Rayna has a vintage suitcase she loves to take everywhere. It doesn’t hold clothes but books. Ideas. Hidden treasures made of words that bring people together. The suitcase—carefully packed like a personal library on wheels—holds titles you’re unlikely to find in an ordinary bookstore: the short story collection My Brother’s Suitcase, Border by Kapka Kassabova, Balkan poetry, and children’s books by Bulgarian, Arab, and Polish authors. This isn’t a suitcase for display. It’s a suitcase for encounters. Every time it opens, there’s a reason—something meaningful to share, a story to tell, a conversation waiting to happen. And people come. Because they’re curious to see what’s inside. Or because they already know.

It all started with My Brother’s Suitcase

Rayna wasn’t a professional organizer of literary events. But when she came across the book My Brother’s Suitcase some years ago, she felt she had to do something with it. The stories of departure and return, of feeling foreign and in between worlds, moved her deeply. And she wanted to share them. Not just reread the book, but open it up for conversation. That’s how the idea for a public reading and discussion in Stara Zagora was born—not as part of a cultural program but as a gathering of fellow human beings.

The book’s stories struck a chord with her because Rayna herself knows what it’s like to live in motion. Part of that experience comes from her choice of studies—she completed a trinational program in media, culture, and communication that took her to France, Germany, and then back to Bulgaria. Later, she lived in other places too, often near borders. Over time, she began to understand what it means to live “in between.” To not fully belong anywhere. To switch between languages, contexts, and worldviews. To wonder if you’ll ever truly feel at home again.

Rayna organized the reading of My Brother’s Suitcase in collaboration with the book’s publisher and with the support of the Regional Library in Stara Zagora. After the event, people didn’t leave right away. They stayed. They shared their own stories. Rayna realized she had touched on something real. That when there’s a theme that connects us—migration, childhood, belonging—it opens up space for shared experience. That’s how Bookstore in a Suitcase was born.

Not to belong—but to connect

For a long time, Rayna wrestled with the feeling of not belonging anywhere. Then one day, she came across the autobiography of Fatih Akin—a German film director of Turkish descent who describes the same internal struggle. At one point, looking out over the Bosphorus, Akin realizes: “I don’t need to be from here or there. I am a bridge.”

His words struck her. Rayna understood that what once caused her pain was actually a gift. You don’t have to choose sides or cultures when you can be a connector. Every Bookstore in a Suitcase event is exactly that: a cultural bridge. A meeting point between people, topics, and stories that rarely cross paths otherwise.

Not a bookstore. An experience.

Bookstore in a Suitcase isn’t a business model or a cultural project following a fixed format. Rayna doesn’t sell books in the street. When sales happen, they’re after an event with an author—after a conversation. “If someone buys a book, it’s a continuation of the connection, not a transaction.”

The events vary: secret poetry readings, literary gatherings, talks in museums, film screenings in high schools, libraries, churches, and prisons; acoustic concerts in the courtyard of an architectural landmark, site-specific performances. What unites them is attention to context. The places aren’t chosen at random; they need the encounter. And the audience isn’t just an audience—it’s a community of participants.

“People come because they trust my taste. But not only that. They’re looking for an experience. Something that will stay with them.”

Staying true to yourself

When she realized Bookstore in a Suitcase had the potential to grow, Rayna decided to develop it on her own terms, outside of traditional institutional formats. “I wanted to keep my freedom—to act when it made sense, not when there were deadlines.”

So she started a small company. People are often surprised that she does all of this on her own. In reality, everything that happens is only possible thanks to partnerships and like-minded allies. In the meantime, she continues to work on other cultural and business projects. But Bookstore in a Suitcase remains her calling.

It’s not easy, but she hasn’t given up. Because it’s not just an idea. It’s a necessity. And Rayna believes in it deeply.

BASE: Finding your people

In 2023, Rayna joined the BASE program—Business Academy for Starting Entrepreneurs. She didn’t apply to scale up Bookstore in a Suitcase but to find perspective—to test whether her dream had substance and direction.

“BASE was a turning point. I saw I wasn’t alone. That there are people who do things their own way. And that not only is it possible—it’s encouraged.”

She came out of the program with a clearer vision, new partnerships, and renewed confidence.

“BASE was a bridge to a community where I don’t feel like an outsider.”

Over time, the suitcase has drawn a growing audience. Rayna has become one of the cultural catalysts in Stara Zagora—and beyond. Her events are among the most anticipated on the region’s cultural calendar. Thanks to her curatorial instinct and care, Bookstore in a Suitcase has welcomed contemporary writers, poets, journalists, directors, and performers such as Kapka Kassabova, Emine Sadka, Chris Cleave, Ivo Ivanov, Kamen Alipiev-Kedara, Veselin Dimanov, Elena Panayotova, Gerasim Dishliev, Andonis Georgiou, Elin Rahnev, Ina Ivanova, Katerina Stoykova, and many others—and her following continues to grow.

The dream: a home for words

What’s next for Bookstore in a Suitcase? Rayna dreams of a space she won’t have to share with schedules and conditions. Not a center, not a hall, not a library. A home.

“I want a place where the suitcase can rest. Where the conversations don’t end when the event does.”

But the suitcase won’t stop traveling. That’s its nature.

Follow Bookstore in a Suitcase on Facebook to catch its next stops, books, and gatherings. Because the suitcase never stands still. And the best stories happen right there—where we meet.

To learn more about BASE editions near you or to get involved as a mentor or lecturer, visit: https://baseprogram.bg/