BTA Anniversary Book "Chronicles Bulgaria's, World's 20th Century", English Version Writer Says

Lyubomir Gigov, Vanya Suharova

Lyubomir Gigov, who produced the English version of "125 Years Bulgarian News Agency. The Real News. Stories on File: 1989–2023", speaks at a press-launch of the book at the BTA National Press Club, Sofia, October 15, 2025 (BTA Photo/Milena Stoykova)

Sofia,

15.10.2025 21:46

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At the press-launch here on Wednesday of a book in English titled 125 Years Bulgarian News Agency. The Real News. Stories on File: 1989–2023, Lyubomir Gigov, who produced the English version of the publication, shared his observations about the text and his nearly year-long work on this project.

"I would venture to describe this book as a chronicle – or rather an almanac – of Bulgaria and the world during the 20th century and the first two decades of the 21st," Gigov said, addressing the event at the National Press Club of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

"It is an accepted notion that news is perishable goods. That is even truer today, in the age of frantic scrolling and the ruthless scramble for the eight seconds' attention of a digital user. As the English saying goes, there's nothing older than yesterday's newspaper. But don't think we're trying to foist on you a bundle of old newspapers – or, more precisely, old news bulletins," the translator pointed out.

He argued that "the book contains all the ingredients of good fiction and non-fiction: there is Intrigue and Love, War and Peace, Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Game of Thrones, Traitors, Friends, and plenty of 'blood, sweat and tears'." "Unlike such works, however, this one tells about real events from an eyewitness's point of view."

In his words, this book is both the same and not the same as its Bulgarian predecessor. "It is the same because they both give a quintessence of the work of generations of BTA staffers and bear witness to what the agency has done over its first century and a quarter. It is different because it is intended for another readership. The volume of text been substantially reduced, and notes and explanations have been added to help non-specialist foreign readers," the translator explained.

"I took up on and carried out the task as a labour of love," he pointed out. "It felt also natural that none other than I should handle this book – after all, for nearly one third of BTA's 125 years I have not only witnessed but have also shared in covering many of these events as part of the agency's team," Gigov said.

He added that he approaches these texts – whether 120 or five years old – as archaeological finds. "As in archaeology, the golden rule is to handle the material with utmost care, show deep respect for those who created it, and draw a clear line between the original and the restorer's gentle interventions – solely to ensure it can be better appreciated by contemporary readers".

"I assume that, like the three Bulgarian-language books published to mark the agency's anniversary, the English one, too, will be available online. Yet, as our good colleague and friend Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov [Editor-in-Chief of BTA's LIK magazine] observed, the printed book offers 'an erotic experience of reading – a different kind of joy that electronic reading cannot replace'," the translator said.

He thanked all his co-workers who helped this book to happen, singling up for special appreciation Panayot Denev, BTA’s Director General from 1997 to 2002, whose 80th birthday was celebrated at the press launch. "Thanks to his long-standing experience in this field, he was the most suitable and best-prepared person to adapt the text for foreign readers, which greatly facilitated my work," the translator said.

"At the same time, I take full personal responsibility for any inevitable and unintentional errors or imperfections that, I hope, will go unnoticed," Gigov concluded his remarks.

Nikolay Zabov, who edited the English version, said he was very excited to plunge into history to find out what happened over the last 125 years and to realize that "once we get familiar with this history, we can feel the time in which we live at present”. He described this as "scary but also delightful". The news stories of the past convinced the editor yet again that those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. "It was a real pleasure working on this book: long and time-consuming as it was, it proved to be nearly perfect. There was little I could do to make it even better," Zabov said.

/DS/

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16.10.2025 07:47 World