Gospodinov, Georgi
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Biography
Georgi Gospodinov (1968) is the International Booker Prize winning author of Time Shelter for 2023. The novel is published in more than 20 languages. „It’s the most exquisite kind of literature, on our perception of time and its passing, written in a masterful and totally unpredictable style,“ according to Olga Tockarczuk, the Nobel Prize winning writer. ‘Could not be more timely… A writer of great warmth as well as skill’; (Guardian). In 2022, the novel was New Yorker, Guardian and Financial Times book of the year.
Gospodinov became internationally known with his previous novels Natural Novel and The Physics of Sorrow (both translated in more than 30 languages. Gospodinov is the winner of the Premio Strega Europeo (2021), the Usedom Prize for European literature (2021), the Central European Angelus Award (2019), the Jan Michalski Prize (2016), etc. In La Reppublika Gospodinov was described as “A Proust coming from the East”; according to Alberto Manguel, Gospodinov is “one of the most important European writers today”.
Gospodinov has several books of short stories, including And Other Stories, And All Turned Moon, All Our Bodies. Blind Vaysha, a short animation based on a Gospodinov’s short story of the same name (dir. Theodore Ushev), was an Academy Award (Oscar) nominee for 2017.
Gospodinov’s works include poetry, nonfiction, theatre plays (The Apocalypse Comes at 6 PM is forthcoming in Mexico), a graphic novel The Eternal Fly, a libretto for Space Opera, scripts, social videos The Slap Factory and Future Cancelled, and many other projects.
His complex narratives are engaged with the memory of the recent Eastern-European past and the present anxieties of Europe and the world. Smuggling poetry into fiction, his style is both poetic and philosophical yet readable, funny, self-ironic. According to The New Yorker, “Georgi’s real quest in The Physics of Sorrow is to find a way to live with sadness, to allow it to be a source of empathy and salutary hesitation…”
Gospodinov is associate professor at the Institute for Literature, BAS, Sofia. He teaches creative writing, media and literature courses at the Sofia University. He was awarded a number of fellowships among which at the Cullman Center (NYPL) and at the Wissenschaftskolleg (Berlin).
Books published abroad
Novels
� Natural Novel by Georgi Gospodinov (list of foreign editions):
- Naturlig roman, translated by Yordanka og Rune Bruteig, Oslo: Bokvennen Forlag AS, Norway, 2011;
- Nat?ralus romanas, i? bulgar? kalbos vert? Gintar? Kubilickait?, Vilnius: Baltos lankos, Lithuania, 2010;
- ������������ �����, ������� � ����������� ����� ��������, ����������� ����������, Russia, 2011;
- Do?al Roman, translated by Hasine ?en, Istanbul: Apollon, Turkey, 2010;
- Powie?? naturalna; prze?. Marta Ho?ewska-Todorow. � Sejny : Fundacja Pogranicze, Poland, 2009;
- Una novela natural, translated by Neva M?cheva, J.M. Rodr?guez Tobal, Barcelona: Saymon Ediciones, Spain, 2009;
- Dabiskais rom?ns, translated by Dens Dimins, Riga: Janis Roze publishers, Latvia, 2008;
- Natuerlicher Roman, translated by Alexander Sitzmann, Graz: Droschl, Austria, 2007;
- Romanzo naturale, translated by Daniela Di Sora, Irina Stoilova, Roma: Voland, Italy, 2007;
- En Naturlig Roman, translated by Helle Dalgaard, Arhus: Husets Forlag, Denmark, 2006;
- Natural Novel, translated by Zornica Hristova, Normal, London: Dalkey Archive Press, USA, 2005;
- Naravni roman, translated by Borut Omerzel, Ljubljana: Beletrina, Slovenia, 2005;
- Prirodni roman, translated by Tatjana Dunkova and Ksenija Markovic, Zagreb: Profil, Croatia, 2005;
- Prirozeny roman, translated by Ivana Srbkova, Praha: Lidove Noviny, Chech Republic, 2005;
- �������� �����, translated by Nikola Majirov, Skopje: Templum, Macedonia, 2003, 2004;
- Un roman naturel, traduit du bulgare par Marie Vrinat, Paris: Editions Phebus, France, 2002;
- Prirodni roman, translated by Marija-Joanna Stojadinovic, Beograd: Geopoetika, Serbia, 2001.
� The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov (list of foreign editions):
- De wetten van de melancholie, translated by Hellen Kooijman, Amsterdam: Ambo/Anthos, The Netherlands, 2015;
- Fizika ?alosti, translated by Borut Omerzel, Ljubljana: Beletrina, Slovenia, 2015;
- The Physics of Sorrow, translated by Angel Rodel, Rochester, NY: Open Letter Books, USA, 2015;
- Physique de la m?lancolie, translated by Marie Vrinat-Nikolov, Paris: ?ditions Intervalles, France, 2015;
- Physik der Schwermut, translated by Alexander Sitzmann,� Berlin: Droschl Verlag, 2014;
- Fizika tuge, translated by Ivana Stouchkov, Belgrade: Geopoetika, Serbia, 2013;
- Fisica della malinconia, translated by Giuseppe Dell�Agata, Roma: Voland, Italy, 2013.
Short Stories
- I inne historie, translated by Magdalena Pytlak, Sejny: Pogranicze, Poland, 2011;
- I druge pri?e, prevela s bugarskog Ivana Stoi?kov, Belgrad: Geopoetika, Serbia, 2011;
- �e altre storie, traduzione di Giuseppe Dell�Agata, Roma: Voland edizioni, Italy, 2008;
- And Other Stories, translated by Alexis Levitin and Magdalena Levy, Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, USA, 2007;
- I drugi prikazni, translated by Nikola Madzhirov, Skopje: Templum, Macedonia, 2006;
- Gaust?n oder Der Mensch mit den vielen Namen, Aus dem Bulgarischen von Alexander Sitzmann, Wien: Wieser Verlag, Austria, 2004;
- Gaustin neboli Clovek s mnoha jmeny, translated by Ivana Srbkova, Praha: Lidove Noviny, Chech Republic, 2004;
- L�alphabet des femmes, traduit du bulgare par Marie Vrinat, Paris: Arlea, France, 2003.
Poetry
- Kleines morgendliches Verbrechen. Gedichte, translated by Alexander Sitzmann, Graz: Droschl, Austria, 2010;
- O coelho do amor, translated by Zlatka Timenova-Valtcheva, Petar Petrov, Roma Editora, Lisbon, Portugal 2010;
- Lapid?rium, translated by Ond?ej Zajac, Praha: Liter?rn? salon, Czech Republic, 2009.
Other
- Kino. The Poetry of Nikola Vaptsarov. Edited by Georgi Gospodinov, Middlesbrough: Smokestack Books, UK, 2007.
Books In Bulgarian
- Nevidimite krizi [Invisible Crises], Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2013;
- Fizika na tagata [Physics of Sorrow], Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2011;
- D.J.; Apokalipsisyt idva v 6 vecherta. Piesi [D.J.; The Apocalypse Comes at 6 p.m. Plays], Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2010;
- Vechnata muha [The Eternal Fly], art comics (with Nikola Toromanov), Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2010;
- O, Henry. 3 koledni istorii [O, Henry. 3 Christmas Stories], Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2008;
- Baladi i razpadi [Ballads and Maladies], Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2007;
- Inventarna kniga na socializma [Inventory Book of Socialism], by Georgi Gospodinov and Yana Genova, Sofia: Prosveta, 2006;
- Az zhivjah socializma. 171 lichni istorii [I Have Lived Socialism. 171 Personal Stories], edited by Georgi Gospodinov (Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2006);
- Poezia i media: Kino, radio i� reklama u Vaptsarov i poetite na 40-te godini na XX vek [Poetry and Media: Cinema, Radio, and Advertisement in the Works of Nikola Vaptsarov and the Poets of the 1940s], Sofia: Prosveta, 2005;
- Pisma do Gaustin [Letters to Gaustin], Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2003;
- I drugi istorii [And Other Stories], Plovdiv: Janet 45, 2001;
- Estestven Roman [Natural Novel], Sofia: Korporacia Razvitie, 1999;
- Chereshata na edin narod [The Cherry Tree of One People], Sofia: Svobodno Poetichesko Obshtestvo, 1996;
- Lapidarium [Lapidarium], Yambol: Modus Stoyanov, 1992.
Excerpts
- Peonies and Forget-Me-Nots by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Alexis Levitin, Magdalena Levi
- The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel
Critical Reviews
- A Review of Natural Novel by Georgi Gospodinov, The Believer Magazine, June, 2005
- And Other Stories by Georgi Gospodinov, Complete Review
- And Other Stories, Welt Literature Today, 2008, 7-8
- Natural Novel by Georgi Gospodinov, Complete Review
- Please Buy and Read Georgi Gospodinov’s Natural Novel Immediately, Transcript Review, 2007
- The Bulgarian Sadness of Georgi Gospodinov, The New Yorker, 17 April 2015
- Pete Mitchell reviews Georgi Gospodinov’s The Physics of Sorrow, Asymptote, 2015
- A Review of The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov, The Literary Review, 2015
- Book Review: The Physics of Sorrow By Georgi Gospodinov, The Los Angeles Review, 2015
- The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov, World Literature Today, January 2016
Interviews
- https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/26/georgi-gospodinov-interview-time-shelter-international-booker
- An Interview with Georgi Gospodinov by Jeffrey Zuckerman, BOMB Magazine
- An Interview with Georgi Gospodinov by Focus News Agency
- Professional Hazards: an Interview with Georgi Gospodinov by Silvia Choleva
Contact
- Georgi Gospodinov:
E-mail: g_gospodinov@yahoo.com
Related Links
- https://thebookerprizes.com/media-centre/press-releases/georgi-gospodinov-and-angela-rodel-win-the-international-booker-prize-2023
- https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/26/georgi-gospodinov-
- interview-time-shelter-international-booker
- The Apocalypse Comes At 6 pm (a play) by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel
- D.J. (a play) by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Dimiter Kenarov
- http://www.droschl.com/programm/buch.php?book_id=637
- http://www.droschl.com/programm/buch.php?book_id=726
- http://lyrikline.org/index.php?id=162&L=1&author=gg02&show=Poems&cHash=44c1ee7e68
- http://www.que-leer.com/5976/gueorgui-gospodinov-%E2%80%9Cuna-novela-natural%E2%80%9D.html
- http://www.literaturfestival.com/bios1_3_6_698.html
- http://books.janet45.com/authors/%D0%93%D0%B5%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B8__%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2
- http://liternet.bg/publish/ggospodinov/index.html
- http://bkp.daad.net/en/gast.php?id=1089
- http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/feuilleton/literatur/die-traenen-des-minotaurus-1.18296243
The novel was widely reviewed in Europe. �This book is madness� extraordinary and restless� (Berliner Zeitung). In 2014, the novel was a finalist for four international literary prizes. In Italy, Fisica della malinconia (Voland Edizioni, 2013), translated by Giuseppe Dell�Agata, was shortlisted for Premio Strega Europeo in Rome and Premio Gregor von Rezzori in Florence. In Germany, Physik der Schwermut (Droschl Verlag, 2014), translated by Alexander Sitzmann, was shortlisted for Haus der Kulturen der Welt International Book Prize and for Brueke Berlin Award.
Physique de la m?lancolie (?ditions Intervalles, 2015), translated by Marie Vrinat-Nikolov, has recently come out in France. In 2015, The Physics of Sorrow was published in the US by Open Letter Books, translated by Angela Rodel. According to The New Yorker, �As Gospodinov conceives it, the Bulgarian word tuga (� �sorrow�) is, like Pamuk�s h?z?n or Nabokov�s toska��.
So far, The Physics of Sorrow has been published in English, German, French, Italian, Serbian and Slovenian, and is forthcoming in Dutch, Danish and Arabian.
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