Writer Deyan Enev Wins Aleko International Short Story Competition 2026

Balgarianovinite.com Bulgarian writer Deyan Enev is this year’s winner of the Aleko International Short Story Competition, organized annually by the Municipality of Svishtov to mark the birthday of writer Aleko Konstantinov, Tanya Likova, Executive Director of the Aleko Konstantinov International Foundation, told BTA. The competition is part of the Aleko Days 2026 initiative, which will take place on 12–13 January in Svishtov.
Enev won for his story “The Black Panther”, selected by a jury chaired by Associate Professor Yordan Eftimov, with members including Mihail Veshim, editor-in-chief of Sturshel newspaper; Rumen Belchev, publisher; Tanya Likova; and Veselina Spasova, representatives of the Municipality of Svishtov and the Aleko Konstantinov International Foundation. The competition received dozens of entries from countries including Romania, Poland, Serbia, North Macedonia, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, Italy, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Brazil, Armenia, the Czech Republic, and Albania.
The results of the competition will be officially announced on January 13, 2026.
At the end of January, the organizers of the competition will announce a call for submissions for next year.
Deyan Enev was born on August 11, 1960 in Sofia. He has worked as a painter at the Film Center, a night orderly, a press operator at a military factory, and a teacher. He has also worked as a journalist for newspapers including Maritsa, Novinar, Express, Otechestven Front, Sega, and Monitor, publishing over 2,000 pieces, including interviews, reports, articles and essays. He has published fifteen books, including multiple short story collections. His works include Something to Read on the Night Train (1987), which won the Southern Spring Debut Book Award; Horse Gospel (1992); Manhunter (1994), awarded the Annual Fiction Prize by Hristo Botev Publishing House and later translated into Norwegian; The Rooster’s Slaughter (1997); Heads or Tails (2000), winner of the Hristo G. Ganov National Prize for Bulgarian Fiction and the Annual Literary Award of the Union of Bulgarian Writers; Lord, Have Mercy (2004), which won the Helikon Grand Prize for New Bulgarian Prose; Everyone on the Bow of the Boat (2005); A Town Called Mendocino (2009), which won the Milos Ziapkov National Literary Award and was nominated for the Helikon Prize; 7 Christmas Stories (2009); The Little Bulgarian from Alaska. Sofia Stories (2011); Hemingway’s Grandson (2013); and The Little Home Church. Contemporary Parables (2014).
Last year’s Aleko International Short Humorous Story Competition winner was Serbian writer Bojan Ljubenovic. Writer Deyan Enev Wins Aleko International Short Story Competition 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-05 19:16:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law