Dimitrova, Kristin
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Biography
The Bulgarian author Kristin Dimitrova, born in 1963 in Sofia, has won five national awards for poetry, three for fiction and one for poetry translation, among others. She graduated in English and American studies from Sofia University, where she now works in the Department of Foreign Languages. Translations of her poems and short stories have been published in anthologies and literary journals in 23 countries. She has been an editor of Art Trud, the weekly supplement for arts and culture of Trud Daily, and a columnist for the Klasa Daily.
Publications
Poetry
- Jacob’s Thirteenth Child, Svobodno Poetichesko Obshtestvo, Sofia, 1992;
- A Face Under the Ice, Svobodno Poetichesko Obshtestvo, Sofia, 1997;
- Closed Figures, Ab Publishers, Sofia, 1998;
- Faces with Twisted Tongues, Literaturen Forum, Sofia, 1998;
- Talisman Repairs, PAN Publishing House, Sofia, 2001;
- Kristin Dimitrova: Selected Poems in Greek, Bulgarian and English, transl. into Greek by Panos Stathoyannis, Soros Center for Arts, Sofia, 2002;
- The People with the Lanterns, Janet 45, Plovdiv, 2003;
- A Visit to the Clockmaker, transl. into English by Gregory O’Donoghue, Southword Editions, Cork, Ireland, 2005.
- The Cardplayer’s Morning, Janet 45, Plovdiv, 2008;
- My Life in Squares, forthcoming from Smokestack Books, UK, 2010.
Fiction
- Tarot: the Doors Within, LIK Publishing House, Sofia, 2001;
- Love and Death under the Crooked Pear Trees, short stories, Obsidian Ltd., Sofia, 2004;
- Sabazuis, a novel, Ink (Locus Publishing Ltd.), Sofia, 2007;
- The Secret Way of the Ink, short stories, Obsidian Ltd., Sofia, 2010.
Screenplays
- The Goat (2006) (Kozelat), written in co-authorship with film director Georgi Dulgerov. The film was released in 2009;
- Etienne (2007), written in co-authorship with film director Svetla Tsotsorkova based on Dimitrova’s short story of the same name.
Translations Into Bulgarian
- The Anagram, a selection of John Donne’s poetry, Obsidian Ltd., Sofia, 1999.
Awards
- 1996: The Trud Daily Award for poetry of the year;
- 1997: The Vek 21 Literary Weekly Award for A Face under the Ice;
- 1997: The Gold Metaphor Award from Ab Publishers for A Face under the Ice;
- 1997: The Ivan Nikolov Award from Janet 45 for A Face under the Ice;
- 1998: Second Place (for team performance) at the Poetry Olympics in Stockholm, organized by the International Organization of Performing Poets;
- 2001: Third Place in the Fantasy Short Story Contest by Argus Publishers;
- 2003: The Trud Daily Award for short story of the year;
- 2003: The Association of Bulgarian Writers Award for The People with the Lanterns;
- 2004: The Union of Bulgarian Translators Award for The Anagram;
- 2006: Ritzar na Knigata (Knight of the Book) – A Bulgarian Book Association Award, given to journalists who actively promote Bulgarian book publishing and literature;
- 2006: Winner of the national contest of Ink (Locus Publishing Ltd.) for Bulgarian participation in The Myths series (Given for Sabazius);
- 2008: Hristo G. Danov, the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture and Municipality of Plovdiv Award (fiction category), for Sabazius.
Shortlisted for:
- 2004: Helicon Award for Love and Death under the Crooked Pear Trees;
- 2008: The Ivan Nikolov Award for The Cardplayer’s Morning;
- 2009: The Canetti Award for Sabazius;
- 2010: Helicon Award for The Secret Way of the Ink;
- 2010: Contest for Contemporary Bulgarian Writers for Sabazius.
Translations
Translations of poems and short stories by Kristin Dimitrova have been published in anthologies and literary journals in Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Catalonia (in production), Croatia, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, UK and USA.
Synopses
Synopsis of the novel Sabazius by Kristin Dimitrova
A young musician receives a job offer which looks like a way out of his financial troubles. It comes from a shady figure from his past whom he has long thought dead but finds to be surprisingly well-off. The musician decides to trust him and thus enters an underworld of intrigue, hidden connections and violence, where each step takes him further away from his goals. Gradually he finds out that more and more aspects of his life have become the property of his alleged benefactor. But he is yet to learn what happens when you are in the hands of someone far stronger than yourself and he cannot tell good from evil.
The plot is advanced by the narratives of different characters who all know part of the story but never the complete picture of events.
Although the novel is structured after the myth of Sabazius (Dionysus), the violent Thracian intruder in the Olympic pantheon of gods, the action takes place in present-day Bulgaria. The chaos in which the characters are trying to survive is loaded with insecurity, concealed truths and menace. The social conditions have recently changed, but not the relations of power behind them. Success is within a hand’s reach, failure is even closer, and the secret ties between people – ubiquitous.
- Sabazius (2007), a novel
- Ink (Locus Publishing Ltd.), Sofia.
- ISBN 978-954-91763-5-3
- Paperback
- Format 14/21
- pages 230
Excerpts
- Blind Date by Kristin Dimitrova, translated by Kristin Dimitrova
- Sabazius by Kristin Dimitrova, translated by Kristin Dimitrova
Critical Reviews
Interviews
- Kristin Dimitrova, interview by Silviya Choleva
- New European Poets Interview
- Brief interview with Wompo Diane Kendig
- Show the World How Good They Are by Francisca De Haan
Contact
- Kristin Dimitrova:
E-mail: kristindim@hotmail.com
Phone: +359 885 495 268 - Kremena Dimitrova (INK Publishing House, for Sabazius):
E-mail: kremena@locus-publishing.com - Dimitrina Kondeva (Obsidian Publishing House, for short stories):
E-mail: office@obsidian.bg