“We had stopped here and there along the way—at important spots, where he had seen a deer for the first time or where he’d had his first kiss. So I didn’t get to see the landscape while it was still light, and now only saw it as elongated shadows that the hills were casting over […]
“The woman walked across the terrace, sat at the table in the dining room, put the bird in her lap, and waited. There was probably something smarter one was supposed to do in such cases, but she didn’t know what it was. She’d heard that when a horse broke its leg, it always got shot. […]
The latest issue of Words Without Borders is devoted to contemporary Bulgarian writing, brought to you by director of the Bulgarian National Book Center Svetlozar Zhelev and translator extraordinaire Angela Rodel. They kick off the issue with a baseball-cap worthy-title essay “Making Bulgaria Great Again” where the case is made for culture being worth saving […]
The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation (EKF) is holding the 10th annual Sozopol Seminars, with this year’s edition being the first creative nonfiction edition. The program will take place from June 8-12 in the Black Sea town of Sozopol, Bulgaria with a follow-up in Sofia for the events of CapitaLiterature. A truly impressive lineup of lecturers, guests […]
The 2015 London Book Fair is underway and there is a lot to report in the world of Central and Eastern writing. Bulgarian writer Alex Popov has launched his newest novel Black Box, translated from the Bulgarian by Daniella and Charles Edward Gill de Mayol de Lupe and published by Peter Owen Publishers. He is […]
There are only a few days left to apply for this year’s Sozopol Fiction Seminars that will take place on the Black Sea coastal town of Sozopol from June 18-22. The application deadline is March 20. The Elizabeth Kostova Foundation’s program offers full scholarships for 10 writers to come to Bulgaria – five English-speaking, five […]
Mission London in New York doesn’t sound like the US launch of a Bulgarian novel but that’s exactly what it is, as writer Alek Popov comes to the Bulgarian Consulate in NYC for the official launch of his novel, first published in the UK by Istros Books. The event will be hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning […]
The winners of the European Union Prize for Literature were announced today at the Frankfurt Book Fair meant to recognize “the best new and emerging authors in Europe.” Of the writers from Central and Eastern (really, Southern) Europe it’s a mix between those I’ve heard of and haven’t and those who’ve had something translated into […]
“The effort of saying more than two sentences seemed to exhaust him. I was tempted to conclude he was one of those people who don’t have the vocabulary to talk about their emotions, the kind of person who doesn’t know how to express, let alone discuss his feelings with a stranger.” From an excerpt from […]
The Sozopol Fiction Seminars take place in Sozopol, Bulgaria from May 29-June 3 with a lineup of Bulgarian and English-language writers and editors in attendance, including yours truly. The seminars are supported by the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation and Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian and The Swan Thieves, is one of the aforementioned writers leading […]
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