Contemporary Bulgarian Writers Contemporary Bulgarian Writers 1 Проектът е реализиран с финансовата подкрепа на Национален фонд Култура. Contemporary Bulgarian Writers Compilers: Svetlozar Zhelev, Director of the National Book Centre The Advisory Board: Prof. Dr. Amelia Licheva, Prof. Dr. Darin Tenev, Georgi Ivanov, Silva Papazian, Alexander Krastev Design: Damyan Damyanov Proofreading and editing: Angela Rodel Project account: Ani Hristova Coordinator: Yanislava Yaneva © National Palace of Culture – Congress Centre Sofia 2015 2 Contemporary Bulgarian Writers 3 CONTENTS NATIONAL PALACE OF CULTURE Petar Delchev / 52 (NPC) / 11 CASTING CALL FOR A MESSIAH The National Book Center / 14 Theodora Dimova / 54 MOTHERS Elena Alexieva / 17 THE NOBEL LAUREATE Emiliya Dvoryanova / 59 AT THE DOORS OF THE SEA Kerana Angelova / 22 SUNFLOWERS FOR MARIA Deyan Enev / 64 CIRCUS BULGARIA Emil Andreev / 27 BOBBY THE BLESSED AND THE OTHER Zdravka Evtimova / 69 AMERICAN BLOOD OF A MOLE Georgi Bojinov / 32 Ludmila Filipova / 74 KALUNYA-KALYA THE WAR OF THE LETTERS Mona Choban / 37 Milena Fuchedjieva / 79 DOSTA SEX AND COMMUNISM Silvia Choleva / 42 Vasil Georgiev / 84 GREEN AND GOLD DEGRAD Lea Cohen / 47 Georgi Gospodinov / 87 THE COLLECTOR OF DIARIES THE PHYSICS OF SORROW 4 Contemporary Bulgarian Writers 5 Katerina Hapsali / 92 Diana Petrova / 154 Peter Tchouhov / 214 Virginia Zaharieva / 271 GREEK COFFEE SYNESTHESIA CAMOUFLAGE NINE RABBITS Angel Igov / 97 Alek Popov / 159 Georgi Tenev / 220 Vladimir Zarev / 276 A SHORT TALE OF SHAME THE BLACK BOX HOLY LIGHT RUIN Mirela Ivanova / 102 Palmi Ranchev / 165 Kalin Terziyski / 225 EMERGING WRITERS CLOSE AT HAND BOXERS AND PASSERS-BY ALCOHOL Aleksandar Chobanov / 285 Zachary Karabashliev / 107 Bogdan Rusev / 170 Vladislav Todorov / 230 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AIRPLANE THE ROOM ZINCOGRAPH Nadejda Dermendjieva / 286 Hristo Karastoyanov / 112 Milen Ruskov / 175 Ludmil Todorov / 235 Zornitsa Garkova / 287 THE SAME NIGHT AWAITS US ALL: SUMMIT A BARGE IN THE DESERT DIARY OF A NOVEL Aleksandar Hristov / 288 Alexander Sekulov / 179 Todor P. Todorov / 240 Dimitar Shosho Kotzev / 117 THE ENGRAVER OF DREAMS ALWAYS THE NIGHT Ninko Kirilov / 289 SHRIMP Nedyalko Slavov / 184 Emil Tonev / 244 Filip Markuliev / 290 Rouja Lazarova / 122 432 HERTZ HOMBRE THE MUSCLE OF SILENCE Stoyan Nenov / 291 Julia Spiridonova / 189 Dimana Trankova / 249 Vladimir Levchev / 127 BE MY FRIEND FIREWALKER Vladimir Poleganov / 292 MARCO: THE BALKAN PRINCE Albena Stambolova / 194 Mihail Veshim / 254 Hristo Stefanov Rayanov / 293 Vesela Lyakhova / 132 EVERYTHING HAPPENS AS IT DOES THE ENGLISH NEIGHBOUR REFUGEES Stefan Stefanov / 294 Lyudmil Stanev / 199 Emanuil A. Vidinsky / 259 Galin Nikiforov / 137 SHARP EGON AND THE SILENCE Svetoslav Todorov / 295 THE FOX Alexander Shpatov / 204 Angel Wagenstein / 264 Bistra Velichkova / 296 Momchil Nikolov / 143 #LIVEFROMSOFIA FAREWELL, SHANGHAI THE SPHERICAL FISH Rositsa Tasheva / 209 Radoslav Parushev / 149 SO MUCH FOR SCOTTIE FROM THE INSIDE 6 Contemporary Bulgarian Writers 7 Miroslav Borshosh Dear publishers, readers and future friends of Bulgarian literature, It is my pleasure to present to you a catalogue of contemporary Bulgarian prose, containing fifty-five of the most established Bulgarian authors and their most interesting works, as well as twelve young, progressive, recently debuted authors who deserve your attention. This collection represents a cross-section of what is happening in the field of Bulgarian literature at the moment. Without claiming completeness or exhaustiveness, we have tried to present to you a representative sample of the most interesting books and authors over the last five years; this edition lays the foundations for such an annual catalogue to be published by the National Book Center at the National Palace of Culture (NDK), which from now on will include books published within a given literary year. Although over the years attempts have been made in this direction, I believe that for the first time through this catalogue, readers abroad can get a sufficiently full impression of literary life in Bulgaria, of our best authors, and of the exceptionally high level Bulgarian literature has reached in recent years. We fully recognize that our literature is not sufficiently known outside of Bulgaria and it is precisely for this reason that we founded the National Book Center at NDK this year, which, through its Translations Program 8 Contemporary Bulgarian Writers 9 supports the translation, publication and popularization THE NATIONAL PALACE OF CULTURE (NPC) – of Bulgarian literature abroad in foreign languages. On the THE LARGEST MULTIFUNCTIONAL COMPLEX IN Center’s website you can find more information about the SOUTHEAST EUROPE most interesting and important Bulgarian writers, as well as information about the translators you could turn to if you would like to publish a Bulgarian author in a given language. In the name of the institution I represent, I would like to assure you that we are doing everything possible to support every single author represented in this catalogue, while also supporting you, their publishers, in order to help The National Palace of Culture (NPC) was opened in 1981 on the occasion of the Bulgarian literature take its rightful place on the global 1300th anniversary of the Bulgarian state. The architects of the main building literary scene. are Alexander Barov and Ivan Kanazirev, while Atanas Agura is the architect Miroslav Borshosh behind the surrounding areas. During the 1990s, immediately following the Executive Director National Palace change of the political system in the country, NPC lost a significant portion of of Culture – Congress Centre Sofia its property, including infrastructure, commercial areas and car parks. Since 2011, NPC has been restructured into a commercial company, but it remains state property. It is self-sustainable and does not receive any subsidies. The first public financial report of the Palace was released in 2012. A substantial part of the revenues are annually invested in new projects and its own cultural events. The Festival and Congress Centre (FCC) is the Varna branch of NPC. It was founded in 1986 and it is gradually becoming the center of some of the most prestigious events in the field of art and culture. FCC is host to artistic events and festivals, scientific meetings, seminars and more. FCC is the face of Bulgaria when it comes to prestigious international congress organizations such as ICCA, EFCT, AIPC and is included in the only pan-European network of cinemas, Europe Cinema, in the European Union (EU). The total available area in NPC is 123,000 square meters, spread over eight floors, four panoramic terraces and three underground levels. The palace also has 12 multifunctional halls with capacities ranging from 50 to 4,000 seats. Each of the halls was designed with its own signature appearance, maintained to this day. NPC also has 54 more offices and small conference rooms, along with 17,000 square meters of lobbies suitable for exhibition spaces as well as five restaurants and catering companies located within the complex. The building of the Palace has full-service professional conference teams, who aid in preparing and implementing events, as well as sound systems, lighting, booths for simultaneous translation, TVs and recording equipment, stage equipment, sets and exhibition structures. 10 Contemporary Bulgarian Writers 11 A new Press Club was recently opened at NPC, which already ranks among AWARDS the most desirable venues for events and media events in Sofia. The Press Club is located in a spacious hall with 60 seats, and features modern technology and a 2010 Second place in the international contest for the “Apex” award given by the team of professionals with vast experience who provide the highest standard of International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) service. These are the main benefits of the Press Club, which make for successful conferences, seminars, trainings, business meetings, lectures and presentations. 2009 Silver award from New European Economy magazine for the best congress One additional new space in the building of the Palace is the „New Theatre centre – NPC,“ which features an auditorium with 160 seats. The new theater space in Sofia was opened on March 9, 2015, and offers the audience provocative 2008 “European award for quality” from the Europe Business Assembly (EBA) performances of various genres. Interesting chamber performances by state and municipal theaters, performances of private troupes, debuts of young artists 2005 “Apex” award for the “Best convention centre in the world” by AIPC are also regular features in the program. During intermissions, the audience can enjoy a glass of wine, while in the lobby guests can find a library filled with 2003 Second place in the international contest for the “Apex” award for the dramaturgy. Every Saturday and Sunday children can enjoy puppet shows. “Best convention centre in the world” by AIPC Annually, NPC is host to over 300 events such as international conventions, political forums, business conferences, scientific symposiums, music and film festivals, concerts, dance performances, theatre, exhibitions and fairs. There are INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES more than one million visitors per year. Prominent performers on NPC’s stages have included the Bolshoi Theatre, 2012 World Health Organization (WHO): World meeting of the regional Teatro alla Scala, S. M. Kirov Academic Leningrad Theater of Opera and Ballet, commission of WHO for