Bulgarian author wins Balkanika literary award

TIRANA, Dec. 8 – Bulgarian author Zdravka Evtimova has been announced the winner of Balkanika literary award which this year was held in Albania, beating six other authors from the Balkans. She was handed the prestigious literary award by an international jury for her “Stories from Pernik” book of short stories treating post-communism in the Balkans.
“With a powerful prose, typical of Chekhov, Evtimova brings grotesque and charming views of post-communist Balkans. Her unique and rare voice and narrative perspective make her fully deserve the Balkanika award,” said Andrew Wachtel, the chair of the jury at the prize award ceremony held in Tirana.
Zdravka Evtimova’s short stories have been published in 32 countries, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, China, France and Germany. She is also known as a literary translator from English, French and German.
Albania was represented in the event with Ylljet Ali謡, a writer, scriptwriter and former Albanian ambassador to France, who participated in the award with the “Valsi i Lumturise” (The Waltz of Happiness). The novel treats the story of the Popa family which in 1985 sought asylum at the Italian embassy in Tirana where it was housed for five years until managing to leave Albania in 1990 just before the collapse of the communist regime.
The Balkan literary award, held from Dec. 5 to 7 brought to Albania six authors from Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.