Our latest issue includes work from eight thrilling writers from the Balkan nation of Bulgaria. While most readers may be hard-pressed to think of a Bulgarian writer other than 1981 Nobel laureate Elias Canetti, the poets, fiction writers, and essayists in this issue suggest Bulgarian letters are alive and well, spinning tales that grapple with everything from the Soviet years and exile to the most unusual of bookstores and the surest way to go blind.

Georgi Gospodinov extols literature’s ability to bolster us in the midst of economic and moral crisis, Theodora Dimova weaves a tale of another poète maudit, Zachary Karabashliev chronicles one widower’s struggle to begin anew in another country, and Yordanka Beleva takes a clinical approach to canine companionship. Plus more work by Alek Popov, Angel Igov, Kristin Dimitrova, and Boryana Neykova, introduced by guest editors Svetlozar Zhelev and Angela Rodel.

This issue of Words without Borders was translated with the support of National Book Centre, part of National Palace of Culture-Congress Center Sofia.