Author: Emil Lazarian

The International Armenian Literary Alliance is pleased to announce its four annual grants for creative writing and literary translation. Application opens on September 1st until September 30th, 2026, with awards of up to $3,500 per grant – an increase from $3,000 in previous years – made possible by a generous donation from Souren A. Israelyan.

The International Armenian Literary Alliance’s Creative Writing Grant will award $2,500 to one Armenian writer whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. The grant genre rotates annually to support a diverse range of literary voices. Following previous years focused on fiction and nonfiction, the 2026 grant will be awarded for a collection of poetry, to be judged by Armen Davoudian.

IALA’s Creative Writing Grant 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.

“I’m honored to serve as a judge for this year’s poetry grant and look forward to spending time with the work emerging across the Armenian literary community,” says IALA Advisory Board Member and judge Armen Davoudian.

The Israelyan Eastern Armenian Translation Grant from the International Armenian Literary Alliance will award $3,500 to one translator working from an Eastern Armenian source text into English, whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. In 2026, the grant will be awarded for a work of literature (in any literary genre) written in Eastern Armenian and published any time after 1915, including the Modernist and Contemporary periods. The grant will be judged by Dr. Shushan Avagyan and Dr. Myrna Douzjian.

Many in the Armenian diaspora and the English-speaking world 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 Eastern Armenian Translation Grant, made possible by Souren A. Israelyan, supports translators working with 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.

The Israelyan Western Armenian Translation Grant from the International Armenian Literary Alliance will award $3,500 to one translator working from a Western Armenian source text into English, whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. In 2026, the grant will be awarded for a work of literature (in any literary genre) written in Western Armenian from any period. The grant will be judged by Dr. Tamar Marie Boyadjian and Dr. Talar Chahinian.

IALA’s Israelyan Western Armenian Grant, made possible by Souren A. Israelyan, supports translators working with 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.

“Translation has the power to build bridges to the Armenian literary tradition and better acquaint us all with the beauty and wisdom held within it. We are very excited to be supporting the next generation of bridge builders and warmly encourage translators at all stages to submit their work,” says IALA Advisory Board Member and 2026 translation committee leader Dr. Jennifer Manoukian.

The Israelyan English Translation Grant from the International Armenian Literary Alliance will award $3,500 to one translator working from an English source text into Eastern Armenian, whose work-in-progress shows exceptional literary and creative ability. In 2026, the grant will be awarded for a work of contemporary literature written by an Armenian author in English, from a list selected by IALA. The complete list of texts which IALA would like to see translated feature authors who represent and support the Armenian literary community; their works were selected for their diversity in voices and subject matters. The grant will be judged by Tatevik Ayvazyan.

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 English Translation Grant, made possible by 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.

For more details, full eligibility criteria, and more information on past grant recipients, visit the IALA website.

Learn more about IALA’s 2026 Israelyan Translation Grants by attending a virtual info session on May 2, at 9 a.m. P.S.T. Register here.

The International Armenian Literary Alliance supports and celebrates writers and translators around the world by fostering the development and distribution of Armenian literature in the English language, and in translation.

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The before and after of Stepanakert’s Holy Mother of God Cathedral

The Holy See of Etchmiadzin called the destruction of Armenian churches in Artsakh by Azerbaijan “cultural genocide,” and condemned the Caucasus Muslim Board for justifying the recent demolition of the Holy Mother of God Church in occupied Stepenakert.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Etchmiadzin directly responded to a statement issued by the Caucasus Muslim Board, which last week said that the recent demolition of the Stepanakert Cathedral and another, smaller, church was justified, claiming that they were built during the period of what they called “Armenian occupation of Karabakh.”

“The desecration, appropriation or destruction of holy places cannot be justified by any political, administrative or pseudo-legal wording. We reject the statement that churches built during the period of Artsakh’s independence were ‘illegally constructed.’ The destruction of holy places, razing them to the ground on this basis is a clear violation of international principles for the protection of religious and cultural heritage and a cultural genocide,” Etchmiadzin said in its statement.

“The accusation by the Caucasus Muslims Board against the Armenian Church of hindering the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is clearly unfounded and false. Peace is hindered by the falsification of historical facts, the violation of the rights of the forcibly displaced Armenians of Artsakh, the appropriation of the Armenian heritage of Artsakh, and the systematic effort to eliminate any trace of Armenian,” the Holy See emphasized.

“The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin calls on international religious and human rights organizations, all responsible organizations for the protection of cultural heritage, to take effective steps to stop Azerbaijan’s deliberate policy of destroying Armenian culture,” the statement added.

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