Marius Daniel Popescu

Marius Daniel Popescu was born in 1963 in Craiova, Romania. In his native country he was a poet, he frequented literary circles in Braşov and had been part of the "Group of Braşov". He lives in Lausanne since 1990. He taught himself all the subtleties of the French language and in the first five to six years in Switzerland has improved learning French. At the beginning of his new literary career, wrote lyrics in French. His ambition was to publish in Paris and wrote his great novel.

Bus driver during the day, writer during the night, Marius made his literary debut with a novel published in 2007 at José Corti Publishing House in Paris. La Symphonie du loup (Symphony of the wolf) is an autobiographical novel that crosses many cultures and generations in Romania under the dictatorship. The author evokes scenes from his adolescence, incidental death of his father, remembering his grandfather, tutelary figure which has replaced the one of the father since its disappearance.

Walser Prize, named after a famous Swiss writer and poet Robert Walser (1878-1956), is awarded every two years, rewarding debut novel for young authors. The novel has seduced the jury through the story and writing style. It is the first time that this award is given to a writer of French expression. It is noted that Marius Daniel Popescu did not know French at all at the time he came in Lausanne. In 2009 he published a sequel to his debut novel, Les Couleurs de l'hirondelle (The colors of the swallow).