Bulgarian schoolchildren were once again challenged in a yearly competition to write essays on one of the literary miscellanies of prominent writer Yordan Radichkov.

The author seen as living classic of Bulgarian literature passed away on January 21, 2004, a few months short of turning 75.

The competition is part of "The Wonderful Northeast" project, supported in the past several years by company Monbat. The project's goal is to popularize the values, traditions and achievements of North-Eastern Bulgaria by patronizing various cultural and art initiatives.

For the first time this year the competition widened its scale to nation-wide, rather than covering only North-Eastern Bulgaria as it was before.

All high-school students aged fifteen to eighteen were eligible for participation and more than 160 essays were submitted. They were evaluated by a jury with diverse backgrounds, including, among others, prof. Boyan Biolchev, Rector of Sofia University and Valeri Zapryqnov, editor of Tema magazine.

Six essays were selected by the jury, and the first prize - a bank account with BGN 3,000 for educational purposes was opened in the name of winner Bilyana Petrova from the Danube city of Ruse.

Second place and a BGN 2,000 account went to Polya Georgieva from Sofia, and three more students were awarded BGN 500 each for a third-place tie.

Monbat's Chief of Management Board Atanas Bobokov, who sponsored the event, awarded the special prize - a set of books to Nelly Temelkova from Plovdiv.

One of the most important outcomes from the competition was the publication of a book containing the best works from this and from the previous year - ones that were awarded and others that impressed the juries.

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