Antonia Apostolova (1977) is an award-winning writer, literary critic and editor, whose voice has become indispensable to Bulgaria’s contemporary literary discourse. She published her first book of poetry, Salty Apple, at only 17. Sinking in the Dead Sea (2019) marked her transition to prose – the collection of short stories won the Yordan Yovkov award in the debut category and was shortlisted for the Portal Kultura award. It was followed by We, Who Are Not Here (2021) – a coming-of-age novel that received the Portal Kultura and the Burgas Prose awards and was shortlisted for the Peroto. The story was adapted into a short film and is being considered for a full-length movie adaptation. The Pain Comes Later (2025), her newly released novel, is an intimate multigenerational saga that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. Besides working as a publishing editor, Apostolova is also engaged in contributing to major literary outlets, translating, teaching creative writing and maintaining а popular book website, launched by her.