The novel Death and the Gardener by Georgi Gospodinov has won the Spanish Critics Award for Best Foreign Book, the Bulgarian publisher Janet 45 announced.

“We are happy to share that Death and the Gardener by Georgi Gospodinov has won the Spanish Critics Award for Best Foreign Book. This is the 70th edition of one of Spain’s most important literary awards. It is the only prize granted to works in all four official languages of Spain by a jury of 21 independent literary critics,” the publisher said in a statement. 

This is the first time a Bulgarian book receives this distinction.

This latest major recognition for Gospodinov comes just a month after Death and the Gardener (translated by Maria Vutova) won the Grand Prize for Best Fiction Book 2025 awarded by the Spanish Confederation of Booksellers Guilds and Associations.

The Spanish publisher Impedimenta wrote on its website: “Today we celebrate news that fills us with joy: Georgi Gospodinov has been awarded the 2025 Critics Prize for Death and the Gardener. This distinction recognizes one of the most unique, insightful, and indispensable writers of our time. His literature – delicate and deeply humane – explores memory, the passage of time, and the fragility of existence. In his pages, the intimate becomes universal, nostalgia takes on new forms, and everyday life reveals unexpected depth.”

A ninth edition of the novel in Spain is expected within days. Since its release less than a year ago, Death and the Gardener has remained among the most sought-after books, according to Janet 45.

(This information is published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA).