In 1900 in Shumen, she published one of her first poems called "Spring" in the literary journal "Youth". Soon after, she published a series of poems in the magazines "Thought", "Democratic Review" and "New Society" in 1905–1906. This marked the start of her literary career.
Dora Gabe was the daughter of Peter Gabe, an immigrant from Russia, who became the first Jew to be elected to the Bulgarian National Assembly. When he was barred from taking office, he turned to journalism and became a well known public figure in Bulgaria. Dora attended high school in Varna, and then pursued a degree in Natural Sciences at Sofia University (1904). Later, she studied French Philology in Geneva and Grenoble (1905–1906). She taught French in Dobrich (1907). From 1911 to 1932, she resided abroad in Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, The Czech Republic, France, The United Kingdom with her husband Prof. Boyan Penev. In the 1920s and 1930s, she gave numerous lectures on political and cultural issues such as the development of Bulgarian literature and the fate of the Dobruja region.
From 1917 to the end of her life, Dora Gabe actively engaged in translation. She translated the works of Adam Mickiewicz, Maria Konopnicka, Stanisław Wyspiański, Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Juliusz Słowacki, Władysław Reymont, Jan Kasprowicz, Henryk Sienkiewicz, B. Leader, Adolf Dygasiński, L. Staffan, A. Slonimsky, Julian Tuwim, K. Alberti, I. Volker, F. Fletch, Vítězslav Nezval, Karel Čapek, G. Jian, Y. Seifert, A. Slutsk, V. Bronevski, C. Imber, Samuil Marshak, E. Kamberos, R. Bumi-Papa, M. Lundemis, Yiannis Ritsos and many others. She was fluent in Polish, Czech, Russian, French, and Greek.
In the 1920s-30s, she published poetry for adults and children, travelogues, stories, essayistic fiction, impressions, theater reviews, articles on issues of foreign and Bulgarian literature, biographical sketches of poets and Writers in magazines such as "Contemporary Thought " Zlatorog, "Polish-Bulgarian review", "Democratic Review," "Falling Leaves", "Dobrudjanski review", "Art and Criticism", "Slovo", "Age", "Journal of Women", "Free Speech," "Dawn," "Women's Voice", "thought", "Contemporary", "Journal of newspapers", "Dnevnik", "Fireworks". She contributed to various in children's periodicals such as "Firefly", "Children's joy," "Children's World", "Drugarche", "Children's Life", "Iveta", "Nightingale ","Merry band", "Window" and others.
Dora Gabe was one of the founders of the Bulgarian-Polish Committee (1922) and the Bulgarian PEN Club (1927). She served as a longtime President for the latter. She was counselor for cultural affairs at the Bulgarian Embassy in Warsaw (1947–1950), and a representative of Bulgaria in the International Congress of PEN clubs.
After 1944, she was widely published in the most popular Bulgarian newspapers and journals, as well as in the children's magazine "Nightingale", "Squad" "Children, art, books," and others. "Violets", Gabe's first lyrical poetry book, demonstrates Secession sentimentalism and a deep understanding of symbolism.
In 1968, she was awarded the title "Honorary citizen of the city Tolbuhin".
