Bulgaria Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Exclusive “Harry Potter” Editions

Bulgaria has recently joined a prestigious group of only a few countries (fewer than 20 in total) that have their very own cover art for the Harry Potter books.

These new editions will feature the art from Lyuben Zidarov, a well-known Bulgarian artist. Zidarov is known for his legendary children’s book illustrations and has illustrated books for over 200 different authors. Zidarov has even been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Award twice for his illustrations and is known for being the oldest acting illustrator in the entire world. Who wouldn’t want a legend like that illustrating our favorite magical book series?

The 95-year-old artist was given the immense task to create the cover art for the 20th-anniversary editions of the Potter series, and Bulgarian readers were not disappointed with what he produced for them. The unique art celebrates everything that Bulgarian children’s books are known for combined with all the intrigue of Harry Potter.

We love the Bulgarian take on some of our favorite scenes in the books.

Each book cover features vivid colors and unique depictions of some of the iconic scenes we’ve come to love. There are even some interesting and often overlooked scenes that have made their way to the covers. For example, we can see Harry being attacked by grindylows on the cover of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and everyone’s favorite giant, Grawp, is shown front and center on Bulgaria’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, an exhibition was held in the Crystal Garden in downtown Sofia showcasing the art from these new anniversary editions.

Illustrated by Lyuben Zidarov, a legendary Bulgarian children’s book illustrator

We’re pretty sure that Viktor Krum would be extremely proud of his home country for celebrating the magic that Harry Potter has brought to people all over the world for 20 years.

Special thanks to Viktor Krum actor Stanislav Ianevski, who shared this Facebook post and was kind enough to translate it for us!