Ciela Publishing House, Civic Association „Georgy Markov”, The Association of Bulgarian Writers and The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate present:

To Kill a Mockingbird
30 years after Georgy Markov’s death

For more than 30 years now people refer to the Bulgarian writer Georgy Markov more as “the assassinated writer” rather than as “the writer that has been assassinated”. On the eve of this year's anniversary of his death we would like to revive the memory of the writer Georgy Markov and of his literary works.

With the participation of Tzveta Trifonova, Hristo Hristov, Bojidar Kunchev and Svetlozar Jelev.
Moderator– Mihail Nedelchev.

More information about the writer:

Georgi Markov is a Bulgarian writer, novelist, dramatist and journalist who was born on January 1st, 1929 in Kniajevo, Sofia. He receives a technical education in Rousse and Sofia. He works as an engineer and gives lectures at the Technical High-School for Ceramics and Glass in Sofia. He is also the head of the publishing department “Narodna mladej” (1969). He emigrates from Bulgaria on June 15th, 1969. He lives in Italy and London where he works for BBC. He is also a collaborator to “Free Europe” Radio in Muenchen and he makes series of reportages called “Extramural Reportage for Bulgaria” (1977-1978) published in Zurich (1980-1981) and Sofia (1990). In Bulgaria he has been sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment, and in London he has been attacked which finally causes his death in a London hospital on September 11th, 1978

He is an author of many books amongst which are “The Victors of Ajax. Science fiction” (1959), “Between Night and Day. Stories” (1961), ”Men. A Novel” (1962, 1963, 1990), “Women of Warszawa. Stories and novelettes” (1968). He writes also stage plays “Mr and Mrs Cheese Traders” (1963), “Coffee with Pretension”(1966), “Tin”(1967), etc.

In the course of time Georgi Markov’s reportages become more and more exposing and convincingly sharp so on the highest political level the decision for his assassination has been discussed and officially taken on the 7th of September (the birthday of the communist leader Todor Jivkov). On that date, close to the Waterloo bridge on Thames river, he has been fatally wounded with a microscopic pellet installed on the top of an umbrella. He dies painfully in a London hospital. It is supposed that the order has been given by Todor Jivkov himself. The ex KGB general Oleg Kalugin witnesses in his own memorials that the request for Georgi Markov’s liquidation has been at that time debated within the frames of KGB for contribution.

Georgi Markov’s assassination not only is incapable of “removing” him but actually raises him to a mythological level in Bulgaria and around the world. Radio “Free Europe” continues to report his materials. “Extramural reportage for Bulgaria” has been published in two tomes in Zurich in 1980/1981, many copies of his books have been transported illegally in Bulgaria being read as revelation. Their selection has also been published in France, England and the USA. Helplessly the secret services tried to promulgate him as their agent and collaborator, so his exile started to be called “a planned mission” and his murder “inside job”. The same has been stated by Todor Jivkov himself in his last interviews right before his death in 1998. But the careful investigation on Markov’s archives shows that there is not enough data that can assert such collaboration. The investigation file has not been closed till our days.


September 15 (Monday), 19.00 ч.
Red hall
Free entrance



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