Prof. Julia Kristeva has won this year's Dobri Chintulov prize for literature and art, Sliven municipality said. Burgas Free University put her name forward. The prize drew five nominations in all.
The municipality created the award for high artistic achievement and a major contribution to the spiritual development of Sliven and to Bulgarian culture.
Kristeva was born in Sliven. She studied French philology at Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski" and has lived and worked in France since 1966. She teaches at Paris Diderot University, is a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York and has a private practice as a psychoanalyst.
In 2023, Sliven named her an Honorary Citizen. In September 2026, French president Emmanuel Macron presented her with the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit.
The prize will be presented at a ceremony on 23 October at 6pm in the Sliven hall.