The story of Deanna Haag and her cosy bookshop in Varna, Bulgaria

Born in Ohio and with a degree in fine arts, life took her to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast

published on 2/5/25 1:53 PM

Photo: Archive/ Deanna Haag

Deanna Haag was born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She grew up dreaming of adventure and new horizons.

After graduating from Wittenberg College in Ohio with a degree in Fine Arts, her life took an unexpected turn. The young American stood out for her exceptional beauty and even competed in the Miss America pageant. But her true passion was literature and travel.

Deanna in London (left) /Deanna at Miss America (right).

Fate loves the brave, they say, and so she embarked on a journey that would take her far from her hometown, across countries and continents - only to end up on the shores of the Black Sea.

In 2007, Deanna opened a new chapter in her story when she settled in the maritime city of Varna. Today she is the happy owner of one of the most artistic and busiest bookshops in the city.

"I am American, but I lived in London for 15 years, I also spent 5 years in Moscow and 3 years in Iran, but I can say that I prefer Eastern Europe. I learned quite a bit of Russian, so it made sense to come to Bulgaria. Your language is not exactly the same as Russian, but it's similar," Deanna Haag told Radio Bulgaria.

The language barrier and bureaucracy are the biggest challenges the American faces in the country. But as someone who has lived in big, busy cities, Varna gave her the peace of mind she was looking for.

Deanna's bookshop is decorated with tall bookshelves, cosy reading nooks and soft lighting, just like the iconic Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris. This quiet corner in the heart of the bustling seaside town regularly hosts literary get-togethers and themed tea parties. Sometimes Deanna organises a reading of children's stories in English. Other times, whole school classes come for their literature lessons.

Her Bulgarian adventure started 17 years ago.

"When I first came in 2007, I saw that all English books were new and expensive," Deanna recalls, "So I ordered 10,000 books from England, many of them used. I started with English books, now I have Bulgarian, Russian, French, German, Italian and Danish books, so I have all these languages. Definitely, half of the customers are Bulgarian. There's a lot of people who read in English or want to improve their English. Mostly they come for the classics, which shows that they are intelligent and that they read good, intelligent books. They have very good reading skills. But they also come for the Bulgarian books.

Of course, there's a lot of foreigners - tourists. They come in the summer. People like the bookshop, they give me books they don't want as presents, so that helps a lot," says Deanna Haag, adding that her greatest joy is to see a visitor's face light up when they come across an interesting book.

To this day, the American looks back on her most fruitful years in Moscow during the Cold War. In the Soviet capital, Deanna was part of the American Radio on the Seven Hills. She later worked as advertising director at The Moscow Times. Her experiences in the Russian capital gave her a deep understanding of Eastern European culture. She says she arrived in Varna almost by chance, but quickly discovered it was the right place for her.

"Because I'm that type of American who has lived outside of America, and as I said, I like Eastern Europe. That's why I decided to come here - because of the Black Sea and the "pileshka supa" (chicken soup)," Deanna says half-jokingly, adding, "I live 10 minutes from the bookshop, so it's very convenient. And so close to the sea! That is a luxury that is hard to find elsewhere.

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The story of Deanna Haag and her cosy bookshop in Varna, Bulgaria

Born in Ohio and with a degree in fine arts, life took her to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast

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