December 17 (BTA) - Georgi Gospodinov has won the 2021
Athens Prize for Literature with his "Natural Novel", the
Bulgarian writer's team reported on Friday.

Gospodinov's competitors for the honour were Nobel Prize winner
Peter Handke, Julian Barnes, Manuel Vilas, and Booker Prize
recipient Bernardine Evaristo.

Gospodinov is the first Bulgarian to be distinguished by the
Athens Prize for Literature.

Published in 1999, the author's debut "Natural Novel" is the
most translated Bulgarian book after 1989. It has been published
 in 21 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish,
Italian, Czech, Croat, Slovenian, Danish, Polish, Lithuanian,
Turkish, Norwegian, Russian, Albanian, Romanian, Ukrainian and
Icelandic. In Greece, the novel was released by the Ikaros
Publishing Company in 2020, translated by Alexandra Ioannidou.

The Athens Prize for Literature is the fifth international award
 that Gospodinov has received for his works this year. RY/LG

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