Smaranda [Ghișa] Kafka is a Romanian-Australian writer born in Șofronea, Arad, România. She attended Elena Ghiba-Birta High School, Arad and then she went to the University of Bucharest, where she studied French Language, Literature, Culture, and Education. She attended postgraduate courses at Romanian universities in Bucharest and Timișoara then at Stendhal University of Grenoble, France. After arriving in Australia she completed a Diploma of Education at New England University. In Romania, Smaranda Kafka worked as a French teacher, a High School Principal, and School Inspector. In 1992 she emigrated to Australia with her family, initially settling in the Blue Mountains region and then in Sydney. Smaranda Kafka inherited her passion and talent as a story teller from her paternal family. She initially published short stories in the local press and at Grenoble University Press, France. After a few years of interruption, she resumed writing short stories that were published in numerous cultural magazines around the world. In Australia, her work appeared in ‘The Romanian-Australian Anthology of Poetry and Prose,’ ‘ZineWest Cultural Magazine’ and the ‘Taina Scrisului’ anthology. She also published in ‘Literary Destinies’ (USA and Canada), ‘Lumină Lină. Gracious Light’ (review of Romanian spirituality and culture, New York). In Romania, her word appeared in the literary and cultural magazines ‘Gutenberg’ (Arad), ‘Bucureștiul literar și artistic’ (‘Literary and Artistic Bucharest’), and others. In 2021, Coresi Publishing House published her long novel ‘The ABC of One’s Life’ (in two volumes), with a strong autobiographical touch. The book is the alphabet of one’s life seen through the eyes of a child. It is about the influences that shaped her in the first years of life. The influences of a unique culture, which was the product of the history, geography, and evolution of a people meant to preserve their secular identity at a crossroads of the winds from the West and the stormy winds from the East. In 2022, Coresi Publishing House published ‘Alb și Negru, la voia destinului’ (‘White and Black, at Destiny’s Beck and Call’), a bundle of six short stories on various topics, with a large diversity of themes, styles, and tones. There are short stories about Transylvania, the Western Carpathian Mountains, and places across the globe, as well as stories about Australia and the South Pacific Islands. At the beginning of 2023 ‘Layers upon Layers’ was published, a book of short stories that speak to the human soul. Some of these stories make one laugh, others make one cry and all, according to some literary critics, make one want the story to never end. In mid 2023 ‘Bumerangul’ (‘The Boomerang’) was published, a novel that addresses completely different topics. Page by page, it follows a woman's life in her physical, energetic, and spiritual dimensions, along with her personal journey on social and emotional coordinates. Its end involves the reader, urging them to write the last paragraph. For her work, Smaranda Kafka was awarded diplomas from various international magazines such as: ‘Literay Destinies’, ‘Gutenberg Magazine’, ‘International Symposium, at Sfânta Maria’, as well as an ‘Honorary plaque’, with her name on it, which is in Sydney, on Figs’ Alley, Homebush; and ‘The International Trophy of Excellence’, at the ‘Gala for the Excellence of the Most Outstanding Romanians from All Over the World’, Madrid, Spain, 2022.