published two volumes of essays - Adio, adio, patria mea, cu i din i, cu a din a (approx. Farewell, My Homeland, Farewell....), in 2003, and Romanii e destepti (Romanians IS Smart), in 2004, both at Polirom Publishing House. Having been included in a larger project of his publishing house, he also published – in 2004 – a novel with SF and fantasy elements, a fairy tale entitled Fairia – o lume indepartata (Fairia – A Land Far Away). Also, his bestseller Adio, adio, patria mea, cu i din i, cu a din a was published in its second edition at the end of the same year – 2004. His next collection of essays – DEX-ul si sexul (approx. Lingually and Sexually, Polirom Publishing House) appeared in the autumn of 2005.
Radu Pavel Gheo had been a teacher of English language and English and American literature in Timisoara , editor of “Timpul” cultural magazine from Iasi , and producer of the weekly literary broadcast at Radio Iasi Romania (local branch of the national public radio). Having worked closely with Polirom Publishing House, he signed some other ten books, this time as a translator. He is currently working as a book editor and translator for the same publishing house, which is the most important book seller on the Romanian market.

Among the honors he had received are Nautilus literary award (Bucharest, 1993), “V. Papilian” Award (Cluj, 1994), “Vladimir Colin” Award and “V. Colin’s Newsletters” award ( Resita , 1995), Romanian Writers’ Association from Timisoara (2004), „Ioan Slavici” Cultural Award (2005) – all of them for fiction and essays -, but also the Civic Education Project Award for the best Romanian translation in the field of political studies (Bucharest , 2001).

Radu Pavel Gheo was born in Oravita in October 1969. He lived in his native village, than moved to Timisoara , Iasi , and Redmond . Having arrived in the United States at the beginning of June 2001, Radu Pavel Gheo stayed for a year in Bellevue , Washington. Afterwards, he returned to Romania, where he currently lives in the city of Timisoara (Temesvaros).