The collection of literary works “To love, despite …” which contains the awarded narratives in the 6th Alef’s Competition was published.
The idea of collecting the distinguished works in a book was announced at the award ceremony which took place in Burgas in May, 2019. It came in response to the growing interest in competition works and the desire of young people to see them printed on paper. After the collection “Who saves one human life, saves a whole universe” with the awarded essays from the first five literary competitions, the edition with narratives from the sixth edition is already a literary fact with the financial assistance of Burgas Municipality.
The Sixth National Youth Literature Competition “Who Saves One Life, Saves a Whole Universe” was titled “To love, despite …”. 129 students from over 40 cities and villages and 16 students from 11 universities participated. They mixed truth to historical fact with their imagination and told magnificent stories of love, friendship and understanding between Bulgarians and Jews during the Holocaust. The jury – Rumen Leonidov – poet and publisher of the website Fakel.bg, Asen Yordanov – journalist and director of the website Bivol.bg and Alberta Alkalay – president of CJBC “Alef” chose the most successful and talented stories and nominated their authors for the award.
Now we can also read the award-winning works in the 6th edition of the competition on paper as well as what Stella Nikolova, the winner of the competition, shared about her participation in the International Forum for Young Leaders in Israel. The book plays the role of a unique tool because it is written by young people and affects them in an emotional way. This is essential, especially when the texts refer to a lesser known historical period and entering in it requires a more specific approach.
The collection will be accessible to young people who have shown interest in it across the country, mainly through school and community libraries.
