Interview with Academician Vladimir Zarev, Jury Chair, ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ 2025 National Literary Prize for Bulgarian Novel of the Year
The Bulgarian writer Academician Vladimir Zarev is the editor-in-chief of Savremennik magazine, published with the long-standing sponsorship of NEF ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’. A recipient of the Order of Stara Planina 1st class for his ‘exceptionally great merit in the fields of culture and art’, he was elected Chair of the Jury for the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ 2025 National Literary Prize for Bulgarian Novel of the Year.
Academician Zarev answered questions specifically for Untold Stories:
- As Chair of the Jury for the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ 2025 National Literary Prize for Bulgarian Novel of the Year, would you please share your impressions of its work?
This year’s jury for the ‘13 Centuries of Bulgaria’ 2025 National Literary Prize for Bulgarian Novel of the Year, composed of Prof. Valeri Stefanov, DPhil; Assoc. Prof. Ani Burova, DPhil; Assoc. Prof. Maurice Fadel, DSc, writer Zdravka Evtimova; and myself, had a difficult task: its members had to read and assess thirty-three novels submitted to this spiritual competition. I think the jury coped excellently with this challenge.
- What is your opinion: is the Bulgarian novel changing?
Years ago, I was once involved in this responsible activity, and we found ourselves in an incredibly difficult position back then because of the huge amount of hypergraphic literature that was flooding us. This time, we were again hard-pressed, but for exactly the opposite reason. We had to pick out six novels, while the deserving, the veritably beautiful texts were many more. So, the discussions we had and hesitation that we experienced were truly enjoyable.
- What do you think about the young generation of authors? Will there be writers whom we will remember and who will be translated?
A large number of these thirty-three novels were written by young, unknown authors who surprised us with their mature, memorable and wonderful works. I should mention that two of the nominated young writers competed with their first attempts at the genre. So, I am confident for the future of our national literature.
- Does world literature in any way influence the work of Bulgarian authors?
In Bulgaria, now, there is an enormous amount of foreign literature being translated and it is easy for Bulgarian writers to follow the most interesting worldwide trends. It is worth mentioning that, perhaps precisely because of the incredible amount of translated prose that overflows the shelves in our bookshops that, today, the brightest literary phenomena that we remember from the seventies and eighties seem to be missing. Back then, it was not only significant, but truly great literary works by American and Latin American writers that constantly appeared.
Questions posed by Theodora Bankovska
20 May 2025
Translated by Nigrita Davies