Masters of the Short Story

If a novel is a wedding, a short story is a toast: brief, precise and memorable. Bulgarian writers mastered it early and have never let go of it.

Lyuben Karavelov (1834–1879)

Karavelov was a revolutionary, a journalist and one of the first true prose writers. His novella “Bulgarians of Old Times” („Българи от старо време“) (1867) paints two wealthy notables of Koprivshtitsa – Grandfather Liben and Hadji Gencho – with so much affection and irony that we still recognise them in our neighbours today.

Elin Pelin (1877–1949)

Elin Pelin's real name was Dimitar Stoyanov. He is the singer of the village of the Shopi region – with its poverty, humour and plenty of wisdom. Well-known stories include “Andreshko” („Андрешко“), “The Windmill” („Ветрената мелница“), “All Souls' Day” („Задушница“) and “The Mowers” („Косачи“). He also wrote the novellas “The Geraks” („Гераците“) and “Land” („Земя“), the cycle “Under the Monastery Vine” („Под манастирската лоза“) and the children's book “Yan Bibiyan” („Ян Бибиян“). Since 2020 his work has been in the public domain.

Yordan Yovkov (1880–1937)

Yovkov is the master of the quiet, luminous story. In “Legends of the Old Balkan Range” („Старопланински легенди“) outlaws and beauties come to life, and in “Evenings at Antimovo Inn” („Вечери в Антимовския хан“) wanderers gather around a tavern. The stories “Albena” („Албена“), “Shibil” („Шибил“) and “Serafim” („Серафим“) are studied at school, but they are only truly understood later in life. He also wrote the novel “The Farm by the Border” („Чифликът край границата“).

Svetoslav Minkov (1902–1966)

The Bulgarian master of the grotesque and of fantasy. His stories about machines, advertising and the big city sound suspiciously modern. The collection “The Lady with X-ray Eyes” („Дамата с рентгеновите очи“) is a good place to start.

Yordan Radichkov (1929–2004)

Radichkov turns the north-western village into a cosmos in which crows, sparrows and people argue about the meaning of life. Collections such as “Ferocious Mood” („Свирепо настроение“) and “We, the Sparrows” („Ние, врабчетата“) are read with a smile and a slight feeling of dizziness.