International Booker Prize 2023: The International Booker Prize 2023 was won by Georgi Gospodinov, making him the first Bulgarian author to ever receive this distinguished honour. For translating his work “Time Shelter” into English, his translator Angela Rodel and him shared the 2023 International Booker Prize.
Many of Gospodinov’s books have been translated into various languages, and he is regarded as one of the most significant authors in contemporary European literature.
Gospodinov recently discussed his writing approach in an interview with the Booker Prizes. He described how he first started writing by recording his ideas in a notepad, usually in the late afternoon. Later, he begins writing using these notes.
He said, “At the very beginning, when I’m writing in my notebook, I can be anywhere. It might seem strange to see someone using a notebook and surreptitiously jotting down thoughts in some random place, in the afternoon. I love afternoons. Then, when it comes to the real writing, I prefer to be in the same place, for it to be morning and to be alone. I never managed to get a ‘room of my own’, so I write in the living room when my family isn’t there. I used to smoke a lot, but I don’t anymore, I’ve found that if the story grabs hold of you, you don’t need anything else around you: coffee, cigarettes, nuts. Your only goal is to not lose the flow of the language.”
