Julia Spiridonova

Julia Spiridonova (Yulka) (Bulgarian: Юлия Спиридонова (Юлка)) is a Bulgarian novelist and screenwriter.

Julia Spiridonova was born on October 30, 1972, in Sofia into a family of artists.

She was first acknowledged as a writer in 1995 when her first short story The Pacifier won the annual UNESCO award. Her story was then included in English and French short story anthologies.In 1996 Julia Spiridonova was invited to take part in the screenplay jury of the Student Film Festival in Munich. In 2006, her first novel My Sweet Pathwalker won the biggest ever annual children's book manuscript competition, held by the Bulgarian Writers Association.In 2007 she was invited by the Russian Presidency as an official guest of the International Bookfair BibliObraz in Moscow to represent Bulgaria.In 2008 Julia's children tale The Scabby Frog, illustrated by the internationally acclaimed artist and illustrator Ivan Gantschev, was presented with a very positive acclaim at the International Bookfair in Hague. In 2010 The Ministry of Education and Science awarded to Julia Spiridonova the Special Merit Award in recognition for the distinctive support in the development of the spiritual culture of the young generations. In 2011, a research carried out by the "I Read" website in 27 public libraries in Bulgaria, showed that Julia Spiridonova’s books are the most often asked for and borrowed books.

Julia Spiridonova is also well known for her screenwriter work, having authored more than 400 scripts for the Bulgarian National Television. She is the creator and author of several TV shows and series for children and teenagers.

She is a member of the Association of Bulgarian Writers.

• The Goo Goo Birdies (1999)
• Goo Goo Birdie Stories (2000)
• Adventures with Djigo (2003)
• Big Deal Tina (2008)
• A Private Eye’s Adventures in the Underworld (2009)
• My Sweet Pathwalker (2009)
• Countess Bathory (2010)
• Blood of Kings (2011)
• Max (2012)
• The Labakan's needle (2013)
• A Tale of the Magic Flute (2013)
• Be My Friend (2015)
• What Sorcery Had Snow (2015)
• Chronos (2016)
• Sun, Where are You (2017)
• Milyen varazslatot rejt a ho? (2017)
• Santa's secret agents (2018)
• „Kronos, acest nefericit!“ Editura "Aramis", 2019

• 1995 – The annual UNESCO award for The Pacifier short story
• 2005 - Europe in Fairytale competition 3rd prize winner
• 2006 - The children book manuscript competition, held by the Bulgarian Writers Association for the My Sweet Pathwalker novel
• 2010 – The annual Hristo G. Danov award nominee, Book of the Year category
• 2010 – The annual Konstantin Konstantinov award winner, Author of the Year category
• 2010 – The annual P.R. Slaveykov - Contribution to the Bulgarian Literature award winner
• 2011 – The annual Hristo G. Danov award nominee, Book of the Year category
• 2012 - The annual The Golden Apple award nominee
• 2012 – The Child Honorary Diploma for lifetime contribution to the happy childhood of Bulgarian children
• 2015 – The annual Hristo G. Danov award nominee, Book of the Year category
• 2015 - The Quill Award winner, Children's Book of the Year category
• 2016 - The Magic Pearl National Children's Choice Awards
• 2016 - Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA)[1] Nominee
• 2017 - Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA)[2] Nominee
• 2018 - Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA)[3] Nominee
• 2019 - Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA)[4] Nominee

From 2009 to the present Julia Spiridonova has been the founder and organizer of the weekly "Who Loves Fairytales" initiative at the Children and Youth Department of the Sofia Capital Library.

From 2010 to the present she has been the founder and organizer of the "Where Children Live, There Should Be Children Books" campaign. The campaign aims to set up libraries of newly published books for orphanages.

From 2015 to the present she has been the founder and organizer of the "Flying Pig" literary teen club initiative at the Children and Youth Department of the Sofia Capital Library.