Working languages: Czech, Slovak, Russian
Field of work: Fiction, Socio-political literature
Short biography: Born January 1st, 1957 in the city of Stara Zagora. Graduated from a Slavic philology major, Czech profile, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Completed a specialization in the Charles University in Prague. Worked briefly at Bulgarian Translators’ Union and since 1983 has been working for the Institute of Folklore (today: Institute of Ethnology and Folklore with an Ethnography museum, BAS).
His scientific interests are mainly in the field of Bulgarian-Czech folkloristic relations, history of Czech presence in Bulgarian lands, history of Bulgarian folkloristics, Slavic ethnology, problems of Slavic ethno-cultural identity, etc. He’s a leading researcher in the field of ethnic communities in a foreign-speaking environment. He’s authored about 200 scientific publications, including monographs, books, collections, studies, articles, etc.
Since 1994 he’s been doing lectures at the SWU “Neofit Rilski” – Blagoevgrad, and later also at Plovdiv University “Paisiy Hilendarski”, at New Bulgarian University and at the discontinued Slavic University. His lectures include Slavic ethnology, Slavic cultural anthropology, Slavic folklore, Slavic identities, Czech studies, Czech realities, etc.
Selected translations:
- Joseph Kadlec. Viola. Sofia, Narodna kultura, 1988;
- Radek Jon. Memento. Sofia, Narodna kultura, 1989;
- Eda Kriseova. Vaclav Havel – poet i president (Vaclav Havel – poet and president). Sofia, Publishing House of the BAS, 1992 (with Sv. Hristova);
- Irena Douskova. Kak valcite me izyadoha (How the wolves ate me). Sofia, Colibri, 2005 (with A. Pencheva);
- Lenka Prohazkova. Slance v zenita. Roman za Jan Palach (A sun in its zenith. A novel about Jan Palach). Sofia, Paradox, 2013.
Awards:
- Honorary medal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (2003)
Contact:
email: vladimir_penchev@yahoo.com