November 16, 2023 is the official 110th anniversary of the founding of the oldest writers' organization in Europe - the Union of Bulgarian Writers. The celebration will take place in the Central Military Club in Sofia, under the auspices of head of state Rumen Radev.

• The Union of Bulgarian Writers marks 110th anniversary

Along with defending the rights of Bulgarian artists, the Union of Bulgarian Writers continues its active international activity. For example, it has done a lot for promoting peace through literature - something that remains relevant to this day.

"The writers' meetings in Bulgaria in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s made the greatest contribution,” Boyan Angelov, chairman of the union says. “About 800 foreign writers participated in them, including a number of Nobel laureates. Writers from the USA, Western Europe, Russia, India, Japan, and China have visited us. We try to maintain the tradition of international writers' meetings but now with much more modest financial capabilities."

In 2018, an agreement was signed between the Union of Bulgarian Writers and the writers' unions of Serbia, Romania, Slovakia and Croatia. "Bulgarian Writer" Publishing House published an anthology with works by authors from Germany, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine, based on the idea that the Danube River is the natural link between Western, Central and Eastern Europe. As a result of cooperation with Serbia, Serbian writers visited Sofia last year and an agreement was signed for publishing a bilingual anthology with works by 20 Bulgarian and 20 Serbian poets. The publication of 5 books by Bulgarian authors in Serbia and 5 books by Serbian authors in Bulgaria is also being considered.

"When we join forces, the language of literature becomes the international language of friendship,” Boyan Angelov says. “The war is now a big obstacle between Russia and Ukraine. We have friendly relations with many Ukrainian writers. With the help of Ukrainian writer and translator Viktor Melnyk, books by 9 Bulgarian writers have been published in Ukraine. In 2022, more than 100 Ukrainian citizens who fled the war were accommodated for six months at the union’s recreation base in the Black Sea resort of Golden Sands. That is how we have provided direct support to many suffering women and children. This is the duty of every person - to help people in need."

During the summer, a group of Swedish-Albanian writers visited Sofia. The Union of Bulgarian Writers signed an agreement with them on the participation of Bulgarian writers in an international meeting in April 2024 and the preparation of a multilingual anthology in Swedish, Bulgarian and Albanian. For several months, there has been close cooperation with the Bulgarian Cultural Center in Limassol, Cyprus. Its creator, Dobrin Dobrev-Phiniotis, has organised a large-scale educational and literary activity there, attracting students from Bulgarian schools and Bulgarian compatriots living in Cyprus, Boyan Angelov points out.

The Union of Bulgarian Writes has active contacts with many countries, Mr. Angelov says and adds:

"As a result of our good relations with the embassy of Azerbaijan, we were able to publish for the first time an anthology of contemporary Azerbaijani poetry in Bulgaria. We also maintain contacts with the Union of Russian Writers because people can always find common language in the sphere of culture."

Bulgarian literature also reaches South America, thanks to the union.

"Bulgarian writer Ilko Minev lives and works in Brazil,” Boyan Angelov says. “He writes in Portuguese and his novels have been in the top 10 chart of the most read books in Brazil in recent years. He is also a member of the Union of Bulgarian Writers and a donor. Thanks to his donations, we have managed to present the Valery Petrov National Literary Award for four years now and support our poets and writers who are in need. The organization ‘Bulgarians in Argentina’ was established in Argentina. With the assistance of the union and after a cooperation agreement was concluded between the two institutions in 2020, the Electronic Platform for Bulgarian authors in the Spanish-speaking world was created. In it one can find works, biographical data, interviews, reports. As a result of this agreement, a section for Bulgarian literature was created in the Library of the National Congress in Buenos Aires."

The union cooperates actively with several cultural organizations of Bulgarian writers in the USA and Canada and is a regular member of the European Writers' Council.

"We regularly take part in the jury determining the European Prize for Literature,” Boyan Angelov continues. “We also participate with our representatives in international conferences on the directive linked to Public Lending Right. Unfortunately, nothing is being done in Bulgaria to protect the copyright of the people whose books are in the libraries. Actually, this is something we should have done back in 2007. We wrote letters and went to symposiums but by the time we reach a minister, they are already replaced. I still hope for success because the introduction of this directive affects the fair remuneration for the labor of Bulgarian writers."

The union also works on the Asian continent, maintaining partnership relations with China. An agreement has also been reached with Pakistan for joint activities with the Pakistani Academy of Letters.

“We have full confidence to communicate with every single country in the world,” Boyan Angelov says in cnclusion.

English version: Alexander Markov

Photos: library, BGNES, Union of Bulgarian Writers