Participation of the British Council-Bulgaria in Night of Literature 2023
It is our pleasure to share that ones again this year the British Council is part of Night of Literature 2023.
Together with Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova, we will be happy for you to visit our “readers' nest” at the “Academy” Gallery at 1 Shipka Street in Sofia where we`ll present an excerpt from the novel "The Parisian" - debut of Isabella Hamad, which is published in Bulgarian by "Krug" publishing house. The book is published in the translation of the late Stefan Avramov (1978–2021), the cover is by Lyuba Haleva.
Save the date 27 September 2023 (Wednesday), 6:00pm to 9:15pm, with a selected excerpt read every half hour.
Details on the overall event please follow here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/829734725174207
https://www.linkedin.com/company/literature-night-bg
https://www.linkedin.com/events/20237104441333779488768/
https://noshtnaliteraturata.com/
As presented by The Guardian “Isabella Hammad’s remarkably accomplished debut novel very quickly snares the reader’s attention. Ranging from Nablus in the dying days of the Ottoman empire via Istanbul and Cairo to Montpellier and Paris, and always connecting the personal with the political, the journey of our hero Midhat Kamal – who as the book opens in 1914 is sailing to pursue his studies in medicine in France – makes for compelling reading”.
Isabella Hammad is a British-Palestinian author. In 2023, she was included on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40. In 2019, Hammad was a National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" honoree. The same year, The New York Times named The Parisian one of the Notable Books of the year, and The Guardian included Hammad on their list of the year's "writers of exceptional first novels".
In 2020, she received a Lannan Foundation Literary Fellowship,[8] and in 2023, she was included on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.
Our chosen reader this year, Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova, is the executive director of the Bulgarian Association for Family Planning and Sexual Health https://bfpa.bg/en/ - a non-governmental organization working for 30 years in the field of health information, youth education and advocacy for vulnerable groups. Dr. Stamenkova is an expert and trainer on topics related to healthcare and civil society development. Creates interdisciplinary strategic partnerships, being one of the few Europeans who are part of the global Synergos Senior Fellows network. Winner of a number of socially significant awards, Dr. Stamenkova participates in public formats such as ТEDx, Fuckup nights and One Night Stand. Has successfully managed over 75 macro projects in Bulgaria and the region. She works directly with young people, Roma, teachers, health professionals, refugees, people living with HIV and many other.
Stefan Avramov (1978 – 2021) is a Bulgarian translator, popular for his work on books by Isabella Hamad, Donna Tartt, Marlon James, Michael Shebon and others. His career began at the Soros Center for Contemporary Arts and passed through the Red House Center for Culture and Debates. Avramov was nominated for the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation's Krustan Dyankov Award for Literary Translation from English to Bulgarian in 2019 for his work on Michael Chabon`S “Moonglow”. In 2021, he posthumously won the "Krustan Dyankov" award for his translation of the novel "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" by Marlon James. In 2022, his translation of the novel "The Parisian" by Isabella Hamad was shortlisted for "Krustan Dyankov".