Adrian Oțoiu () is a novelist, essayist and translator. He was born on 30 April 1958 in Râmnicu Sărat, in southeastern Romania. As his father was an aviation pilot, he spent his childhood in the company of airplanes. After studying at the Arts High School in Baia Mare, Oțoiu earned a degree in Romanian and English from the University of Baia Mare in 1981. In 2001 was awarded a PhD in philology from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, with a dissertation on the Romanian generation of postmodern fiction writers of the 1980s, under the supervision of Ion Pop. Oțoiu is currently an Associate Professor (reader) at the Faculty of Letters of Northern University of Baia Mare. He directed a postgraduate summer course at Central European University in Budapest. He has also taught at the University of Limerick, University of New Mexico, and Carson–Newman University. Oțoiu is a member of the Writers' Union of Romania and of the European Society for the Study of English. Publications Fiction Oțoiu made his debut in 1986 with the massive novel The heart of the Matter or Dancing with the Flayed (Coaja lucrurilor sau Dansând cu Jupuita) (Cartea Româneasca publishers; second edition: Paralela 45, 2002). This was the first Romanian book to have been awarded both The Debut Award of the Writers' Union of Romania (USR) and the Book of the Year Award of the rival Association of Professional Writers of Romania (ASPRO). Previously it had been awarded the "Mașina de scris" award granted to the year's best unpublished manuscript. The novel was compared by critics to James Joyce's Ulysses. Two volumes of short stories followed, which consisted of hyperlinked pieces that emulated the outlook of a computer guide, which made critics speak of these making up a "hypertextual novel". These two volumes share characters and settings and a subtitle (Literature handbook for computer nerds): Hot Keys for Soft Windows (Chei fierbinți pentru ferestre moi) (Paralela 45, 1998) and Enormities and Left-handed Stuff (Stângăcii și enormități) (Paralela 45, 1999). The short story Tip of the Day: Shakespeare and Computers was published in the author's English translation in the issue of October 2004 of the American magazine Words without Borders, which was dedicated to Romanian literature. The same short story was published in the anthology Romanian Fiction of the 80s and 90s (Paralela 45, 1998). Another short story, Reveal codes: Mr Onoriu's Profession appeared in Hungarian translation