NEW YORK—For the first time, Armenia will take part in Book Expo America (BEA), the leading book and author event for the North American publishing industry.
The Armenian Pavilion in BEA will showcase Armenian heritage through writings that form part of a long-standing tradition and culture.
Books recently published in Armenia and abroad will be represented in the pavilion, with great importance given to books on the Armenian Genocide published all over the world. Publishers and booksellers from Armenia, as well as the Ambassador to the U.S. Tigran Sargsyan, will also participate.
Cover of Karanian’s Historic Armenia
The opening of the Armenian Pavilion in BEA will be on Wed., May 27 at 3 p.m., and will feature author presentations and readings by Matthew Karanian, Scout Tufankjian, Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, Dana Walroth, Nancy Kricorian, Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy, and Sona Van. (See below for a summary of their works.)
This participation in Book Expo America is supported by the State Commission on Coordination of the events for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
BEA combines the largest selection of English-language titles and is the largest gathering of booksellers, librarians, retailers, and book industry professionals in North America. This year, BEA has more than 2,000 exhibits, 500 authors, over 60 conference sessions.
Cover of Tufankjian’s There is Only the Earth
BEA’s conference program will begin at 9 a.m. on Wed., May 27, with the show floor opening at 1 p.m. and closing at 5:30 p.m. In addition to Wednesday afternoon, the exhibit floor will be open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thurs., May 28, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fri., May 29.
BEA this year also welcomes China as the Global Market Forum guest of honor. Global Market Forum is part of the BEA Content & Digital Conference and is open to all BEA. Its delegation will include more than 100 of the most important Chinese publishing houses and groups attendees. China will hold a series of panels where participants will discuss the Chinese publishing market and explore ways publishers can work with Chinese companies.
BEA 2015 will take place at the Javits Centre, 655 W 34th St., New York. For more information, e-mail info@mincult.am.
Presentations in the Armenian Pavilion
In Historic Armenia After 100 Years, author Matthew Karanian celebrates the Armenia that has avoided destruction: its monuments, churches, and people—the hidden Armenians who have persevered in the face of persecution. Historic Armenia After 100 Years is the product of several years of research and photography. The book’s 176 pages are illustrated with 125 color photographs and maps, including antique photos from a century ago.
In There is Only the Earth, Images from the Armenian Diaspora Project, author Scout Tufankjian shows the life of Armenians who survived the Armenian Genocide and settled in a new country. Tufankjian is famous for her work during President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
Cover of Turcotte’s Nowhere
Nowhere, a Story of Exile by Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte is a riveting, heart-wrenching story told through a personal medium—the diary entries of a young girl documenting the organized terror in Baku, Azerbaijan, her life as a refugee, and her struggle to find herself—all against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Astvatsaturian Turcotte gives a voice to a horrific tragedy little reported in the West, to the Armenian population of Azerbaijan and to the child victims of ethnic cleansing everywhere.
Like Water on Stone by Dana Walroth is an intense survival story of three siblings caught up in the horrific events of the Armenian Genocide. Walroth is a writer, poet, artist, Fulbright Scholar, and second-generation Armenian American, and is committed to the movement for reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia. She was a participant of “Literary Ark.April” International Literal Festival.
Cover of Kricorian’s All the Light There Was
All the Light There Was by Nancy Kricorian is the story of an Armenian family’s struggle to survive the Nazi occupation of Paris in the 1940’s. It is a lyrical, finely wrought tale of loyalty, love, and the many faces of resistance. Part of the story is about how those values, which support individuals and communities in troubled times, can also trap a person.
Cover of Macurdy’s Sacred Justice
Sacred Justice by Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy is a cross-genre book that uses narrative, memoir, unpublished letters, and other primary and secondary sources to tell the story of a group of Armenian men who organized Operation Nemesis, a covert operation created to assassinate the Turkish architects of the Armenian Genocide.
Libretto for the Desert by Sona Van contains poems about wars and genocide and is exclusively dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a longtime friend of the Armenian Genocide issue, who in the past recognized Sona Van as a literary bridge between nations, writes about this book: “History feeds us with numbers and facts but only the true poet can present true human condition and to connect our hearts with real human suffering. Sona Van’s poetry enables the reader to understand and to condemn wars and genocides.”
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