How does it feel to be the grand prize winner of an international books contest, especially when this contest is based in a country far far away from your place of living?
I was over the moon! I was aware of how popular and prestigious the Eyelands Award was, and I was humbled to see my name on the shortlist. Then, the announcement came. I was the grand prize winner, and I burst into tears. It was on the same day I lost my daughter years ago. It was a bitter-sweet moment. I dedicated it to my beautiful Milena. The fact that the award came from Greece meant so much to me. Greece has a special place in my heart. My great-grandmother was Greek. I never knew her, but in the family, they had unfading memories of Aia Elefteria, and legends were told about her unbeatable moussaka. For me, now living in Australia, geographically, Greece might be on the other side of the world, but it’s close to my heart.
How did you hear about the contest?
I am a Queensland Writers Centre member, and I learned about the contest from their online magazine. There were many contests, but the Eyelands Awards stood out.
When did you start writing?
It’s hard to say. My first poetry attempt was when I was around six and announced to my stunned parents that I had a poem written celebrating spring. It started like this: the Linden trees smell of Linden trees again… The roar of laughter my novice poetry skills were met with deterred me from pursuing literature recognition for a while. Years passed, and the urge to tell the world about the Linden trees remained. So, it was poetry, then short stories, first published in my native country, Bulgaria. I love short stories. I was lapping up masters like Hemingway. I wrote fragments. It was in my later years that I ventured into longer formats.
You wrote a brilliant book. What was the inspiration for ‘The Coffee Lovers’’?
The Coffee Lovers is not only a text for me. Thank you, that you call it, what? Brilliant! Every word in it is flesh from my flesh. Like Beethoven and Einstein once were, many people are passionate about coffee. Honestly, I think my passion for coffee crosses the line of any rationality. There were periods in my life when I had to have my coffee cup full next to me, even if I was not sipping on it, breathing in the aroma. Travelling around the world, I was getting familiar with local cultures through the unique ways different nations prepare their hot black drink.
Here in Greece it is very common a kind of coffee that I think is very similar with the one you are describing in your book. Are you a coffee lover yourself?
Oh, the Greek coffee! Is there a better coffee? That’s what I prepare at home. That’s what I drink. The magic of the briki, the right proportion of water, Greek coffee, which I buy in Australia, a pinch of sugar – ligo, logo gliko, the way I drank it many times on the Monastiraki square and the Plaka.
How do you feel that your book will be translated into Greek?
I am thrilled and can’t wait to see my book, The Coffee Lovers, translated into Greek! Greece is a coffee lovers’ country. Nothing compares to Greek coffee. Thick, smooth, lots of crema. Delicious! I hope the readers will enjoy the aroma of my book. The text won the prestigious HarperCollins/Varuna Fellowship for Manuscript Development in Australia, and some of the best editors worked on it.
Can you tell us more about another book of yours, the ‘’Parcels’’?
My short story, Parcels, has a special place in my heart. It tells the compelling story of the women in my family who gathered on rare occasions when they were allowed to prepare parcels for the men locked up in prisons and forced labour camps during the communist regime. I was a little girl watching them count the permitted number of olives, tiny packets of lard and sugar, soap bars and rough woollen gloves for working in sub-zero temperatures. The women in my family never cried. Silently, they went about their duty, and in this wall of silence, there was more determination than in any word or tear.
Have you ever been in Greece?
I have been to Greece a few times, and once, I lived in this amazing country for several months. I feel at home in Greece. All the people I met treated me like one of their own. My Greek is quite basic, but every day at 10 am, a radio station here in Brisbane transmits Greek news and music. And yes, I love Greek music!! Pame na acusame: Vasilis Karras, Dalaras, Vertis…I don’t know! Is there anything I don’t love about Greece? The Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Tower of the Winds I love so much. I think all looted marble treasures should be returned to where they belong! Then the islands, Delphi, Great Meteora monasteries… Most of all, I loved to hang out with my friends Yordani, Vaso, Yorgos, Anatoli, Sophia. They were teaching me about the incredible way Greek people conjure their lives, about the language of the krasi and love. Never had I more nourishing meals made of simple thing like melting in the mouth white beans, a piece of fresh crusty bread soaked in the best olive oil from Crete, sprinkled with aromatic dried oregano. To ladi to pharmakon ine!
Have you ever read modern Greek literature?
My knowledge of Greek literature spans my university years when I wrote essays on Ulysses in Homer’s Odyssey and couldn’t hide my disappointment that he returned home. From the modern literature, of course, Zorba, the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis. I am a big fan of Cavafy’s poem Waiting for the Barbarians. What a giant!
One of the very first books we have translated and published for Strange Days Books was ‘’Endless July’’ by Zdravka Eftimova. Are you familiar with her writings?
I have known Zdravka Eftimova for many years. She is definitely (one of) the best Bulgarian writers of the 21st Century! Her works have been translated into many countries. Besides being incredibly talented, Zdravka is a highly organised and hard-working writer. She has a big heart and is devoted to the international writers’ cause. She is a great mate! I can’t be happier to land the same award as her.
What are your plans as a writer for the future?
Write, write, write…
How do you feel with the idea you will be the judge for Eyelands Books Awards 2024?
Being a judge for Eyelands Books Awards 2024 will be a privilege. Thank you for having me.
Eyelands Book Awards 