Burgas publisher Znaci marks its 20th anniversary with an evening called "The Books That Bring Us Together" on Wednesday, 28 October, at 6pm in the Puppet Theatre, publisher Rumyana Emanuilidu told Bulgarian National Radio. The "Signs from Znaci" programme runs through all of 2026, with meetings with authors and translators and new editions. The evening is its high point.
The night mixes books, film and music, and brings together generations of readers. Theatre and cinema have a special place. Guests will see an excerpt from the film "The Sisyphuses", based on Emanuilidu's book "Theatre AB". The film by Vladimir Lyutskanov and Antoneta Bachurova is one of the strongest this year, she says. It has been shown at the Era of Aquarius and Apollonia festivals. The two filmmakers have also made a separate 12-minute piece based on the book for the guests.
According to Emanuilidu, "Theatre AB" is the basis of a fifth film. A film by Georgi Dyulgerov, also based on "Theatre AB", is expected. As a schoolboy in the mid-20th century, Dyulgerov played in the crowd scenes of Yuliya Ognyanova's staging of "King Piff-Paff". The publisher says he and Rusi Chanev were among the keenest theatre fans then. "What is interesting to me personally about this film is that Leon Daniel's grandson will play Leon Daniel himself," Emanuilidu said.
Two more books will be presented: "The Fairy-Tale People", in which Emanuilidu tells the story of the Burgas Puppet Theatre, and "The Bequeathed" by Yuliya Ognyanova. Ognyanova is a leading figure in modern Bulgarian theatre and the driving force behind Theatre AB.
The series "Famous Authors Write for Children" also officially begins. So far it has published "Seahorse" by Hristo Fotev, written in 1986 and found in the State Archive in Burgas. The first copies of "The Stolen Child" have also arrived for the anniversary. It is a new book by Irish poet and Nobel laureate William Butler Yeats. The poem first appeared in 1886. In 2025 the Irish publisher O'Brien Press issued it as an illustrated children's book. The Bulgarian edition is the first in the country, translated by Zhivka Ivanova, with writer and translator Christopher Buxton as consultant. The illustrations are by Erin Brown, hand-drawn and coloured digitally.
Next in the series is "The Sorcerer's Tears" by Pulitzer Prize winners Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin, for the Christmas holidays. It is the first Bulgarian edition and is dedicated to the Burgas Puppet Theatre.
The new themed issue of the magazine Izgrev, which Znaci publishes, is about literary life in Burgas. It includes photos from book fairs and festivals from 2011 to 2026. Emanuilidu says some of the people in them have since died. "In the photos we print in the magazine, we wanted to show the landmark authors who visited, but also the faces of people who read," she said.
The evening will also announce the "Literary Detective" initiative, which already involves pupils from the Lyuben Karavelov school. Ana Boyanova and Emil Kalev will perform music from their project "Nostalgia for the Sea".
Emanuilidu will thank the translators of the "Revived Classics" series. The Bulgarian Book Association has nominated the publisher for a Golden Lion for the series. She says the translation, illustrations and printing make the books works of art. Another special gesture to translators is the "The Translator's Love" initiative, which the publisher runs together with the Far chitalishte (community cultural centre).
The Facebook group of the same name, "The Books That Bring Us Together", has about 60,000 members.
The celebration is backed by Burgas Municipality, the State Puppet Theatre, the State Archive, the P. Yavorov Regional Library, VIP Media Film, the chitalishte community centres Far-1946, Saints Cyril and Methodius-1985, Asen Zlatarov-1940 and Lyuben Karavelov-1940, the Lyuben Karavelov primary school and media partners including Bulgarian National Radio. All the events support Burgas's bid to be European Capital of Culture in 2032.
The publisher is preparing for the International Christmas Fair at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia.
The "Unknown Streets" competition, which Znaci runs every year with singer Maria Mutafchieva, will have its final before the end of the year.