Romanian prisoners seek sentence reductions — by publishing

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania’s crackdown on corruption and fraud in recent years has created a sudden and unexpected literary boom, as prisoners publish hundreds of non-fiction books on subjects as varied as soccer, real estate, God and gemstones.



[...] recently only a handful of such books were published, but in 2014 that rose to 90 — and in 2015 it spiraled to 340.

Laura Stefan, an analyst at the Expert Forum think tank, which promotes transparency and good governance, says the “scientific works” coming out of Romania’s jails have more to do with the wealth and influence of the inmates than their literary talent.