Yordan Yovkov
Yordan Stefanov Yovkov, Aka Jordan Jovkov or Iordan Iovkov (November 9, 1880 – October 15, 1937) was a prominent Bulgarian writer from the interwar period.
Also recorded as Yordan Stefanov Yovkov
Yordan Yovkov
This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Bulgarian Archives State Agency as part of a cooperation project. The Bulgarian Archives State Agency provides images, which are public domain. For · Public domain
- Name
- Yordan Yovkov
- Born
- 9 November 1880
- Birthplace
- Zheravna, Eastern Roumelia
- Died
- 15 October 1937
- Place of death
- Plovdiv, Kingdom of Bulgaria
- Full name
- Йордан Стефанов Йовков.
- Nationality
- Bulgaria
- Occupation
- writer · teacher · playwright · editing staff · poet · correspondent
- Fields
- belletristic · drama
- Movements
- realism
- Education
- Sofia University
- Honours
- Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria) · Order of Bravery
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Documentary summary
Yordan Stefanov Yovkov, Aka Jordan Jovkov or Iordan Iovkov (November 9, 1880 – October 15, 1937) was a prominent Bulgarian writer from the interwar period.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q527920 · wikipedia · Yordan Yovkov
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Yordan Yovkov • Native Name — Йордан Стефанов Йовков • Born — 9 November 1880 • Birthplace — Zheravna, Eastern Roumelia • Died — 15 October 1937 • Place of death — Plovdiv, Kingdom of Bulgaria • Resting Place — Sofia Central Cemetery
Biography
Biography
Born in the village of Zheravna, Yovkov studied at First Sofia Men’s High School, from which he graduated in 1900 with honors, and became a teacher. After teaching for one year in a village in central Bulgaria he entered into the School for Reserve Officers in Knyazhevo as a cadet, before moving to Sofia University to study law in 1904. He never completed his studies due to the lack of funds. When the First Balkan War began in 1912, he received the rank of enlisted, and along with his brother Kosta, joined the 41st division (probably 41st regiment) at Bourgas. He was wounded by a bullet in his leg fighting in the Second Balkan War in 1913, during a battle near Doyran. Following this, he settled in Sofia and became an editor of the People’s Army (Narodna Armiya) magazine, and then librarian for the Minister of Interior Affairs and editor of a state publication. During World War I, he was sent to work as a border officer at the Greek border near the Mesta River. Whilst there he received a summons to work as a correspondent for the paper Military News. He spent years teaching in Varna until the autumn of 1920, after which he served as a press secretary in the Bulgarian embassy in Bucharest. He was demoted in 1927 for unspecified reasons, which caused him to resign and return to Sofia.
Selected works
Selected works
*
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Yordan Yovkov was recorded at birth as Йордан Стефанов Йовков. The authorities additionally record the heading Yordan Stefanov Yovkov. His recorded language was Bulgarian. His recorded confession was Eastern Orthodoxy.
Identity
Identity
Yordan Yovkov is recorded as writer, teacher, playwright, editing staff and poet.
Bulgarian writer Yordan Yovkov.
This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Bulgarian Archives State Agency as part of a cooperation project. The Bulgarian Archives State Agency provides images, which are public domain. For
Bulgarian writer Yordan Yovkov.
This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Bulgarian Archives State Agency as part of a cooperation project. The Bulgarian Archives State Agency provides images, which are public domain. For
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1880
Yordan Yovkov born at Zheravna.
1937
Yordan Yovkov died at Plovdiv.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Zheravna.
Birth place
Plovdiv.
Death place
Literary work and legacy
Yovkov’s war experiences greatly influenced his mentality and style of writing. Whereas his first literary effort was a short story about village life and patriarchal customs, published in 1910, his post-war pieces were harsher and more militaristic. Eventually he moved away from melancholic, depressive themes towards authentic descriptions of villagers and country life. In his short story Shibil, he used turkisms to give a sense of realism to the work. His works Legends of Stara Planina (1927, Staroplaninski legendi, alternately known as the Balkan Legends) and Inn at Antimovo (1927) established him as a major writer. In 1929, he received the Cyril and Methodius Prize for Literature from the Bulgarian Academy of Science. His other works include the dramas Albena (1930) and Boryana (1932); a comedy The Millionaire (1930, Milionerut); and a book, The Family by the Frontier (1934, Chiflikut krai granitsata). "Albena" (1962) - libretto Peter Filchev (after the drama of Yordan Yovkov) and "Millionaire" (1965) were made into operas by Parashkev Hadjiev. A number of his stories were made into films, including Nai-vyarnata strazha (The Most Loyal Guard, film in 1929); Shibil (1968); Nona (1973, from the novel Chiflikut krai granitsata); 24 Chasa duzhd (1982, based on the novel Chastinyat uchitel); and Serafim (short movie, 2017). • Illustration — The Grave of Yordan Yovkov at Sofia Central Cemetery (
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q527920: Yordan Yovkov
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Yordan Yovkov”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- The Writer‘s Memoir of Yordan Yovkov – Various Remembrance, Bulgarski Ezik i Literatura-Bulgarian Language and Literature, 2025
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2025
Honors
Yovkov’s natal home in Zheravna was turned into a museum in 1957. In 1985, a dam in northeastern Bulgaria was named after him. Yovkovtsi Dam, situated 5 km from the town of Elena, supplies water to Veliko Turnovo and surrounding areas. It is 223,000 decares in size and is a hygienic protected zone. A street in Sofia is named after Yordan Yovkov. Yovkov Point on Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Yordan Yovkov. There is a bust of Yovkov in the park behind Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. The village Yovkovo in General Toshevo Municipality in Dobrich Province is named after him.
Literature
Literature
Literature
The Christian Faith and Values in the Works of Yordan Yovkov and Elin Pelin, Forum Theologicum Sardicense, 2025.
Yordan Yovkov ve “Telgraf Telleri Boyunca” Öyküsü Üzerine Bir İnceleme, Medeniyet Kültürel Araştırmalar Belleteni, 2023. « Indjé » de Yordan Yovkov et « Le Tronc » d’Ivo Andrić, Филологически форум, 2023
The Writer‘s Memoir of Yordan Yovkov – Various Remembrance, Bulgarski Ezik i Literatura-Bulgarian Language and Literature, 2025
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
The Writer‘s Memoir of Yordan Yovkov – Various Remembrance, Bulgarski Ezik i Literatura-Bulgarian Language and Literature, 2025Crossref registry
Verifiedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q527920: Yordan YovkovWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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