Irina Papancheva is the author of six novels, an illustrated children’s book, and numerous short stories. Her debut novel, Almost Intimately, received the Audience Award in the national literary competition South Spring (2008).
Her novels Annabel (2014) and Brussels, Naked (2022) were shortlisted and placed second, respectively, in the Contemporary Bulgarian Novel Contest organised by the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation and Open Letter Books (University of Rochester). Brussels, Naked was also selected for the Brussels public libraries’ summer reading campaign One City, 19 Books.
Papancheva’s work has been translated into English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Persian, and published in literary magazines and anthologies. She leads creative writing workshops and hosts Salon de Culture. She was a member of the jury for the 2026 Asian Short Story Prize and will share insights from that experience during the session “What Makes a Good Short Story.”
Born in Burgas, Bulgaria, she now lives in Brussels, Belgium.
OTHER AUTHORS
Alia Papageorgiou
Alia Papageorgiou is the Artistic director of the Writers Festival of Belgium, she is the President of the Press Club Brussels Europe.
Helena Buckinx
Helena Buckinx (°1970, in Schoten near Antwerp) makes her first painting at the age of 16 during a summer holiday.
Leo Cendrowicz
Leo Cendrowicz is the Brussels Correspondent at The i Paper, covering European news and analysis. He was previously with The Independent and Time Magazine.
dr. Josje Weusten
Holds a PhD in literary studies and am a senior lecturer of literature, poetry, and creative writing, and is deeply passionate about fiction.
Irina Papancheva
Irina Papancheva is the author of six novels, an illustrated children’s book, and numerous short stories.
Dominique Elsaesser
Dominique Elsaesser was born in 1972 right in the middle of Europe, just a stone’s throw from the Rhine. After many years of travelling through Germany, France and the United States, Dominique set up camp in Brussels in 2007.