2025 Young Armenian Poets Awards: In Honor of Tamar Asadourian
The International Armenian Literary Alliance, in partnership with h-pem, is proud to open the 2025 Young Armenian Poets Awards in honor of Tamar Asadourian, an annual contest that recognizes and provides a platform for exceptional Armenian writers between the ages of 14 and 18.
In his poem, “Motto,” which was published in 1939, the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht asks the important question “In dark times / Will there also be singing?” to which he responds, “Yes, there will be singing. / About the dark times.” This year’s prompt asks students to consider the ways in which we “sing” in response to “dark times,” whether they be personal or public in nature. What does our singing look and sound like? What must it preserve and celebrate and why?
We encourage submissions from any young writer who identifies as Armenian, no matter gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, national origin, socio-economic class, educational background, personal style/appearance, citizenship and immigration status, or political affiliation.
Submissions will be read by IALA Advisory Board members and judges Gregory Djanikian, Armine Iknadossian, and Raffi Wartanian. This year, a total of $600 will be granted to the authors of the three top poems selected by the judges ($200 for each author). Winning poems will be published online on IALA’s and h-pem’s respective websites in the fall of 2025. Winning authors will be invited to read their work at IALA’s annual Emerging Writers Showcase. Finally, the winning authors will receive a copy of Tamar Asadourian’s poetry collection, I remember you my future…
We are looking to honor work that exhibits invention, technical skill, and the emergence of a unique voice or vision.
Submissions are now closed.
Click here to read previous winning poems and to watch our Emerging Writers Showcases.
YAPA is made possible by a generous donation from members of Tamar’s family, Sam and Tamig Ekizian.
Tamar Asadourian (1980-2020) was an accomplished pianist, author and artist. At 16, she performed at Carnegie Hall, and was acclaimed as “an absorbing artist of uncommon sensitivity and intelligence.” While studying at the Manhattan School of Music, Asadourian was forced to give up the piano due to illness. She suffered from severe depression, and dedicated herself to writing, drawing and the arts. After her untimely death, a collection of her poetry, prose and artwork was published in a volume entitled I remember you my future… (Naregatsi Art Institute, Yerevan, Armenia, 2022). Read more of Asadourian’s writing here, and read Lilit Keheyan’s reflections on her work here.
Guidelines
- Poems must be no longer than fifty lines.
- There are no strict requirements with regard to form or content other than responding to the prompt in a direct or indirect way.
- Poems must be submitted in English (translations are welcome but the translator must be credited).
- No personal information (including author names) should appear on the submission, as the work will be read anonymously.
- Writers must identify as Armenian.
- Writers must be between the ages of 14-18 at the time of submission.
- Recipients of the Young Armenian Poets Awards must wait a year before re-entering.
- Writers may submit no more than three poems per submission and make only one submission.
- All poems must be in the same document, and each must start on a new page.
- Poems should be submitted in 12 point font, Times New Roman, and single-spaced with standard margins (1 inch on each side of the page unless the aesthetic of the poem calls for variations).
- Poems should be submitted as .pdf, .doc, or .docx files.