site.btaCelebrations of 162nd birth anniversary of Aleko Konstantinov End in Svishtov,Bojan Ljubenovic Wins Eponymous Short Story Competition

The celebrations of the 162nd birth anniversary of writer Aleko Konstantinov in his native Svishtov ended with awarding the winner of the Aleko International Short Story Competition and a charity concert by Hilda Kazasyan and the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra.

A jury chaired by Yordan Eftimov and members Mihail Veshim and Rumen Belchev from the Starshel newspaper awarded the prize to Serbian writer Bojan Ljubenovic. His award-winning short story "Origin" was read to the audience, as was the second short story with which he participated. 

Our jury did not hesitate whether to award the Serbian author Bojan Ljubenovic, but which of his two stories to award, said Eftimov. He said that Ljubenovic is an author who is worthy of this award - he is a lawyer, a journalist, and a travel writer.

The winner expressed his gratitude for the award. Bojan Ljubenovic explained that winning the prize named after Aleko Konstantinov has a great significance for Serbian satirical writers as well, because it is a prize that weighs on the overall work of an artist. According to him, satirical narrative in countries with a democratic society is just an entertaining narrative, but its true power shines through in countries with injustices. According to him, the Bulgarian nation has a future since as it is able appreciate someone who has criticized it.

The prize was awarded by Svishtov Mayor Gencho Genchev.

Part of the programme was a concert by Hilda Kazasyan and the Pleven Philharmonic Orchestra, the proceeds from which will go to the Aleko Konstantinov International Foundation for publishing and charitable activities. Conductor Borislav Yotsov, together with Hristo Yotsov - drums, Zhivko Petrov - piano, Dimitar Karamfilov - double bass, Mihail Yosifov - trumpet took the stage. Special guests were Theodosii Spassov and Vasil Petrov. 

The celebrations of the 162nd birth anniversary of Aleko Konstantinov are organized by the Svishtov Municipality and the Aleko Konstantinov Museum.

Earlier on Monday, the Aleko Konstantinov Vocational High School marked its patron holiday. An exhibition of cartoons from the collection of the Starshel satirical newspaper was also opened. On the birthday of Aleko Konstantinov - January 13, a city-wide torchlit procession was traditionally held, which started at Aleko’s native home, passed through the central part of the city and ended in front of his monument in the city park.