Elin Pelin

Who was Elin Pelin?

Elin Pelin, born Dimitar Ivanov Stoyanov is arguably considered Bulgaria’s best narrator of country life. Born into a large family in the village of Bailovo near Sofia, he loved writing and reading from an early age. Studying to become a teacher, he taught for a year in 1895 in his native village. He was first published in 1901, and the respect it earned him in literary circles encouraged him to go to Sofia in 1903, where he worked as a librarian at the university library. It was during this period he took his now-famous pseudonym from the word pelin, which means wormwood in Bulgarian. He spent 1906-07 in France, perfecting his skills in the language. By this time, he was already a popular writer.

Between 1910 and 1916, he was the director of special collections at the National Library and also served as editor of numerous magazines, including the children’s publication Veselushka. Additionally, he served as a war correspondent during World War I.

In 1911, one of his most famous works appeared, The Gerak Family.