Balgarianovinite.com Students read excerpts from contemporary Bulgarian works at BTA’s national press clubs in Sofia, Shumen, Varna, Stara Zagora, Dobrich, and Pleven as part of the “Literature in the Present Time” initiative – the second phase of the “Literature is not a museum” campaign organized by the Faculty of Slavic Philology at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski to showcase Bulgarian literature of the 20th and 21st century. BTA is a co-organizer of the initiative.
The literary reading was broadcast live online on BTA’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
The event was opened by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev at the Agency’s National Press Club in Varna. “Letters connect us. They connect Bulgarians in different places and at different times, as we read the same books in new ways. They connect us not only to one another across distances and centuries, but also to ourselves, because the meaning of letters is to attain a higher level of knowledge other than that of mortal life,” Valchev said. He added that the event is an example of the most important meaning of written symbols, embedded in the first form of the Bulgarian alphabet, created by Saints Cyril and Methodius, whose memory we commemorate on May 11.
Darina Marinova, a librarian in the Children’s and Secondary School Department of the Pencho Slaveykov Regional Library, was a guest at the BTA National Press Club in Varna. “It is important to engage with texts that enrich us every day,” she said.
The initiative was launched in Sofia, at BTA MaxiM Hall, by Prof. Amelia Licheva, Dean of the Faculty of Slavic Philology at Sofia University. “The focus of this campaign is to show parents how important it is for their children to encounter contemporary authors,” she said.
Konstantin Pobornikov, Deputy Principal of Sofia’s St. Methodius High School for Foreign Languages, said during the opening event that there is a significant decline in reading among students. “We decided to offer students in grades 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 elective classes in which they could choose the literature they wanted to read. In addition to the canon – that is, the classics studied in required classes – we decided to offer students works and authors that explore the ideas from the canon, but through the lens of the 21st century in which they live,” Pobornikov added.
Prof. Despina Vasileva, a lecturer at the Faculty of Slavic Philology of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, said that the new generation of students is free from the stereotypes and prejudices held by previous generations and does not view foreign literature as a threat to Bulgaria’s national identity.
“What connects classical and contemporary Bulgarian literature, first and foremost, is reading,” said Dr. Veselina Beleva, curator at the Yordan Yovkov House-Museum, at the BTA National Press Club in Dobrich. She joined the initiative alongside students from the Rayko Tsonchev Private Specialized High School in the city. They presented excerpts from The Mercy of the Small Mirrors by Virginia Zaharieva and Explanation from a Pseudonym by Mikhail Veshim.
“The most successful formula is a dialogue between the present and tradition, the classics, and the past,” said Maria Mitovska, a Bulgarian language and literature teacher at the Aleko Konstantinov Vocational High School of Economics and Tourism in Pleven, who participated in the initiative. Students from the Aleko Konstantinov High School and the Panayot Pipkov National School of Arts read excerpts from works by Yoanna Elmi, Virginia Zaharieva, Georgi Gospodinov, Vladimir Zarev, Kristin Dimitrova, Rene Karabash, Nadezhda Radulova, and Mirela Ivanova.
“Literature has a place in our lives in the present, and as a means by which we communicate, work, write, and read,” said Mima Atanasova, expert from the Zahari Knyazheski Regional Library in Stara Zagora, and guest at the BTA National Press Club in the city. Students from the Romain Rolland Foreign Language High School presented works by contemporary Bulgarian authors, including Rain by Zdravka Evtimova, Poetry by Mirela Ivanova, and Adam’s Apple by Rene Karabash.
“Fewer young people are visiting the library these days, and we are looking for ways to encourage reading,” said Roza Encheva of the Dobri Voynikov-1856 Community Centre in Shumen, who was among the participants in the event held at the BTA National Press Club in the city. “The initiative provides an opportunity to hear texts by contemporary authors, read by today’s teachers and students, and to share their opinions on how they would like to see their literature curriculum, what they would like to teach or study,” said Prof. Temenuga Teneva of Shumen University Bishop Konstantin Preslavski. Students and teachers from the Nancho Popovich High School of Math and Science and the Sava Dobroplodni Secondary School read excerpts from works by Vladislav Hristov, Mikhail Veshim, Yordanka Beleva, Georgi Gospodinov, Ivan Landzhev, Kristin Dimitrova, and Zdravka Evtimova. Students Read Contemporary Bulgarian Works at BTA National Press Clubs in Sofia, Shumen, Varna, Stara Zagora, Dobrich, and Pleven 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-11 17:17:27 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