Elizabeth Kostova Foundation

The project "Literary Exchange - Ambassadors of Bulgarian Literature" of the State Institute for Culture to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aims to expand professional contacts between authors and translators of contemporary Bulgarian literature. A key partner in this direction is the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation, which promotes and assists in the translations and publications of Bulgarian writers abroad. An example of successful cooperation between the foundation and the State Institute for Culture is the first English translation of Virginia Zaharieva's novel "9 Rabbits".

The State Institute for Culture is also a partner of the foundation in the creation of the site Contemporary Bulgarian Writers in English (http://www.contemporarybulgarianwriters.com), which provides access to current profiles of contemporary authors of  Bulgarian fiction in English and provides excerpts from their works in translation. In 2013, the State Institute for Culture supported the implementation of a competition for the publication of a contemporary Bulgarian novel in English in the UK, announced in 2013 in collaboration with Peter Owen Publishers. For the program of the State Institute for Culture, the popularization of Bulgarian literature and the integration of Bulgarian writers to the international literary scene is a priority, and the partnership with the foundation is an example of successful literary diplomacy.