From Bulgaria with Love: Hayley Hinkle tells her adoption story

A children’s book by Bulgarian-born author Hayley Markoff Hinkle has been added to the library of the Bulgarian Consulate General in New York. From Bulgaria with Love: The Tale of Little Sophia’s Big Adventure explores adoption and belonging through the story of a young girl’s journey from Bulgaria to the United States.

Hinkle herself made that journey in 1990, when she was adopted by Ed and Marilyn Markoff and moved from Sofia to Pennsylvania. According to the Bulgarian Consulate General in New York, she was the first child from Sofia to be adopted by an American couple following the democratic changes in Eastern Europe. The Consulate says this was also recognised in a special act by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

The book draws on Hinkle’s own experience of adoption and growing up in the United States while maintaining a connection with Bulgaria.

Hinkle also has Bulgarian roots through her family. Her great-grandfather was Lambe Markoff, founder and first president of the Bulgarian-Macedonian Beneficial Association, the organisation from which today’s Bulgarian-Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center traces its origins.

In Pittsburgh, Hinkle and her father, Ed Markoff, have served for years on the board of the Bulgarian-Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center, where she remains active in the local Bulgarian community.

The author will present her book in Pennsylvania on September 10 at 6 pm at the Bulgarian-Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center, 449 West 8th Avenue, West Homestead.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova