International Armenian Literary Alliance
@armenianliterary.org
IALA supports and celebrates writers by fostering the development and distribution of Armenian literature in the English language.
In Naira Kuzmich’s posthumous debut novel, Fearcatcher, a baby girl is found abandoned in the woods of a small village in Soviet Armenia, with one hand forced out of her swaddle.
Learn more: bit.ly/4aLTdod
Learn more: bit.ly/4aLTdod
February 13, 2026 at 10:45 PM
In Naira Kuzmich’s posthumous debut novel, Fearcatcher, a baby girl is found abandoned in the woods of a small village in Soviet Armenia, with one hand forced out of her swaddle.
Learn more: bit.ly/4aLTdod
Learn more: bit.ly/4aLTdod
"My love of poetry is a cosmic desire."
IALA 2024 mentee Melineh Yemenidjian was recently featured in The Armenian Weekly discussing her new collection, The Split Pomegranate. ✍ 📕
Check it out: bit.ly/3OlZ7Ug
IALA 2024 mentee Melineh Yemenidjian was recently featured in The Armenian Weekly discussing her new collection, The Split Pomegranate. ✍ 📕
Check it out: bit.ly/3OlZ7Ug
Poetic courage: Melineh Yemenidjian writes herself whole
Melineh and I are lifelong friends, bound early on by a shared and abiding love for literature. Some of my most vivid memories of her as a child are of the intensity with which she recounted the stori...
bit.ly
February 12, 2026 at 6:45 PM
"My love of poetry is a cosmic desire."
IALA 2024 mentee Melineh Yemenidjian was recently featured in The Armenian Weekly discussing her new collection, The Split Pomegranate. ✍ 📕
Check it out: bit.ly/3OlZ7Ug
IALA 2024 mentee Melineh Yemenidjian was recently featured in The Armenian Weekly discussing her new collection, The Split Pomegranate. ✍ 📕
Check it out: bit.ly/3OlZ7Ug
Missed our first Literary Lights 2026 event with Pulitzer Prize winner Peter Balakian? That's okay! You can watch a full recording of the event on our YouTube channel.
🎬 Watch here: bit.ly/4tvc1iK
🎬 Watch here: bit.ly/4tvc1iK
Literary Lights 2026 Launch: Featuring Peter Balakian
On February 8, 2026, we launched Literary Lights 2026, featuring Peter Balakian, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of New York Trilogy, in conversation with writer, critic, editor and translator, Diana Arterian. In an inventive, elliptical language, New York Trilogy explores one man’s journey from the late 1960s to the twenty-first century, as he moves through a series of experiences centered in New York City and the surrounding New Jersey Palisades. Organized by IALA, NAASR and the Zohrab Information Center for the fourth year in a row, Literary Lights 2026 is an annual reading series showcasing new works of literature by Armenian authors. Each event—held online or in-person—will feature a writer reading from their work, followed by a discussion with an interviewer and audience members. Keep an eye on our website and socials for the exact dates of each event. Read along with the series by purchasing titles at IALA's Bookshop storefront: https://bookshop.org/shop/IALA
bit.ly
February 11, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Missed our first Literary Lights 2026 event with Pulitzer Prize winner Peter Balakian? That's okay! You can watch a full recording of the event on our YouTube channel.
🎬 Watch here: bit.ly/4tvc1iK
🎬 Watch here: bit.ly/4tvc1iK
"For a moment, he thought it meant something, like home. But she left him empty like everything else here."
Step into a moment in time by reading IALA member Arman Kaymakcian's microfiction, "Flicker," published on 101 Words! ✍
Check it out: 101words.org/flicker/
Step into a moment in time by reading IALA member Arman Kaymakcian's microfiction, "Flicker," published on 101 Words! ✍
Check it out: 101words.org/flicker/
Flicker - 101 Words
Beads of sweat swam across Emilio’s face, standing over the hot stove in the cramped kitchen at Trama’s Trattoria. The […]
101words.org
February 10, 2026 at 8:10 PM
"For a moment, he thought it meant something, like home. But she left him empty like everything else here."
Step into a moment in time by reading IALA member Arman Kaymakcian's microfiction, "Flicker," published on 101 Words! ✍
Check it out: 101words.org/flicker/
Step into a moment in time by reading IALA member Arman Kaymakcian's microfiction, "Flicker," published on 101 Words! ✍
Check it out: 101words.org/flicker/
Last chance! 🚨
Join us tomorrow for Literary Lights 2026 featuring Pulitzer-Prize winner Peter Balakian! Writer, editor, and critic Diana Arterian will lead the discussion in this exciting virtual event.
Don't miss out! Register here: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Join us tomorrow for Literary Lights 2026 featuring Pulitzer-Prize winner Peter Balakian! Writer, editor, and critic Diana Arterian will lead the discussion in this exciting virtual event.
Don't miss out! Register here: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
February 7, 2026 at 11:33 PM
Last chance! 🚨
Join us tomorrow for Literary Lights 2026 featuring Pulitzer-Prize winner Peter Balakian! Writer, editor, and critic Diana Arterian will lead the discussion in this exciting virtual event.
Don't miss out! Register here: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Join us tomorrow for Literary Lights 2026 featuring Pulitzer-Prize winner Peter Balakian! Writer, editor, and critic Diana Arterian will lead the discussion in this exciting virtual event.
Don't miss out! Register here: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Congratulations to IALA member Jen Siraganian on being featured in the 2025 Best New Poets anthology with her poem, “Thinking about My Father’s Erector Set from 1948." 👏 ✨
Check out all the other finalists and learn more about the anthology here: bestnewpoets.org/finalists.php
Check out all the other finalists and learn more about the anthology here: bestnewpoets.org/finalists.php
Finalists
bestnewpoets.org
February 6, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Congratulations to IALA member Jen Siraganian on being featured in the 2025 Best New Poets anthology with her poem, “Thinking about My Father’s Erector Set from 1948." 👏 ✨
Check out all the other finalists and learn more about the anthology here: bestnewpoets.org/finalists.php
Check out all the other finalists and learn more about the anthology here: bestnewpoets.org/finalists.php
⏰ Reminder! ⏰
Don’t miss our Literary Lights 2026 launch featuring Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian in conversation with Diana Arterian.
Register and tune in: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Don’t miss our Literary Lights 2026 launch featuring Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian in conversation with Diana Arterian.
Register and tune in: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
February 6, 2026 at 7:24 PM
⏰ Reminder! ⏰
Don’t miss our Literary Lights 2026 launch featuring Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian in conversation with Diana Arterian.
Register and tune in: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Don’t miss our Literary Lights 2026 launch featuring Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian in conversation with Diana Arterian.
Register and tune in: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Check out IALA member Mariam Vahradyan's essay, "Lost Objects" in the Razor Magazine, a profound piece that finds the silver lining in losing what is most precious to us.
Read it here: bit.ly/3NRwNZQ
Read it here: bit.ly/3NRwNZQ
February 4, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Check out IALA member Mariam Vahradyan's essay, "Lost Objects" in the Razor Magazine, a profound piece that finds the silver lining in losing what is most precious to us.
Read it here: bit.ly/3NRwNZQ
Read it here: bit.ly/3NRwNZQ
Don't forget to join us this Sunday for our first Literary Lights event of the year!
Pulitzer Prize–winning author and IALA advisory board member Peter Balakian will discuss his new book New York Trilogy with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Pulitzer Prize–winning author and IALA advisory board member Peter Balakian will discuss his new book New York Trilogy with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
February 4, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Don't forget to join us this Sunday for our first Literary Lights event of the year!
Pulitzer Prize–winning author and IALA advisory board member Peter Balakian will discuss his new book New York Trilogy with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Pulitzer Prize–winning author and IALA advisory board member Peter Balakian will discuss his new book New York Trilogy with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Congratulations to IALA member and our 2025 Literary Light, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, on having her novel, Forest Euphoria, selected for the @nationalbook.bsky.social's Science + Literature program!
Learn more: bit.ly/49N3b6Y
Learn more: bit.ly/49N3b6Y
National Book Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Announce the 2026 Science + Literature Selected Titles
The National Book Foundation (NBF) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation today announced selected titles for the fifth year of the Science + Literature program, which identifies three books annually…
bit.ly
February 2, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Congratulations to IALA member and our 2025 Literary Light, Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, on having her novel, Forest Euphoria, selected for the @nationalbook.bsky.social's Science + Literature program!
Learn more: bit.ly/49N3b6Y
Learn more: bit.ly/49N3b6Y
Check out this insightful review about IALA member Arpie Cherchian Cort and David Cort's new children's book, Mule Cart, An Armenian Refugee Family’s Escape, published in Armenian Weekly! 📚 ✍
Read it here: bit.ly/4qJUce8
Read it here: bit.ly/4qJUce8
Book Review: Mule Cart, An Armenian Refugee Family’s Escape
Mule Cart, An Armenian Refugee Family’s Escape By Arpie Cherchian Cort and David Louis Cort Illustrated by Nicole Nielsen Published by Fig Mint Press, 2025 Audience: Ages 6-11, Grades 1-6 Available in...
bit.ly
January 30, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Check out this insightful review about IALA member Arpie Cherchian Cort and David Cort's new children's book, Mule Cart, An Armenian Refugee Family’s Escape, published in Armenian Weekly! 📚 ✍
Read it here: bit.ly/4qJUce8
Read it here: bit.ly/4qJUce8
We are honored to introduce International Armenian Literary Alliance’s newest advisory board members, Jennifer Manoukian and Alene Terzian-Zeitounian! ✨ 👏
Learn more about them: bit.ly/45FIBV6
Learn more about them: bit.ly/45FIBV6
January 30, 2026 at 7:18 PM
We are honored to introduce International Armenian Literary Alliance’s newest advisory board members, Jennifer Manoukian and Alene Terzian-Zeitounian! ✨ 👏
Learn more about them: bit.ly/45FIBV6
Learn more about them: bit.ly/45FIBV6
Told in interwoven historical, contemporary, and fantastical sequences, IALA member @nadinetakvorian.bsky.social's debut, Armaveni, is a gripping graphic novel and a much-needed historical document on the Armenian Genocide. 📕 ✨
Learn more 👉 bit.ly/49YPodK
Learn more 👉 bit.ly/49YPodK
January 29, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Told in interwoven historical, contemporary, and fantastical sequences, IALA member @nadinetakvorian.bsky.social's debut, Armaveni, is a gripping graphic novel and a much-needed historical document on the Armenian Genocide. 📕 ✨
Learn more 👉 bit.ly/49YPodK
Learn more 👉 bit.ly/49YPodK
Join us for the launch of Literary Lights 2026!✨
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian will read from and discuss his new book, New York Trilogy, with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian at this virtual event.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian will read from and discuss his new book, New York Trilogy, with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian at this virtual event.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
January 26, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Join us for the launch of Literary Lights 2026!✨
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian will read from and discuss his new book, New York Trilogy, with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian at this virtual event.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Pulitzer Prize–winning author Peter Balakian will read from and discuss his new book, New York Trilogy, with writer, critic, editor, and translator Diana Arterian at this virtual event.
Register: bit.ly/3NFhoMc
Literary Lights 2026 is here! ✨ Our 4th annual series spotlights new work by Armenian authors with readings and conversation, online & in person. Presented by IALA, NAASR & the Zohrab Information Center.
Learn more about our line-up: armenianliterary.org/ll26/
Learn more about our line-up: armenianliterary.org/ll26/
January 23, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Literary Lights 2026 is here! ✨ Our 4th annual series spotlights new work by Armenian authors with readings and conversation, online & in person. Presented by IALA, NAASR & the Zohrab Information Center.
Learn more about our line-up: armenianliterary.org/ll26/
Learn more about our line-up: armenianliterary.org/ll26/
On March 3, the Zohrab Center will host a poetry workshop with Quarter Tone Poets, led by IALA advisory board member @raffijoe.bsky.social, exploring Western Armenian through music and language. 🎶✍️
Poet Lola Koundakjian will also join Jesse Arlen for a craft talk + guided writing with live music.
Poet Lola Koundakjian will also join Jesse Arlen for a craft talk + guided writing with live music.
January 22, 2026 at 9:13 PM
On March 3, the Zohrab Center will host a poetry workshop with Quarter Tone Poets, led by IALA advisory board member @raffijoe.bsky.social, exploring Western Armenian through music and language. 🎶✍️
Poet Lola Koundakjian will also join Jesse Arlen for a craft talk + guided writing with live music.
Poet Lola Koundakjian will also join Jesse Arlen for a craft talk + guided writing with live music.
When 45-year-old Mari Sarkisian Wyatt, a freelance copy editor, decided to have a third child, she had no idea what she was getting into, except that a woman her age had a success rate of less than 5% without help.
📚 Learn more here: bit.ly/4bQirma
📚 Learn more here: bit.ly/4bQirma
January 21, 2026 at 8:39 PM
When 45-year-old Mari Sarkisian Wyatt, a freelance copy editor, decided to have a third child, she had no idea what she was getting into, except that a woman her age had a success rate of less than 5% without help.
📚 Learn more here: bit.ly/4bQirma
📚 Learn more here: bit.ly/4bQirma
“An affectingly gentle immigration story set against a pitiless backdrop.”
We’re thrilled to share that IALA member Rebecca Rose Mooradian’s children’s book, "Rose by the Sea: An Armenian Journey of Courage and Hope," has received a glowing review from Kirkus Reviews!
Read it here: bit.ly/45VV8nd
We’re thrilled to share that IALA member Rebecca Rose Mooradian’s children’s book, "Rose by the Sea: An Armenian Journey of Courage and Hope," has received a glowing review from Kirkus Reviews!
Read it here: bit.ly/45VV8nd
ROSE BY THE SEA | Kirkus Reviews
Having lost their parents in the Armenian genocide, two sisters must make their way to safety.
bit.ly
January 19, 2026 at 9:15 PM
“An affectingly gentle immigration story set against a pitiless backdrop.”
We’re thrilled to share that IALA member Rebecca Rose Mooradian’s children’s book, "Rose by the Sea: An Armenian Journey of Courage and Hope," has received a glowing review from Kirkus Reviews!
Read it here: bit.ly/45VV8nd
We’re thrilled to share that IALA member Rebecca Rose Mooradian’s children’s book, "Rose by the Sea: An Armenian Journey of Courage and Hope," has received a glowing review from Kirkus Reviews!
Read it here: bit.ly/45VV8nd
Congratulations to IALA advisory board member Lory Bedikian for being awarded the 2024 Anahid Literary Prize! 👏 🏆
Learn more in Armenian Weekly: bit.ly/45ZimJc
Learn more in Armenian Weekly: bit.ly/45ZimJc
Lory Bedikian and Aaron Poochigian awarded Anahid Literary Prize
NEW YORK — The Anahid Literary Prize has been awarded to Lory Bedikian for 2024 and Aaron Poochigian for 2025. The award is given to a writer of Armenian descent writing in English, in early or mid-ca...
bit.ly
January 16, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Congratulations to IALA advisory board member Lory Bedikian for being awarded the 2024 Anahid Literary Prize! 👏 🏆
Learn more in Armenian Weekly: bit.ly/45ZimJc
Learn more in Armenian Weekly: bit.ly/45ZimJc
We are so excited to see that two of our Literary Lights 2025 books, @nancykric.bsky.social's The Burning Heart of the World and Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian's Forest Euphoria, have made @miznaarabart.bsky.social's "Favorite SWANA Books of 2025" list! 📚 🌟
Check it out: bit.ly/3Z327at
Check it out: bit.ly/3Z327at
Favorite SWANA Books of 2025: Reflections on Literary Abundance from Mizna Community + Staff - Mizna
This year has been a big year for books by SWANA authors. Big in the sense that we’ve seen an impressive volume of work published in English this year, but also in the sense that those works have rece...
bit.ly
January 16, 2026 at 8:16 PM
We are so excited to see that two of our Literary Lights 2025 books, @nancykric.bsky.social's The Burning Heart of the World and Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian's Forest Euphoria, have made @miznaarabart.bsky.social's "Favorite SWANA Books of 2025" list! 📚 🌟
Check it out: bit.ly/3Z327at
Check it out: bit.ly/3Z327at
✨ Thank you for making our 2025 holiday fundraiser a success! ✨
Because of your generosity, we met our goal of raising $5,000. We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave, shared, and cheered us on. Your support keeps Armenian literature thriving, and we truly couldn’t do this work without you.
Because of your generosity, we met our goal of raising $5,000. We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave, shared, and cheered us on. Your support keeps Armenian literature thriving, and we truly couldn’t do this work without you.
January 14, 2026 at 8:16 PM
✨ Thank you for making our 2025 holiday fundraiser a success! ✨
Because of your generosity, we met our goal of raising $5,000. We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave, shared, and cheered us on. Your support keeps Armenian literature thriving, and we truly couldn’t do this work without you.
Because of your generosity, we met our goal of raising $5,000. We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave, shared, and cheered us on. Your support keeps Armenian literature thriving, and we truly couldn’t do this work without you.
Sign up for IALA board member Arthur Kayzakian's workshop, Ghost[ed], which is taking place tomorrow at 7 pm ET! ✍⏰
Hosted by Mission Belonging, this virtual poetry workshop explores themes of erasure, exile, and fragmentation.
Learn more and register: bit.ly/45ecuM1
Hosted by Mission Belonging, this virtual poetry workshop explores themes of erasure, exile, and fragmentation.
Learn more and register: bit.ly/45ecuM1
Ghost[ed] with Arthur Kayzakian | Mission Belonging (in partnership with Strathmore)
A virtual poetry workshop on erasure, exile, and fragmentation invites poets to dismantle and reimagine texts through absence and disruption. Participants experiment with language as disappearance, re...
bit.ly
January 14, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Sign up for IALA board member Arthur Kayzakian's workshop, Ghost[ed], which is taking place tomorrow at 7 pm ET! ✍⏰
Hosted by Mission Belonging, this virtual poetry workshop explores themes of erasure, exile, and fragmentation.
Learn more and register: bit.ly/45ecuM1
Hosted by Mission Belonging, this virtual poetry workshop explores themes of erasure, exile, and fragmentation.
Learn more and register: bit.ly/45ecuM1
New York writers! 🍎
Need weekend plans? Join IALA members @nicoleharoutunian.bsky.social, Aida Zilelian, and Shushanik Karapetyan on January 11th for a special reading centered on motherhood. More details below.
Need weekend plans? Join IALA members @nicoleharoutunian.bsky.social, Aida Zilelian, and Shushanik Karapetyan on January 11th for a special reading centered on motherhood. More details below.
January 9, 2026 at 8:08 PM
New York writers! 🍎
Need weekend plans? Join IALA members @nicoleharoutunian.bsky.social, Aida Zilelian, and Shushanik Karapetyan on January 11th for a special reading centered on motherhood. More details below.
Need weekend plans? Join IALA members @nicoleharoutunian.bsky.social, Aida Zilelian, and Shushanik Karapetyan on January 11th for a special reading centered on motherhood. More details below.
⏰ 13 hours left and $575 to go!
We’re so close to reaching our fundraiser goal, and your support can help us cross the finish line.
If you’ve been meaning to give, now is the moment. Let’s close this fundraiser with a bang!
✨ Donate today: givebutter.com/IALA25
We’re so close to reaching our fundraiser goal, and your support can help us cross the finish line.
If you’ve been meaning to give, now is the moment. Let’s close this fundraiser with a bang!
✨ Donate today: givebutter.com/IALA25
Another story is possible. Let’s write it together.
This Giving Tuesday and holiday season, choose to invest in the future of Armenian literature. Your support is truly the difference.
givebutter.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:54 PM
⏰ 13 hours left and $575 to go!
We’re so close to reaching our fundraiser goal, and your support can help us cross the finish line.
If you’ve been meaning to give, now is the moment. Let’s close this fundraiser with a bang!
✨ Donate today: givebutter.com/IALA25
We’re so close to reaching our fundraiser goal, and your support can help us cross the finish line.
If you’ve been meaning to give, now is the moment. Let’s close this fundraiser with a bang!
✨ Donate today: givebutter.com/IALA25
🚨 We’re just $725 away from reaching our holiday fundraiser goal! 🚨
Tomorrow is the final day of our fundraising campaign, and we’re counting on you to help us cross the finish line! ⏰
Donate here: givebutter.com/IALA25
Tomorrow is the final day of our fundraising campaign, and we’re counting on you to help us cross the finish line! ⏰
Donate here: givebutter.com/IALA25
January 8, 2026 at 6:46 PM
🚨 We’re just $725 away from reaching our holiday fundraiser goal! 🚨
Tomorrow is the final day of our fundraising campaign, and we’re counting on you to help us cross the finish line! ⏰
Donate here: givebutter.com/IALA25
Tomorrow is the final day of our fundraising campaign, and we’re counting on you to help us cross the finish line! ⏰
Donate here: givebutter.com/IALA25