Rosario Alcada Araujo, born in Lisbon in 1973, from an early age discovered an interest in literature. After finishing a law degree — she abandoned that path and continued her studies in London, enrolling in a master's program in Communication Sociology. There she also immersed herself in children’s literature — participating in creative writing courses and studying the genre in libraries and bookstores. Her literary path began in 2002 with the publication of her first children’s book, and today many of her works are included in Portugal’s National Reading Plan. The center of our discussion was one of the author’s most famous works, “O País das Laranjas” (“The Land of Oranges”), which is based on real historical events.

The novel tells the story of some 5,500 children relocated from Austria to Portugal after World War II — portraying their difficult journey, their search for identity, hope, and stories of lives rebuilt. During the meeting, Rosario Alcada Araujo and the book’s Armenian translator Anna Marat‑i‑yants discussed the conceptual importance of children’s and young–adult literature in the digital age, the subtleties of the creative process, and the role of translation and cultural transmission.

Participants had the opportunity to listen to excerpts from the book in both the original Portuguese and the Armenian translation. During the meeting and discussions, especially active were students from Yerevan’s School No. 112 and from the higher school of HAPh — they raised questions of literary, historical, and psychological nature. The author responded to them with warmth, creating a lively and inspiring atmosphere.