Boris Aprilov

Atanas Vassilev Djavkov, better known by his pseudonym Boris Aprilov (Bulgarian: Борис Априлов) (21 March 1921 – 10 April 1995), was a Bulgarian writer, playwright, dramaturge, satirist, and humorist, best known for his novels, plays, screenplays, and children's literature. He published works under the names Ahasver, Aho, and Ahoto, along with other aliases in the humorist journal Starshel. Atanas Vassilev Djavkov, known as Boris Aprilov, was born on 21 March 1921, in the small Bulgarian town of Malko Tarnovo. His father Vassil's family lived on welfare in Lozengrad until the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish occupation. His mother, Nanka, was an illiterate orphan from a peasant family, given at a very young age to a much older disabled veteran in an arranged marriage.Aprilov's family moved to Burgas, where he completed his education. From his early school years, he published short stories, satiric essays, poetry, and prose in local newspapers.

In 1945, Boris Aprilov married Shela (Rachel) Abraham Cohen, born in Burgas (12 June 1918 – 2 September 1996, Tel Aviv). They met in the Burgas town library. They lived together and had two daughters: Djina Vassileva, born in Burgas on 15 November 1945, and Laura Vassileva, a writer born in Sofia (30 May 1950 – 2 September 1991, Hayfa, Israel).In 1947, Aprilov was invited by the poet Radoy Ralin to work as a columnist for the satiric journal Sturshel, and the family moved to Sofia.In 1956, Aprilov traveled to London and Western Europe with his wife during the Cold War.

An anonymous letter identified Aprilov as a spy. It was said that "Nasko" had been working as a British spy from a young age, that he sang aloud famous hits from English and American movies, and that he chose to travel to London instead of Moscow. Aprilov was warned by the leading editor of the journal, and he decided to resign before he was fired. As a result, he was blacklisted by the authorities, and as he was unable to find any employment as a journalist or editor, he lived exclusively off of his literary work.From 1959 to 1963, Aprilov served as a lead dramaturge and screenplay editor in the Bulgarian State circuses.Aprilov won many awards for his writing, including the Literary Prize of the Ministry of National Economy and the Golden Dolphin's Greatest Award.Aprilov left Bulgaria and spent the last three years of his life in Tel Aviv, Israel, with his family. In 1991, his younger daughter died after a battle with lung disease. Shortly after, Aprilov became sick himself; he died on 4 October 1995, in a Tel Aviv hospital. His wife also died a few months later in Tel Aviv.