site.btaSouthern Spring National Competition for Debut Literature in Haskovo Is Example that Talent Can Manifest Anywhere, Says BTA Director General

With the Southern Spring National Competition for Debut Literature, Haskovo is proof that talent can manifest itself anywhere, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said by video conference during a local conference held in Haskovo on Wednesday. The event was part of BTA’s Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project.

"Today is the first day of the 53rd edition of the competition, which was established by Haskovo Municipality and the Union of Bulgarian Writers in 1973 for the debut books of authors under 40 years of age," Valchev pointed out, adding that the competition aims to discover, stimulate and develop young literary creators in the fields of poetry, prose, literary criticism, children's literature, film scripts and theatre dramaturgy.

He recalled that the Pegasus bronze statuette has been received by many emblematic authors over the past half century, including Rosen Bosev, Boris Hristov, Petya Dubarova (posthumously) and Georgi Gospodinov. After this first award, received precisely in Haskovo, many of them have received many more awards around the world, which is proof that Bulgarian writers are recognised as European writers, Valchev emphasised.

He stressed that the Southern Spring competition is reminiscent of the parable about the master who left his three servants with talents, giving the first servant five talents, the second servant two talents, and the third servant one talent. "Those (servants) with five and two talents doubled them, while the third was afraid and buried his one talent", Valchev noted, adding that when the master returned, he said: "Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents." Valchev recalled that the parable of the talents carries the message that a person should constantly invest in the various abilities given to him by God, using them actively instead of burying them.

Valchev said that thanks to the competition in Haskovo, young talents of Bulgaria are encouraged not to seek success elsewhere, despite the opportunities to freely move to another country in the EU, as Bulgaria itself is the EU and they can can develop their talent just as well here. Moreover, talent in the written word is most easily manifested on native soil, he stressed, adding that with Bulgaria's accession to the EU, the Cyrillic alphabet is now the third alphabet in the EU, along with the Latin and Greek alphabets.

Thanks to the National Press Club in Haskovo, opened on September 8, 2004, the city has been part of BTA’s national and European dialogues for the past 20 years, Valchev noted. "Thanks to the agency's team, which already consists of two correspondents, from 1177 publications for Haskovo Region in 2023, the publications for the city in 2024 were 1491, an increase of 25%," he stated.

Valchev also shared that BTA has now tripled the number of its national press clubs, maintaining and expanding the 14 that opened in the last 18 years, and now operates 42 across Bulgaria and abroad. “These clubs ensure that more Bulgarians are engaged in national and European conversations,” he said, adding that BTA’s project, “Europe in the Balkans: Together through Knowledge”, supported by the European Commission, seeks to foster knowledge exchange between people in Bulgaria, the Balkans, and the rest of the EU.

BTA's Europe on Balkans: Cohesion Skills project aims to raise public awareness and foster open dialogue about cohesion policy, local achievements, and the implementation of the EU's policy priorities. The project kicked off with a conference in Veliki Preslav in November 2024. The schedule of conferences until the end of September 2025 includes events in the following cities: Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kazanlak, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Razgrad, Ruse, Samokov, Svishtov, Sliven, Smolyan, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Troyan, Targovishte, Haskovo, Shumen, and Yambol. Cross-border conferences will be held in Belgrade, Bosilegrad, Bucharest, Edirne, Skopje, and Thessaloniki. The project builds on the Europe in the Balkans: A Common Future and Europe in Bulgaria: A Common Future projects, implemented by BTA in 2023 and 2024, respectively.