14 Minutes Before Sunrise

What kind of minutes are these? And why exactly 14?

No, I didn’t wake up before dawn and start inventing stories because I couldn’t sleep.

“14 Minutes Before Sunrise” is the title of my first book.

Although the book is written in Bulgarian and might not be translated into English anytime soon, I wanted to share a bit about it with my friends with whom I share English as a common language.

“14 Minutes” is a novel in the tradition of classic science fiction.

How did I manage to write a whole novel? Well, I had written a few short stories and fairytales in the past. This one began as just another short story, but as I wrote, more and more scenes kept appearing in my mind. I thought it might become a novelette—but the flow of ideas didn’t stop. In the end, it grew into a full novel.

Once the manuscript was finished, I asked a few friends to be my beta readers. One of them agreed, read the draft, and pointed out some weaknesses. I rewrote the book based on that feedback. In the end, we both agreed—it was ready.

Then came the question: what should I do with it? Should I publish it on my blog? Submit it to a publisher? Around that time, I came across an announcement from a small publishing foundation, The Humans Library, which had launched a competition for uplifting novels under the theme “The Sunrise of the Next.”

The call for submissions was looking for works that used artistic imagination and creative modeling to envision new worlds, in one of two ways:

“Spiraling to the Next” – the journeys of individuals and societies trying to escape today’s global crisis; depictions of scientists, thinkers, and ordinary people reaching into the unknown in search of a better way; stories of adventure and gradual discovery of meaning in that spiral.

“Visions of What Is Next” – the formation of new, inwardly free ideas and communities; societies that have moved forward without escapism, fanaticism, or asceticism. These stories imagine humanitarian technologies that liberate people from objectification, while revealing the ethical and intellectual potential of the Humanly—and portray realistic, non-utopian futures where each person can thrive independently, without ownership or domination by other.

I believed my book fulfilled at least one of the competition’s criteria, so I submitted it to the organizers. The jury—composed of some of the most respected Bulgarian science fiction authors—decided that it deserved first prize, alongside another novel: "For One More Chromosome" by Nevena Pascaleva.

The prize? Publication.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic soon disrupted everything. Some people involved in the process got sick, deadlines were missed, and delays became inevitable. As a result, my book is only now being published. Nevena’s novel, unfortunately, is still pending release.

Now, a few words about the novel itself—and why I chose the style of classic science fiction.

Let’s take a brief look at the history of the genre—its golden eras.

First, there was the age of Jules Verne—a time of great discoveries and inventions. When we look back at that era, it feels like something new was being invented or uncovered almost every single day.

Then came the golden age of authors like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Stanisław Lem, and many other giants of science fiction. It was an era of bold ideas: mankind taking giant steps into space, breakthroughs in electronics, cybernetics, and medicine.

In the routine of our everyday lives, we might not realize it—but in many ways, we are once again living in times similar to those of Jules Verne. The pace of innovation, the blend of science and imagination, the search for meaning beyond the horizon—it’s all here again.

Back in the 1970s, people were still debating whether videophones were even possible.

Today, everyone carries a device in their pocket that can make video calls to anyone in the world.

Diseases that were considered incurable just a decade ago are now being successfully treated.

And let’s not forget artificial intelligence—once a dream of the future, now available to everyone.

That’s why I believe classic science fiction is perfectly suited to our times.

In writing this novel, I tried to emulate the spirit of the old masters—while updating the language. After all, no one wants their pages to smell of dust and mothballs.

The story touches on many familiar topics: heuristics, forecasting, and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (the real kind—not just language models), consciousness transfer, artificial meat, space exploration, genetic engineering, and more.

But I aimed to explore them from less conventional perspectives.

Take artificial intelligence, for example. In fiction, it's usually portrayed as something dark and dangerous—an evil force that inevitably wants to eat our dessert.

But why?

What if, instead, it wanted to help us make a better dessert? (I’m joking, of course. There’s no dessert-making AI in the novel.)

Of course, I don’t claim to have the final word on any of these topics. I’m not insisting that my point of view is the only correct one.

I’m just offering another way to look at them.

That’s enough for now.

If the book is ever translated into English, I’ll be sure to share a more detailed review.