In March 1943, he wrote a column for the newspaper Vremea războiului ("The Time of War"). That April, Evenimentul zilei published his sketch "Rotila". Preda took part in several meetings of the Sburătorul ("The Flier") literary circle, led by Eugen Lovinescu, where his short story "Calul" produced a vivid impression, arousing the delight of Dinu Nicodin, who purchased the manuscript for a large sum of money. The short story was included in Preda's debut volume, Întâlnirea din pământuri ("The Meeting between the Lands"), published in 1948. The volume hinted at Preda's defining use of autobiographical, "fly on the wall" narratives: in the eponymous short story, critics immediately recognized the author's father, who would also appear with a changed name in Moromeții. Between 1943 and 1945 he served in the Romanian Army, an experience he would describe in his later works. In 1945 he became a proofreader for the newspaper România liberă ("Free Romania"). Between 1949 and 1955, he wrote the first volume of the novel Moromeții, that would later be considered his defining work. In 1952 he became editor of the magazine Viaţa Românească ("Romanian Life"). In 1956 he received the State Prize for Literature for the novel Moromeții. A year later, in 1957, Preda travelled to Vietnam and Beijing, China. Between 1960 and 1961 he read widely, and undertook translations of foreign literature into Romanian. Preda became fascinated by William Faulkner, with whom his prose has certain affinities. In 1965, he and his wife Eta translated the novel The Plague by Albert Camus into Romanian. In 1968 he was elected the vice president of the Romanian Writers' Union, and in 1970 he became director of the Cartea Românească ("Romanian Book") publishing house, which he led until his sudden death in 1980. In 1970 he translated Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Demons in collaboration with Nicolae Gane. Preda's novel, Marele singuratic ("The Great Lonely One"), received the Writers' Union Award in 1971. Preda's 1975 novel Delirul ("Delirium") is reflects an attempt to reconsider Ion Antonescu's role in Romanian history, against the background of resurgent nationalist pride in socialist Romania. Here, Antonescu is painted as a tragic figure, who collaborated with Nazi Germany due to his belief that this was the only way to regain Bessarabia. The first edition of the novel quickly sold out. He became a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1974, and was promoted to titular post-mortem member