2016–2025
On 2 December 2016, La Două Bufnițe opened at 11 Piața Unirii in Timișoara: an independent bookshop founded by Oana Doboși and Raluca Selejan, childhood friends and graduates of the Faculty of Letters, History and Theology at the West University of Timișoara. From the outset, we wanted to build more than a place that sells books: a living cultural space where literature, art and ideas would bring together readers, writers and people from the local and international community. A place where a carefully chosen selection of Romanian and world literature, humanities, art and children’s books would matter as much as the meetings and conversations they inspire. Over almost nine years, we organised three to five events a week: book launches, readings, debates, talks, concerts, film screenings and children’s workshops. Hundreds of writers, artists and other guests from Romania and abroad took part, and we built partnerships with festivals, universities, publishers and cultural institutions. In 2020, we started Timișoara’s first literary residency. In 2023, when Timișoara was European Capital of Culture, we opened Coin du Livre Francophone à Timișoara with Bucharest’s Kyralina bookshop, a space with more than 1,000 French-language titles. La Două Bufnițe was also a place for learning and exchanging experience. Booksellers, volunteers and students on placements worked alongside us, and the bookshop welcomed colleagues from abroad through professional exchange programmes. We were members of the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF), the Romanian Publishers Association (AER) and the Association Internationale des Libraires Francophones (AILF). The bookshop’s work received three awards: Bookseller of the Year, awarded in 2017 by the international festival Poezia e la Bistrița; the Urban Regeneration award from the Timișoara Urbanists Association in 2018; and the Special Prize for Literature at the Radio România Cultural Awards Gala in 2022. On 29 June 2025, after almost nine years, we closed the bookshop in Piața Unirii. But the story of La Două Bufnițe did not end with that space. The books, people, meetings and projects we built together are the starting point for a new chapter: La Două Bufnițe Publishing House.
On 2 December 2016, we open the independent bookshop La Două Bufnițe at 11 Piața Unirii in Timișoara. We begin building a programme of literary meetings and cultural activities for readers of all ages.
Over almost nine years, La Două Bufnițe welcomed writers, translators, artists, philosophers, researchers and people from Romania’s cultural world and beyond.
We opened La Două Bufnițe on 2 December 2016 at 11 Piața Unirii in Timișoara. We are Oana Doboși and Raluca Selejan, childhood friends and the founders of the bookshop. Over almost nine years, many people joined our team, helped us organise events, welcomed readers and contributed to everything La Două Bufnițe became.
2016–2025
Founder
2016–2025
Founder
2016–2023
Bookseller
2016–2017
Bookseller
2017–2020
Bookseller
2017–2022
Bookseller
2018
Bookseller
2018–2019
Bookseller
2019–2025
Bookseller
2022–2025
Bookseller
2023
Bookseller
2023
Bookseller
2023–2025
Bookseller
2023–2025
Bookseller
2022
Professional exchange · France
2024
Professional exchange · USA
2024
Professional exchange · Netherlands
Since opening the bookshop, we have organised volunteering programmes, internships and work placements for people who wanted to discover how an independent bookshop works. Our first volunteers joined us even before the opening in 2016, helping us prepare the space. Over the years, we welcomed school pupils, students and others eager to help with the bookshop’s work, from organising and shelving books to recommending reading and preparing events. We also offered internships that gave participants professional experience in the book world. Work placements were organised with the Faculty of Letters, History and Theology at the West University of Timișoara for students completing their compulsory practical training.
Almost nine years of events, meetings, book launches and moments from the life of the bookshop can be found in our archive.
Evenimente la Bufnițe
Bufnițele aduc magia cărților în comunitate! La evenimentul „Ziua Timișoarei | Timișoara City Celebration”, echipa Asociației Culturale La Două Bufnițe vine cu 6 ateliere interactive pentru copii și adolescenți – de la scris creativ și mitologie, la povești fantasy, explorări literare, backstage-ul cărților și evenimente muzicale dedicate legendelor rock. Aducem cu noi cărți, imaginație și […]
Evenimente la Bufnițe
Vă mulțumim din suflet pentru toate vizitele la librărie, pentru mesajele și telefoanele de susținere pe care le-am primit ieri. Vă mulțumim pentru toată aprecierea arătată față de tot ceea ce am construit în acești ani împreună cu echipa noastră și cu toți colaboratorii noștri. Ne cerem scuze […]
Evenimente la Bufnițe
Cu multe amintiri de neuitat și multă recunoștință pentru tot sprijinul și pentru toată prietenia pe care ni le-ațiarătat în acești aproape 9 ani, vă anunțăm că povestea Bufnițelor se apropie de final: în două săptămâni, pe 29 iunie, librăria noastră se va închide. Încă de la început pariul nostru a fost să fim o […]
2025
Sărbătoarea Bufnițelor — Closing Party was the event at which we said goodbye to the bookshop’s readers and friends. The programme included readings for children, a poetry performance by Comuna 30, the launch of Bifrons by Daniel Vighi and Viorel Marineasa, and the Disco Titanic party on Matei Corvin Street. We also created Last Bookshop Card, a special card marking the bookshop’s closure. On 29 June 2025, La Două Bufnițe closed its space at 11 Piața Unirii in Timișoara after almost nine years. They were years of books, meetings, friendships and projects built together with the people who crossed our threshold. The bookshop has closed, but La Două Bufnițe goes on. We continue through La Două Bufnițe Publishing House.
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