Today, the great writer and winner of the international “Booker” prize, Georgi Gospodinov, celebrates his birthday. His novel “Time Shelter”, which reached the English-speaking world with the help of Angela Rodel, was ranked among the six best books in the world. The most translated and distinguished author in our country created the biggest literary event for 2024 with “The Gardener and Death”, which won the statuette “The Eaglets of Helicon”.
See details from the writer's biography:
Georgi Gospodinov was born in Yambol on January 7, 1968. He graduated from Bulgarian Philology at Sofia University, became a doctor in New Bulgarian Literature at the Institute of Literature at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with a dissertation on “Poetry and Media: Cinema, Radio and Advertising in Vaptsarov and the Poets of the 1940s” (published by „Prosveta“, 2005).
He has worked as a literary critic at the Institute of Literature at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences since 1995. From 1998 to 2000 he was a part-time lecturer at the New Bulgarian University in essay writing (1998), and later in contemporary Bulgarian literature (1999 – 2000).
He is an editor at „Literary Newspaper“, a weekly columnist for the newspaper „Dnevnik“ and editor for Bulgaria of the literary magazine „Orient Express“ published in Oxford.
He has a daughter with his wife, literary critic Bilyana Kurtasheva.
Even for his first poetry collection, „Lapidarium“ (1992), Georgi Gospodinov was awarded the National Debut Award “Southern Spring“ (1993). The collection of poems was translated into Czech in 2009.
Following are “The Cherry of a Nation“ (Book of the Year Award of the Bulgarian Writers' Association, 1996), which went through three editions (1996, 1998, 2003) and, in 2003, “Letters to Gaustin“.
In “Ballads and Decays“ (2007) includes the previous three poetry collections plus new poems in the cycle “Sundays of the World“.
A volume of selected poetry by Georgi Gospodinov was published in German under the title “Kleines morgendliches Verbrechen“ (Droschl, 2010) translated by Alexander Zitzmann, Valeria Jäger and Uwe Kolbe. The book received rave reviews in the largest German newspapers NZZ, FAZ, Die Welt, SZ, etc.
His poems have been included in a number of international anthologies, including “New European Poets“ (Graywolf Press, USA, 2008). Translations of his poems in various languages, including Arabic, can be read on the German poetry website lyrikline.org.
„Natural Novel“, the first novel by Georgi Gospodinov, received the Special Prize of the „Development“ competition (for a novel manuscript), and was published in ten editions in Bulgarian – 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014. Critics define it as „the first novel by birth and by fame of the generation of the 90s“ (magazine „Egoist“).
„Natural Novel“ is the most translated Bulgarian book since 1989. It has been published in 21 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and others. Published in Serbia ("Geopoetica", 2001), France ("Febus", 2002), North Macedonia ("Templum", 2003), USA ("Dalkey Archive Press", 2005), Czech Republic ("Lidove Noviny", 2005), Croatia („Profil“, 2005), in Slovenia („Beletrina“, 2005), Denmark („Husets Forlag“, 2006), Italy („Voland“, 2007), Austria („Droschl“, 2007), Latvia (Jāņa Rozes apgadas, 2008), Poland (Fundacja Pogranicze, 2009), Spain („Saymon“, 2009), Lithuania (Baltos lankos, 2010), Turkey (Apollon, 2010), Norway (Bokvennen Forlag AS 2011), Russia (Иностранная литература, 2011), Albania, Romania, Ukraine, Iceland...
Le Nouvel Observateur defines the novel as “original and amusing“. Le Courrier (Geneva) called it a "story machine", and Livres Hebdo called the book "at once funny and erudite, vulgar and refined, but brilliant in every way and innovative in form".
The New Yorker (in a short review) wrote of the novel: it is an "anarchic, experimental debut", adding that a novel that takes risks like those in "Natural Novel" sometimes "falls flat", but according to the New Yorker the book's hits outweigh the misses, and in the end it manages to be charming.
The Times described the novel as "a meditation on smoking, defecation and botany", adding that it is "humorous, melancholic and highly idiosyncratic". According to the Guardian newspaper, the novel is “both earthy and intellectual“. In a major review of the German edition of the novel, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper defines Georgi Gospodinov as a “humorist of despair“ (Humorist der Verzweiflung)[, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper defines the novel as a “small exquisite masterpiece“). All German reviews – on the website of the publisher “Droschl“. It is extremely rare for a Bulgarian novel to be reviewed in leading world media. A large part of the foreign reviews can be found in the American online publication Complete Review.
Gospodinov's collection of short stories “And Other Stories“ was published in 2000. It was published in English, French, German, Italian, Czech, Polish, Macedonian. The English-language edition “And Other Stories“ was nominated for the long list of one of the most prestigious international awards in the genre – “Frank O'Connor“.
In 2003, “And Other Stories“ was published in French by the Parisian publishing house “Arlea“ under the title “L’Alphabet des Femmes“. In 2004 it appeared in the Czech Republic („Gaustin neboli Člověk s mnohi jmény“, „Lidove Noviny“) and Austria („Gaustín oder Der Mensch mit den vielen Namen“, „Wieser Verlag“). In 2007 the collection was published in English in the USA by Northwestern University Press.
On the occasion of the book's release in French, Le Nouvel Observateur wrote about Gospodinov: „A sharp pen and a delicate emanation, these are the triumphs of the 35-year-old Bulgarian author“.
A short story by Georgi Gospodinov was included in the American anthology „Best European Fiction 2010“ (Dalkey Archive Press, ed. Alexander Hemon).
Georgi Gospodinov's second novel „Physics of Sadness“ (Zhanet-45, 2011) topped the best-selling book charts in Bulgaria upon its release. “Georgi Gospodinov writes a world novel that is also Bulgarian“, writes literary critic Mitko Novkov. “He is everyone and in each of his “heroes“, looking intently at the century and history through their eyes...“ (Georgi Kapriev, “Culture“ newspaper)
In 2013, the novel won the “Bulgarian Novel of the Year“ award from the National Endowment Fund “13 Centuries Bulgaria“, and in 2014 it was nominated for four international awards – “Gregor von Rezzori“, awarded by the Municipality of Florence, “Strega Europeo“, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt Prize (Berlin) and the Bruecke Berlin Prize (LCB).
In 2016, Angela Rodel, who translated the novel into English, was shortlisted for the PEN Translation Prize, although the prize was ultimately won by Katrina Dodson, translator of “Collected Stories“ by Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. Angela Rodel's translation was also shortlisted for the 2016 Best Translated Book Award[38], although the prize was ultimately won by the novel “Signs Preceding the End of the World“ by Mexican writer Yuri Herrera.
In September 2016, Angela Rodel's translation was also shortlisted for the National Translation Awards (NTA) of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), but the award ultimately went to Elizabeth Harris, who translated the Italian writer Antonio Tabucci's novel "Tristano Dies" into English. Another recognition came from the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL), which nominated the English translation of "The Physics of Sadness" for the best translation published in 2014 and 2015, but ultimately awarded the prize to Katja Straumanis for her translation of the novel by Latvian writer Inga Abele “High Tide“.
At the end of November 2016, Georgi Gospodinov was announced as the winner of the “Jan Michalski Prize for Literature“, awarded by the Swiss “Jan Michalski“ Foundation and expressed in the amount of 50 thousand Swiss francs (about 46,566 euros) and a work by the Bernese artist Markus Retz. Gospodinov was nominated by an international jury including writers such as Robert Menasse, Sees Noteboom and Ilma Rakusa.
“Time Shelter“ is a novel by Georgi Gospodinov, published by the publishing house “Jeanette 45“ in 2020. The novel “Time Refuge“ wins the “Booker“ prize in 2023.
Gospodinov is the author of the play “D.J.“ (abbreviation of Don Juan), which won the annual “Icarus“ award for best Bulgarian dramaturgical text in 2004. It was staged at the Satirical Theater, Sofia, by Desislava Shpatova. It was published in Russian in a collection of contemporary Bulgarian dramaturgy.
His second play “The Apocalypse Comes at 6 PM“ (with „Askeer“ for dramaturgy, 2010) was performed at the MGT „Zad Kanala“, directed by Margarita Mladenova. At the end of March 2011, the play was selected among 300 plays from all over the world and presented in Manhattan, New York, at the hotINK at the LARK festival.
Together with Boyko Penchev, Plamen Doinov and Yordan Eftimov Gospodinov is the co-author of two literary mystifications, which were published as separate books: „Bulgarian Chrysostomatia“ (1995) and „Bulgarian Anthology“ (1998).
Together with Yana Genova he is the compiler of the collection „I Lived Socialism. 171 Personal Stories“ (2006) and the author of „Inventory Book of Socialism“ (2006).
He is the author of the study “Poetry and Media. Cinema, Radio and Advertising in Vaptsarov and the Poets of the 1940s“ (2005).
He is the author of the graphic novel or art comic “The Eternal Fly“ (2010, together with Nikola Toromanov).
He writes scripts for short films, the last of which “Omelet“ (dir. N. Koseva) was awarded at the most prestigious independent film festival Sundance 2009, founded by Robert Redford.
In 2008/2009 he was a guest writer in Berlin with a DAAD scholarship, Berliner Künstlerprogramm.
He participated in literary readings in Paris, London, Coimbra, Vienna, Prague, Istanbul, Berlin and elsewhere.
At the opening of the Arts Festival “Apolonia 2005“ in Sozopol, the “Apolonia“ Foundation awarded Georgi Gospodinov the annual “Apollon Toxophoros“ award. for outstanding contribution to the development of Bulgarian culture and its presentation abroad.
In 2012, the Yambol Municipal Council awarded him the title of Honorary Citizen of Yambol for his “significant contribution to the cultural and spiritual life of the municipality, as well as the development of contemporary Bulgarian literature“.
In May 2016, he was awarded the Order of “St. Cyril and Methodius“ - first degree.
Gospodinov is the first Bulgarian to win the “Booker“ literary prize for his novel “Time Refuge“, translated into English by Angela Rodel.
The Sofia Municipal Council awarded him the title of “Honorary Citizen of Sofia“ in June 2023.