By Dimitar Tsekov | Executive director
The first round of judging for the 16th Bulgarian Creative Writing Competition took place offline between January 10th and 16th. A panel of 52 judges, each bringing expertise from diverse fields but united by a shared passion for literature, selected the top 18 works in each age category. They immersed themselves in the imaginative worlds crafted by the participants, fully embracing the richness of the students’ creativity. Along the way, they gasped, laughed, and even shed tears while encountering stories filled with ostrich feathers, tech-savvy grandmothers, mysterious messages, life hackers, solitary dances, striking metaphors, and distant universes.
Following a thoughtful and demanding evaluation process, the judges chose 126 national finalists who advanced to the next stage of judging, held on January 24th and 25th. This year’s winning pieces stood out for their vivid imagination, love of language, curiosity, and boldness. The awarded students invited us into their inner worlds, offering hope for the future through their distinctive voices. Their confidence was infectious, leaving us wishing their stories would never end. As always, being part of their imaginative journeys was both a privilege and a source of true inspiration.
On February 6th, 2026 at the National library “Sts. Cyrill and Methodius” we celebrated the creativity and perseverance of this year’s winners! All attendees relished the opportunity to meet other young writers and exchange ideas and inspiration.
We were honored to share the special occasion with representatives of the US Embassy. Their support over the years is invaluable. A few members of the national jury also attended the ceremony and congratulated the winners for their success. The winners received certificates and awards from the organizers, as well as books provided by the publishing houses Express and Klett. The ambassador of Pakistan was also present at the ceremony to receive the awards for the students from Pakistan who were among the winners.
As we had such talented writers this year, we gave out special awards from Cynthia Phoel, who is a writer and former Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria and a special award in honor of Tim Steflik, who was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Bulgaria
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