site.btaBulgaria Takes Spotlight at Bookfest in Bucharest

Bulgaria will be guest of honour at the Bookfest International Book Fair in Bucharest from June 3 to 7, organizers told BTA on Friday.

Fourteen Bulgarian writers, poets and children’s authors are due to attend. The public can meet them at Romexpo, the city’s largest exhibition centre, and at talks, presentations and readings in bookshops and other cultural venues across the Romanian capital.

Among the most anticipated guests is Georgi Gospodinov, widely regarded as one of Europe’s leading contemporary authors. Fans of the popular Bulgarian writer will be able to meet him at the fair and at other events.

As part of the programme, Gospodinov will join Romanian writer Mircea Cartarescu for a conversation moderated by journalist Mirela Nagat on the Agora stage at Romexpo on Wednesday, June 3, at 18:00 local and Bulgarian time.

The next day, June 4, at 19:00, the Humanitas bookshop near Cismigiu Park will host the launch of the latest Romanian translation of Gospodinov’s novel The Gardener and Death, translated by Mariana Mangiulea Jatop.

Joanna Elmy, regarded as one of the strongest and most promising voices in contemporary Bulgarian literature, will also attend the Bookfest International Book Fair in Bucharest. The writer, who splits her time between Sofia and the United States, will meet readers of her novel Made of Guilt, translated by Mariana Mangiulea Jatop, on the Agora stage at Romexpo on Saturday, June 6, at 12:00.

Elena Alexieva, one of the most striking and acclaimed figures in contemporary Bulgarian literature and internationally recognized for blending psychological fiction, drama and social analysis, will present her first Romanian translation at Bookfest. Her novel Volcano, regarded as one of the most important works in contemporary Bulgarian literature, was also translated by Mariana Mangiulea Jatop.

Another new name in Bulgarian literature to have recently reached the Romanian book market is Kostadin Kostadinov, with his novel The Butterfly Hunter, translated by Mariana Mangiulea Jatop. In nuanced prose, Kostadinov explores human psychology, turning marginal lives and rural Balkan settings into powerful stories of survival and identity.

Petya Kokudeva, one of the best-loved and most acclaimed voices in contemporary Bulgarian children’s literature, as well as a journalist and avid traveller, will present the first book in her Lupo and Tumba series, translated by Lora Nenkovska. Kokudeva will attend the Bookfest International Book Fair in Bucharest on June 5 for a meeting with young readers and a professional discussion with writers from the Prikazka Association.

Four leading voices in contemporary Bulgarian poetry will also visit the Romanian capital, each bringing a distinctive cultural profile to Bookfest 2026: Nadezhda Radulova, a refined voice in women’s lyric poetry, translator and editor known for her subtle explorations of the body, intimacy and personal mythologies; Georgi Gavrilov, one of the most dynamic and acclaimed poets of the new wave, whose visceral, intellectual work captures the tensions of everyday urban life; Yordan Eftimov, a literary critic, academic and experimental poet and a central figure in Bulgarian postmodernism, known for his subtle irony and conceptual rigour; and Ivan Hristov, a poet and ethnomusicologist whose work blends Balkan archetypes with textual modernity. Visitors will be able to meet them at Bookfest and at events in the city on Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6.

Bulgaria’s participation as guest of honour at the Bookfest International Book Fair in Bucharest will include events dedicated to literature, as well as presentations on the contemporary Bulgarian literary scene, analyses of the book market and discussions on publishing industry trends.

The Bulgarian stand is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria and organised by the Bulgarian Book Association (BBA). Visitors will find a wide selection of books in Bulgarian, as well as Romanian editions of well-known Bulgarian titles.

Project partners are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria, the National Palace of Culture – Congress Centre Sofia, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), the BBA, Sofia Literary Agency and Reading Sofia Foundation.