Martin Karbovsky, 29

"We live in such a mess here, I don't need to have a message in my stories," says Martin Karbovsky. "They speak for themselves." Karbovsky is one of the most popular writers for Egoist, a provocative monthly magazine that chronicles the harsh realities of life for young Bulgarians. With exposés on sex, drug communes and military service — stories that would have been unthinkable just five years ago — Karbovsky has become a cult figure whose cool cynicism castigates the country's chronic social and economic disarray.

Egoist was started in 1996 as a hip lifestyle magazine aimed...

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