After receiving an invitation from poet Ștefan Octavian Iosif in 1903, Sadoveanu contributed works to the traditionalist journal Sămănătorul, led at the time by historian and critic Nicolae Iorga.
He was by then also a contributor to Voința Națională, a newspaper published by the National Liberal Party and managed by politician Vintilă Brătianu—beginning December of the same year, the paper serialized Șoimii ("The Hawks"), an extended variant of Frații Potcoavă, with an introduction by historian Vasile Pârvan.
In 1904, he regained Bucharest, where he became a copyist for the Ministry of Education's Board of Schools, returning to Fălticeni two years later.
After 1906, he rallied with the group formed around Viața Românească, which was also joined by his sister-in-law Izabela.

Sămănătorul and Viața Românească, having comparable influence over the literature of Romania, stood for a traditionalist and ruralist approach to art, even though the latter adopted a more left-wing perspective, known as Poporanism.
The leading Poporanist ideologue, Garabet Ibrăileanu, became a personal friend of the young writer after inviting him on an excursion down the Râșca River.
With his subsequent pieces for Viața Românească, Sadoveanu became especially known as the raconteur of hunting trips, but also sparked controversy when a young woman writer, Constanța Marino-Moscu, accused him of having plagiarized her works in his Mariana Vidrașcu, a serialized novel which was discontinued and later largely forgotten.

1904 was Sadoveanu's effective debut year: he published four separate books, including Șoimii, Povestiri ("Stories"), Dureri înăbușite ("Suppressed Pains") and Crâșma lui Moș Petcu ("Old Man Petcu's Alehouse").
The beginning of a prolific literary career covering more than a half century and of his collaboration with Editura Minerva publishing house, this debut was marked by intense preparation, and drew on literary exercises spanning the previous decade.
His Sămănătorul colleague Iorga deemed 1904 "Sadoveanu's Year", while the influential and aging critic Titu Maiorescu, leader of the conservative literary society Junimea, gave a positive review to Povestiri, and successfully proposed it for a Romanian Academy award in 1906.
In a 1908 essay, Maiorescu was to list Sadoveanu among Romania's greatest writers.
According to Vianu, Maiorescu saw in Sadoveanu and other young writers the triumph of his theory on a "popular" form of Realism, a vision which the Junimist thinker had advocated in his essays from as early as 1882.
Sadoveanu later credited Iorga, Maiorescu, and especially so the cultural promoter Constantin Banu and Sămănătorul poet George Coșbuc, with having helped him capture the interest of the public and his peers.
He was by then facing adversity from opponents of Sămănătorul, primarily critic Henric Sanielevici and his Curentul Nou review, which published claims that Sadoveanu's volumes, which depicted immoral acts such as adultery and rape, showed that Iorga's program of moral didacticism was hypocritical.
As he latter recalled, Sadoveanu was himself upset with some of Iorga's critical judgments regarding his own work, noting that the Sămănătorist doyen had once declared him equal to Vasile Pop (one of Iorga's protegés, and viewed as overrated by Sadoveanu).

The same year, Sadoveanu became one of Sămănătorul's editors, alongside Iorga and Iosif.
The magazine, originally a traditionalist mouthpiece founded by Alexandru Vlahuță and George Coșbuc, proclaimed with Iorga its purpose of establishing "a national culture", emancipated from foreign influence.
However, according to Călinescu, this ambitious goal was only manifested in a "great cultural influence", as the journal continued to be an eclectic venue which grouped together ruralist traditionalists of the "national tendency" and adherents to the cosmopolitan currents such as Symbolism.
Călinescu and Vianu agree that Sămănătorul was, for a large part, a promoter of older guidelines set by Junimea.
Vianu also argues that Sadoveanu's contribution to the literary circle was the ma
After receiving an invitation from poet Ștefan Octavian Iosif in 1903, Sadoveanu contributed works to the traditionalist journal Sămănătorul, led at the time by historian and critic Nicolae Iorga. He was by then also a contributor to Voința Națională, a newspaper published by the National Liberal Party and managed by politician Vintilă Brătianu—beginning December of the same year, the paper serialized Șoimii ("The Hawks"), an extended variant of Frații Potcoavă, with an introduction by historian Vasile Pârvan. In 1904, he regained Bucharest, where he became a copyist for the Ministry of Education's Board of Schools, returning to Fălticeni two years later. After 1906, he rallied with the group formed around Viața Românească, which was also joined by his sister-in-law Izabela.
Sămănătorul and Viața Românească, having comparable influence over the literature of Romania, stood for a traditionalist and ruralist approach to art, even though the latter adopted a more left-wing perspective, known as Poporanism. The leading Poporanist ideologue, Garabet Ibrăileanu, became a personal friend of the young writer after inviting him on an excursion down the Râșca River. With his subsequent pieces for Viața Românească, Sadoveanu became especially known as the raconteur of hunting trips, but also sparked controversy when a young woman writer, Constanța Marino-Moscu, accused him of having plagiarized her works in his Mariana Vidrașcu, a serialized novel which was discontinued and later largely forgotten.
1904 was Sadoveanu's effective debut year: he published four separate books, including Șoimii, Povestiri ("Stories"), Dureri înăbușite ("Suppressed Pains") and Crâșma lui Moș Petcu ("Old Man Petcu's Alehouse"). The beginning of a prolific literary career covering more than a half century and of his collaboration with Editura Minerva publishing house, this debut was marked by intense preparation, and drew on literary exercises spanning the previous decade. His Sămănătorul colleague Iorga deemed 1904 "Sadoveanu's Year", while the influential and aging critic Titu Maiorescu, leader of the conservative literary society Junimea, gave a positive review to Povestiri, and successfully proposed it for a Romanian Academy award in 1906. In a 1908 essay, Maiorescu was to list Sadoveanu among Romania's greatest writers. According to Vianu, Maiorescu saw in Sadoveanu and other young writers the triumph of his theory on a "popular" form of Realism, a vision which the Junimist thinker had advocated in his essays from as early as 1882. Sadoveanu later credited Iorga, Maiorescu, and especially so the cultural promoter Constantin Banu and Sămănătorul poet George Coșbuc, with having helped him capture the interest of the public and his peers. He was by then facing adversity from opponents of Sămănătorul, primarily critic Henric Sanielevici and his Curentul Nou review, which published claims that Sadoveanu's volumes, which depicted immoral acts such as adultery and rape, showed that Iorga's program of moral didacticism was hypocritical. As he latter recalled, Sadoveanu was himself upset with some of Iorga's critical judgments regarding his own work, noting that the Sămănătorist doyen had once declared him equal to Vasile Pop (one of Iorga's protegés, and viewed as overrated by Sadoveanu).
The same year, Sadoveanu became one of Sămănătorul's editors, alongside Iorga and Iosif. The magazine, originally a traditionalist mouthpiece founded by Alexandru Vlahuță and George Coșbuc, proclaimed with Iorga its purpose of establishing "a national culture", emancipated from foreign influence. However, according to Călinescu, this ambitious goal was only manifested in a "great cultural influence", as the journal continued to be an eclectic venue which grouped together ruralist traditionalists of the "national tendency" and adherents to the cosmopolitan currents such as Symbolism. Călinescu and Vianu agree that Sămănătorul was, for a large part, a promoter of older guidelines set by Junimea. Vianu also argues that Sadoveanu's contribution to the literary circle was the ma
Mihail Sadoveanu