Ivan Bogdanov

A huge area of ​​Bulgarian literature has not yet attracted the attention of our researchers - anonymous literature. Bulgarian anonymous literature hides significant riches. Touched by individual researchers, on specific occasions, it has not yet been the subject of systematic research by bibliographic workers, historians, writers and publicists. Over a long series of decades, reasons of a diverse nature have forced many writers, public figures, publicists and all other workers of the pen to conceal their names, not to indicate them on their publications either with pseudonyms or with any initials or signs. Together with pseudonyms, various types of mystifications (regarding the author, year, place of publication, publisher, etc.) and plagiarism - anonymous works are one of the forms of what is called literary fraud in bibliography. Some authors also include the so-called subliminal works 2 (pseudonyms and apocrypha) in this group. In terms of scope and distribution, pseudonyms and anonymous authors have the greatest importance among the various types of literary fraud. And in our country, as elsewhere, over the years the number of individual anonymous publications (let alone anonymous articles) has constantly grown, reaching today, in my estimation, 30,000 copies, that is, approximately 18% of all books published in our country since the Liberation! Some see anonymity as a great social evil, but such opinions have prevented this interesting cultural and social phenomenon from spreading, because, along with some of its negative sides - which, by the way, only reactionary forces have abused - anonymity has served as a shield for progressive public figures of all times and peoples, and under its protection their ideas have inspired the masses of the people in their fight against reaction.