The International Armenian Literary Alliance announced the launch of three grants for creative writing and translation—each worth $2,500—to one writer and two translators whose work-in-progress show exceptional literary and creative ability. Applications will be open from September 1 to September 30 and the winners will be announced in December 2023.
The International Armenian Literary Alliance’s Creative Writing Grant will award $2,500 annually to one Armenian writer whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. In 2023, the grant will be awarded for a collection of poetry, and in the coming years, to works of creative nonfiction and fiction, as well as other mixed genre forms. The grant will be judged by Gregory Djanikian and Raffi Wartanian.
IALA’s Creative Writing Grant, made possible by a generous donation from the Armenian Allied Arts Association, is meant to foster the development of contemporary Armenian literature in English through an annual monetary award, and support Armenian writers who have historically lacked resources in the publishing world. Additionally, IALA will support grant recipients in promoting their publications through marketing on our website and social media channels, book reviews, readings and discussions.
The Israelyan Armenian Translation Grant from the International Armenian Literary Alliance will award $2,500 to one translator working from an English source text into Eastern Armenian, whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. In 2023, the grant will be awarded for a work of literature (in any form) that stimulates the imagination of young adults at a formative time in their development. In the coming years, the grant will also be awarded to translators working from English source texts into Western Armenian. The 2023 grant will be judged by Anna Davtyan, Armen Ohanyan and Zaven Boyajyan.
Despite the growing number of translated works from English to Eastern Armenian in recent years, translated literature remains an area that needs further attention and development. IALA’s Israelyan Armenian Translation Grant, made possible by a generous donation from Souren A. Israelyan, supports translators working with literature written in the English language through a monetary award. Additionally, IALA will support grant recipients in promoting their publications through marketing on our website and social media channels, book reviews, readings and discussions.
The Israelyan English Translation Grant from the International Armenian Literary Alliance will award $2,500 to one translator working from Eastern Armenian source texts into English, whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. In 2023, the grant will be awarded for a work of literature (in any form) written in Eastern Armenian and published any time after 1900, and in the coming years, to works written in Western Armenian. The judges for this grant will be announced later.
Given the traumatic history of the Armenian diaspora, many readers are unable to read works in the original Armenian, and therefore, have centuries of literature inaccessible to them. Translators working with Armenian texts have traditionally lacked resources in the publishing world, as well as access to other funding, due to the overwhelming influence of so-called “majority languages.” IALA’s Israelyan English Translation Grant, made possible by a generous donation from Souren A. Israelyan, supports translators working with contemporary Armenian literature through a monetary award. Additionally, IALA will support grant recipients in promoting their publications through marketing on our website and social media channels, book reviews, readings and discussions.
For more details, full eligibility criteria, and more information on past grant recipients, please visit IALA’s website, or contact Hovsep Markarian, IALA’s program manager, at admin@armenianliterary.org.
Extended Deadline: IALA’s 2023 Young Armenian Poets Awards
The submission deadline for the International Armenian Literary Alliance’s annual Young Armenian Poets Awards has been extended until June 14. YAPA, organized in partnership with h-pem, is a contest for exceptional Armenian writers between the ages of 14 and 18.
Over the past two years, the Young Armenian Poets Awards has provided a space for young Armenian writers from all over the world to express themselves and have their voices heard on the global stage. This year is no exception.
This year’s entrants are asked to submit work that grapples with the notion of visibility as it relates to Armenian identity and experience. How visible are Armenia and Armenian issues on the world stage? What is the extent to which we feel visible as Armenians in our respective communities outside of Armenia?
Submissions – to be read by IALA board members and judges Gregory Djanikian, Armine Iknadossian, and Raffi Wartanian – are encouraged from any young writer who identifies as Armenian, no matter gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, creed, national origin, socio-economic class, educational background, personal style/appearance, citizenship and immigration status, or political affiliation.
Monetary prizes will be granted for the top three poems, which will be published online on the h-pem website and shared on IALA’s social media platforms in the fall. Winning authors will be invited to read their work at IALA’s annual Emerging Writers Showcase.
“Literature is a vital element of a people and a culture⎯we are our stories,” says founder Olivia Katrandjian. “As writers, we must support each other if we want to thrive not only as individuals, but as a literary community. As a people, Armenians must support our writers if we want the world to listen to our stories. IALA will provide a platform through which young Armenian writers can be heard.”
“We continue to honor and create a platform for the next generation of exciting Armenian poets who have so much to teach us,” says contest director Alan Semerdjian, “and we’re thankful for those who will spread the word about this fantastic opportunity.”
“Being involved in the Young Armenian Poets contest gave me a way to put the feelings I had been struggling to understand for years into flowing sentences and share them with the world, enabling me to see how my words can truly affect others and touch their hearts,” says 2022 YAPA winner, Ani Apresyan. “Winning recognition and hearing what other like-minded Armenian youth have to say fills me with indescribable hope for the future that Armenia is taking steps towards fostering.”
For more details, full submission guidelines, and more information on past winners, please visit IALA’s website, or contact Alan Semerdjian, Young Armenian Poets Awards Founder and Director, at ialayoungpoetsawards@gmail.com.
The International Armenian Literary Alliance is a nonprofit organization launched in 2021 that supports and celebrates writers by fostering the development and distribution of Armenian literature in the English language. A network of Armenian writers and their champions, IALA gives Armenian writers a voice in the literary world through creative, professional, and scholarly advocacy.
H-Pem (stylized as h-pem) is a collaborative English-language Armenian cultural online platform and publication established by the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society. Launched in 2019, h-pem’s mission is to reach Armenian communities around the world and help Armenians — particularly Armenian youth — (re)connect with their homeland and culture in new, creative, and cooperative ways.
