April 23, 2026 | Thursday | 6:30 p.m.

City Stage

(underground level)   

 

Discussion:

The Genre as a Metaphorical Mirror

of Social and Political Processes

 

With the participation of:

Alexander Stoyanov (historian and lecturer)

Emil Minchev (writer and translator)

Moderator:

Blagoy Ivanov (writer and film critic)

 

Within this year’s Literary Talks Sofia, which theme is “Dystopia and Resistance”, three prominent authors will discuss genre art and examine it as a metaphorical mirror in which various social and political processes are reflected directly or indirectly. The discussion will focus on the way in which through the fantastic we can dress reality in attractive garments – garments under which to hide truths about the world, about our history, about geopolitical conflicts and about our contemporary life. The conversation will also pay attention to allegory in art as a tool for creating effect, but also for expressing criticism, positions and opinions.

 

More about the panelists:

Blagoy D. Ivanov studied at NATFA “Krastyo Sarafov”, where he graduated with a Master’s degree in film criticism. He has worked as a screenwriter, reporter and copywriter, as well as PR specialist and editor in various publishing houses. He writes prose, reviews and articles in periodicals and anthologies, regularly collaborates with online platforms, publishes in the website Operation Kino, hosts the column “Kinofish” in the program “Kultura BG” on BNT, as well as the publicistic program “Storyboard” on radio “Focus”; he serves on juries of film festivals and lectures at popular science and cultural events. He is an author of several books, including Mazeto, Krehar and Opasni skazania /Dangerous Tales/, and for his children’s novel Trinadeset chudovishta za Heloin /Thirteen Monsters for Halloween/ he received the Konstantin Konstantinov Award.
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Emil Minchev has translated over 50 books from English, including works by Margaret Mitchell, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charlotte Brontë, Mary Shelley, Bret Easton Ellis, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is the author of a number of novels and short story collections, as well as numerous articles on art. In 2018, his novella Children of the Night was published in the anthology Dracula: Rise of the Beast by the British publisher Abaddon. He gained popularity with the series of novels featuring detective Bunk Romero, which began with Niuh /Scent/ in 2016 and concluded with Mrak /Darkness/ in 2025. He has also authored books such as Svetlosyanka /The Light-Bearer/ and Mitko i omagosanata peshtera /Mitko and the Enchanted Cave/. He is the winner of the Eurocon Award.
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Alexander Stoyanov graduated from the Constantin-Cyril Philosopher National Gymnasium for Ancient Languages and Cultures with a specialization in History and continued his education at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski," where he also majored in History. He earned a master’s degree in the history of European expansion and globalization from Leiden University in the Netherlands. He is a doctoral candidate at Leiden University. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Military History Journal. He teaches history, and is a frequent guest and commentator in various media and online platforms. Author of a wide range of non-fiction books, including Ottoman Expansion, Napoleon, and The Bulgarians Between Two Catastrophes: 1396–1944.