Burgas writer with novel in prestigious campaign of Brussels libraries

Every summer, five reading clubs in Brussels compile a list of 19 books for adults and 19 for children, which they recommend to readers for the summer months. This year, the prestigious list includes the novel "Brussels, Naked" by the Bulgarian writer Irina Papancheva. The book was published in English (Brussels, Naked) in 2022 by the publishing house "Signs".

Papancheva is excited and happy that her novel has been included in the list, as it usually features only Flemish or French titles. Since there is no English publisher, she has personally selected the team of professionals to realize the English edition - editors Phil Madden and Rachel Robson, operator and director Hristo Dimitrov - Hindo, and artist Nevena Angelova.

Irina Papancheva also thanks the "meta-readers" - Zlatina Ruseva, Ali Bader and Louis Kimper, as well as the literary guide Jan Dorpmans and the translator Atanas Popov, who have helped to improve the book.

In 2023, the novel "Time Shelter" by Georgi Gospodinov was also included in the list of "1 city, 19 books". Other familiar authors and titles in this year's list are "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding and "Dream Count" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Papancheva learned about the inclusion of "Brussels, Naked" from Aaron Willem, coordinator of the Bulgarian section at the Schaerbeek library. She shares that the list was long and Willem did not have the opportunity to participate in the discussion.

Recently, Irina Papancheva, who lives in Brussels but spends the summer in Burgas, participated in the Second Black Sea Festival "The Sea Speaks the Language of Freedom", where she took part in a session on the topic of Literature and Politics.