ALEK POPOV is the prize-winning author of widely translated collections of short stories and novels. His first novel, Mission London, has been translated into 15 languages and was adapted into a hugely successful film that broke Bulgarian box office records. The Black Box is his second novel. A third, The Palavei Sisters, was published in 2013. Alek Popov was elected as a member of Bulgarian Academy of Science in the field of Arts. He serves on the board of Bulgarian PEN Centre and is part of the editorial body of Granta Bulgaria magazine.