As part of Book Week Scotland 2025, join us for a conversation about historical novels, biographical fiction and literary translation with two Edinburgh-based creatives -Lucy Ribchester, author of Murder Ballad andIliyana Nedkova-Byrne, translator of Balkan Rhapsody byMaria Kassimova-Moisset.
This special event is not only the book launch for Balkan Rhapsody - the first book in translation from Bulgarian to be published in Scotland, by the independent press Tippermuir Books - but also an opportunity to mark the 10th anniversary of Found in Translation - the book group which has been reading, meeting and reviewing books in translation at the Edinburgh Central Library every month since 2015, with Iliyana, just one of the founding members of the group.
The conversation will be followed by a book signing courtesy of Tippermuir Books and Blackwells/Waterstones Edinburgh.
The event is part-funded by the Scottish Book Trust as part of Book Week Scotland 2025, with additional in-kind support from Edinburgh Central Library, the Bulgarian Cultural and Educational Centre Scotland, the Consulate of Bulgaria in Edinburgh and Tippermuir Books.
About Balkan Rhapsody
Balkan Rhapsody (Colibri, Sofia, 2018) is the debut novel by the Bulgarian-born journalist, author and storyteller Maria Kassimova-Moisset translated into English by Iliyana Nedkova-Byrne, edited by Cara Blacklock and published by the independent Scottish press Tippermuir Books, Perth in August 2025, with the support of Creative Scotland through the Bulgarian Cultural and Educational Centre Scotland and many more.
I read Balkan Rhapsody as soon as it came out in August 2025, as part of Women in Translation Month. Couldnt put it down. The translation is superb. Such a heart-rending story.
~ Agnes Ness, Found in Translation Book group
The freshness of lemonade sipped on a Black Sea beach on a summer evening.
~ Le Temps
"Balkan Rhapsody is womens writing at its best, chronicling a familys meandering story, a quintessential Balkan litany where people of different backgrounds knew how to live together until they didnt. A riveting story of everyday life affected by ethnonationalism and religious intolerance, of voluntary and forced migrations, of merciless losses and marvellous new beginnings. A worthy contribution toward the treasury of Balkan womens writing that cherishes the regions inherent multiculturalism, also present in the classical Anatolian stories of Greek exile Dido Sotiriu (1909-2004) and the multiethnic universe of Armenian-Bulgarian Sevda Sevan (1945-2009)."
~ Dna Iordanova, Professor of Film Studies at the University of St Andrews and author of Cinema of Flames: Balkan Film, Culture and the Media.
A story of life, loss and love. Maria's evocative writing and Iliyanas beautiful and moving translation carry us along the Black Sea. Our emotions rise to the heavens before they crash down to the depths of the sea, as our hearts sing and then break. Wave, after wave, we follow the life of a family across generations and borders. We laugh, weep and hope with every precious page, with every bated breath. The book stirs the memories of those of us who have left their own lands, to hope for a better life. Every taste, sight and smell carry the bittersweetness of reminiscence. An exquisite novel.
~Nana Tomova of the Story Apotecary