Wasafiri: Armenia(n)s – Elevation by Tatevik Ayvazyan and Naneh V Hovhannisyan
Tatevik Ayvazyan and Naneh V Hovhannisyan are pleased to announce the release of the winter 2024 special issue of the Wasafiri Magazine for contemporary international writing. This landmark edition, “Armenia(n)s: Elevation“, is guest co-edited by the UK-based duo and will be published on December 6, 2024.
In some 170 pages, it offers a multi-genre selection of specially commissioned works or their debut translations into English. The Armenian Special features an unprecedented array of established and new writers from Armenia and the Diaspora.
We are proud that so many of the writers and translators featured in the volume are IALA members: Nancy Agabian, Maral Aktokmakyan, Tatevik Ayvazyan, Shushan Avagyan, Peter Balakian, Susan Barba, Tamar Marie Boyadjian, Armen Davoudian, Anahit Ghazaryan, Mashinka Firunts Hakopian, Perla Kantarjian, Arthur Kayzakian, Olivia Katrandjian, Lola Koundakjian, Nancy Kricorian, Margarit Ordukhanyan, Nazareth Seferian, Garen Torikian, Thomas Toghramadjian, and Taline Voskeritchian.
From poetry and fiction to thought-provoking book reviews, art, life writing and in-depth interviews, Wasafiri 120 is a rich tapestry of modern Armenian voices. It offers readers a profound and eloquent exploration of the human condition through meditations on the Armenian language, culture, and identity.
Co-editor Naneh V Hovhannisyan says, “This is a showcase – by no means exhaustive – of the creative force of our community and of the vital themes to us right now. We’re honoured to be sharing it with anglophone readers and to be contributing in this small way to cross-cultural literary links.”
“This issue is a jukebox of contemporary Armenian writing,” adds IALA board member Tatevik Ayvazyan. “Alongside heavyweights such as Krikor Beledian, Nancy Kricorian, Aram Pachyan, Khatchig Mouradian, and Narine Abgaryan, we introduce emerging talent — Perla Kantarjian, Shogher Sargsyan, Garine Boghossian, and others. It’s a pity we didn’t have another hundred pages for many more exciting works.”
The result of over two years’ meticulous work with some fifty-plus contributors, the volume is part of Wasafiri’s rich back catalogue, comprising works by distinguished and prize-winning authors such as Chinua Achebe, Anita and Kiran Desai, Sam Selvon, Nadine Gordimer, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Michael Ondaatje, and Vikram Seth.
The magazine’s editor and publishing director Sana Goyal says, “Wasafiri is delighted and honoured to have worked with guest editors Tatevik Ayvazyan and Naneh V Hovhannisyan on producing a special issue of the magazine. This powerful and pertinent volume shines a light on modern Armenian identities and experiences through creative and critical work from the region and its diasporas. Speaking simultaneously to the personal and the political, to questions of history and geography, and (un)belonging and borders, it elucidates the ruptures and elevations as represented and expressed by a community of writers and artists.”
Queen Mary University of London’s Wasafiri magazine for contemporary international writing is known for championing diverse global perspectives. Armenia(n)s – Elevation continues this tradition, providing a platform for Armenian writers and artists to share their stories with an international audience.
Tatevik Ayvazyan is a London-based writer and producer with Rebel Republic Films and the former director of the Armenian Institute. She is the producer of the award-winning poetry film, Taniel, and is currently adapting Iris Murdoch’s The Italian Girl. She’s a board member of the International Armenian Literary Alliance, focusing on translation projects, and of Azad Archives.
Naneh V Hovhannisyan is an Armenian-born writer of creative nonfiction. Her book reviews and life writing have been published by EVN Report, WritersMosaic and The Cambridge Review of Books, among others. She is interested in history, loss, and belonging, and is currently writing a memoir with the accompanying radio essays.