Rene Karabash | |
|---|---|
| 👁 Rene Karabash in 2019 Rene Karabash in 2019 | |
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37) Aleksandrovo, Lovech Municipality, Bulgaria |
| Alma mater | New Bulgarian University |
| Notable works | She Who Remains |
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Irena Ivanova, better known by the pen name Rene Karabash (Bulgarian: Рене Карабаш), is a Bulgarian writer and actress. Her work has been nominated for and received several Bulgarian literary awards. In 2026, her novel, She Who Remains, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.
Life and career
[edit]Irena Hristova Ivanova was born in 1989 in the village of Aleksandrovo, in the Lovech Municipality.[1][2] She attended school in Lovech, and received her bachelor's degree in French and English applied linguistics at the Veliko Tarnovo University. She studied literature at the Catholic University of the West in Angers, and received her master's degree in film direction from the New Bulgarian University. Her pen name combines her mother's maiden name and "Renée", a nickname she acquired in France.[3]
She performed the role of Gana in the film Godless, which was presented at the Locarno Film Festival. For her performance, she won Best Actress.[3] She also won the award for Best Actress at the Stockholm Film Festival, the Heart of Sarajevo, and the Golden Rose.[4][2]
In 2021, Karabash published a short collection of epistolary fiction, Omar's Letters to his Future Wife, containing letters sent by the titular Omar to his future wife.[5][6] She has also published poetry.[7] She is the founder of The Rabbit Hole, a creative writing academy in Bulgaria, which has employed writers such as Georgi Gospodinov, Georgi Bardarov, and Victoria Beshliiska [bg].[7][2]
She Who Remains
[edit]In 2018, Karabash released her debut novel, She Who Remains (Bulgarian: Остайница, romanized: Ostaynitsa), about a sworn virgin in Albania.[8] Regarding the work, Karabash said that she wanted to write about the violence of patriarchal society. She spent two years researching the book. Her main sources were books, including Broken April by Ismail Kadare, and interviews with sworn virgins. She said that although she did not travel to Albania, her realistic portrayal persuaded Albanian specialists at Sofia University that she had visited the country.[9]
As of 2026, the novel has been translated into 15 languages. The English translation by Izidora Angel was published by Peirene Press in 2026 and was shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize.[10][11] Angel won the 2023 Gulf Coast Translation Prize for her work on She Who Remains.[7] She described the novel as both "structurally innovative" and "thematically astonishing", remarking that Bulgarian literature rarely deals with queer themes. During the novel's presentation at the Apolonia Festival [bg], one moderator referred to it as "the first serious queer novel in Bulgaria".[12]
Works
[edit]- Хлъбоци и пеперуди (Hips and Butterflies) - 2014 [3]
- Остайница (She Who Remains) - 2018
- Братовчедката на Зорбас (Zorbas' Cousin) - 2020[13]
- Писма на Омар до бъдещата му съпруга (Omar's letters to His Future Wife) - 2021[14]
- Някой ме вика по име (Someone Сalls Me by Name) - 2026[15]
Honors
[edit]- Nominated for the Ivan Nikolov Prize [bg] for Hips and Butterflies, 2015[16]
- Awarded the Elias Canetti Prize [bg] for She Who Remains, 2019[17]
- Awarded the PEN Club français [fr] Prize for Translation for She Who Remains, 2023[18][19]
- Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize for She Who Remains, 2026
References
[edit]- ^ ""She Who Remains" by Rene Karabash on Long List for International Booker Prize". Bulgarian News Agency. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ a b c Kirova, Antoana (25 February 2026). ""Егати кефа". Рене Карабаш и албанските девици, които бяха номинирани за международния "Букър"". Radio Free Europe (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ a b c Mayer, Miroslav (23 May 2024). "В ръкавиците на Рене Карабаш" [In the gloves of Rene Karabash]. Forbes Bulgaria (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "Stockholm International Film Festival". www.stockholmfilmfestival.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "Rene Karabash". The Booker Prizes. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "Omar's Letters to his Future Wife". Sofia Literary Agency. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ a b c "Excerpt from Rene Karabash's She Who Remains Winner of the 2023 Translation Prize". Gulf Coast. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ ""She Who Remains" by Rene Karabash longlisted for International Booker Prize". Bulgarian National Television. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "Bulgarian literature: Power, Violence, Trauma". Balkan Talks. March 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ Marshall, Alex (31 March 2026). "International Booker Prize Shortlist: 6 Novels With 'Burning Humanity'". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
- ^ "She Who Remains". The Booker Prizes. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "She Who Translates: Stiliana Milkova Rousseva in Conversation with Translator and Writer Izidora Angel". Reading in Translation. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "Братовчедката на Зорбас - новата книга на Рене Карабаш" [Zorbas' Cousin: the new book by Rene Karabash]. Bulgarian National Television (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ ""Писма на Омар до бъдещата му съпруга" е новата нестандартна книга на писателката, поет и актриса Рене Карабаш" ["Omar's Letters to His Future Wife" is the new unusual book by the writer, poet and actress Rene Karabash]. impresario.dir.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "Новата стихосбирка на Рене Карабаш е опит да се слееш с другия, но и да останеш при себе си". Bulgarian News Agency (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "Национална награда за поезия "Иван Николов"" [National poetry prize "Ivan Nikolov"]. Bulgarian National Television (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "Писателката Рене Карабаш е носителка на националната награда "Елиас Канети" в Русе" [The writer Rene Karabash is the winner of the national award "Elias Canetti" in Ruse]. Bulgarian News Agency (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "Les Prix de Traduction – Pen Club Français". PEN Club Français (in French). Retrieved 25 February 2026.
- ^ "International recognition for translations of She Who Remains". Bulgarian National Radio. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
