and dark agnosticism). Much of his writing (prose and plays) draws on characters and the ethnography of his native North-West Bulgaria. The fact that his own village Kalimaniza was destroyed and it site is currently under the waters of the "Ogosta" dam (1983) became a recurring theme in his writing and another metaphor for the detachedness of the "modern" world from the one to which Radichkov brings his readers in his reminiscings. Another major theme of his writing is nature and wildlife. In his prose he makes a masterful use of the often chaotic and irrational manner villagers and hunters narrate stories. Over the years Radichkov has gained popularity and recognition in Bulgaria and the international community, including a Nobel Prize nomination. Radichkov's 1966 script for the film Goreshto pladne (Hot Noon) was a story about humanity's efforts to save a trapped boy from drowning in a surging river and was a huge success for the writer. Baruten bukvar (Gunpowder Primer), his 1969 novel, was the first in his homeland to talk about socialism through a powerful blend of profanity, fantasy and folkloric wisdom rather than simple idealization. The award-winning Posledno liato (The Last Summer, 1974) is a parable of a man trying desperately to stay faithful to his own identity in a dynamically changing world. He also wrote a number of domestically and internationally acclaimed children's books. Of these Nie Vrabchetata (We, the Sparrows) has gained particular popularity in Bulgaria. Radichkov often illustrated his works with his own abstract drawings that have become another hallmark of his artistic presence. Radichkov is particularly famous for his language and his use of dialectisms. Critics have stated that "the real main character in the work of Radichkov is the word". Probably the greatest manifestation of Radichkov's impact on Bulgarian culture is the fact that his work introduced a number of neologisms and expressions in the every-day Bulgarian language. Awards and public recognition Radichkov has been awarded a wide number of awards for literature, theatre, and film, both in his homeland and abroad, among them the Order of Stara Planina (the highest order of Bulgaria, 2003), the Italian Grinzane Cavour Prize (1984) and the prize of the International Academy of the Arts in Paris (1993). A founding member, and first president (1984–1991) of the Bulgarian-Swedish Association for Friendship, he received the Swedish national Order of the Polar Star (1988). He was a prominent