Introducing the Mentees of the 2022 IALA Mentorship Program
This year, IALA celebrates four talented writers selected for our second mentorship program, which will run from July 5th through August 30th, 2022. We received many applications from around the world, and are excited to welcome writers from Armenia and the United States, writing novels, short stories and poetry.
The application period for our 2022 mentorship program is closed. Please subscribe to our newsletter for future updates.
Anna Matevosyan is a professional tourist guide, an aspiring writer and a researcher born to an Armenian family in 1988. She lives and works in Yerevan, the highlight of her writing being Armenia, the Armenians of Armenia and what they have been through.
Anna was first published in Hyebred literary magazine with her short story called “Jingyalov Hats,” recently she was also published in Armenian America with her opinion essay “Why Are The Armenians an ‘Untrendy’Nation?” She is currently working on her first collection of short stories based on narratives of Armenian women. The stories reveal the lifestyle of the women of Armenia, the challenges and social issues they face every day. She is an avid reader and a baking enthusiast.
Hrayr Varaz 🐗 is a Western Armenian-ist, SF-based twitter-poet, linguist, flower photographer, empath, sew worker, emoji-er, dancemonger👯, a kweer community flagbearer. He’s a white non-disabled gay cis-male presenting fa88ot, Los Angeles Armenian community raised (Tongva and Kizh land), self-actualized on Yelamu Ramaytush Ohlone land (San Francisco). Hrayr is an enemy of a ‘clean’/’pure’/’correct’ (Western) Armenian language. He writes with spelling freedoms and welcomes odar-words (non-Armenian words) putting aside amot (shame). His first collection of twitterpoems #jivjiv will be printed later this year. Hrayr will work with his mentor to finalize the queer volume of his twitterpoems.
Los Gatos Poet Laureate Jen Siraganian is a writer, educator, and literary organizer. She has served as Managing Director for Litquake: San Francisco’s Literary Festival, been nominated for a Ruth Lilly Fellowship and a Pushcart Prize, earned scholarships from Community of Writers at Squaw Valley and Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, and authored a poetry chapbook titled “Fracture.” Her writing has appeared in Best New Poets 2016, Cream City Review, Mid-American Review, Smartish Pace, Barrow Street, Southwest Review, Not Somewhere Else But Here: A Contemporary Anthology of Women and Place, and other literary journals and anthologies. Learn more about her here.
Tenny Minassian is a vegan and plant-based lifestyle coach and aspiring novelist. She has over ten years of experience in the field of social media marketing and also enjoys creative writing. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from California State University, Northridge and her M.A. in Communication Studies from San Francisco State University. Tenny loves spending time with her dog Lucy, reading, cooking, traveling, and visiting animal sanctuaries.