site.btaBook Exchange to Take Place on Slaveykov Square on November 1

The Save Sofia team will organize its traditional book exchange event, Book for a Book, on November 1 at Slaveykov square in Sofia, the organization said in a Facebook post. Visitors of the event can bring their old books and exchange them. 

On November 1, Bulgaria marks National Awakeners' Day commemorating its writers, scholars, educators and freedom-fighters. 

Save Sofia has been hosting the event since 2022, with the initial aim of the initiative being to remind visitors of the the emblematic book market located at the capital's Slaveykov square from the early 90s until 2018. 

The book stalls on Slaveykov Square were removed in April 2018 due to renovation of Graf Ignatiev street and the square. The initial plan was for the traders to move in front of Park Hotel Rila and return to Slaveykov after the renovation with a reduced number of stalls and only for the weekend. Later on, the stalls were never restored in order to free up space for cultural events. 

Currently, Slaveykov square hosts multiple events featuring handmade crafts almost every weekend, including the Sofia Arts and Crafts Bazaar, Mish Mash Fest, Christmas markets and other events. 

The next upcoming such events will be the Sofia Arts and Crafts Bazaar between October 24 and 27. On November 8-10, the Mish Mash Fest arts and crafts event will be held nearby at the Ancient cultural and communication complex Serdika. 

Sofia's Slaveykov square is most known for the statue of Petko Slaveykov and his son Pencho Slaveykov, sitting on a bench at the corner of the sqaure. Both Slaveykov father and son were Bulgarian classic poets and had a profound influence on Bulgarian literature, establishing the modern literary language and introducing ideas from other European countries.