This year's concluding local, Yerevanian event of the EUPL 2023 took place on October 11, in ArtBridge Bookstore-Café. At the center of the event was the novel A Syrian Affair – Armenia’s nomination of the EUPL 2023.
The event was moderated by PEN Armenia’s president Armen Ohanyan. He first presented the procedure of the EU Prize for Literature, as well as Armenia’s participation history in it. Then Hasmik Hakobyan, a literary scholar and the head of the Publishing House of the nominated book, spoke about the novel reflecting on its genre, stylistics, language and plot.
The participants had the opportunity to listen to some excerpts from the novel, selected and interpreted by the author Lusine Kharatyan and the translator Nazareth Seferian. Writer Vahram Martirosyan shared his reading impressions about the book. This was followed with refreshments and a reception, where the participants continued conversations and discussions in a non-formal atmosphere. Complimentary copies of the EUPL 2023 anthology were provided to attendees․
The event was attended by publishers, librarians, writers, book lovers/readers, representatives of civil society, international organizations and the government, including Bruno Montariol, Civil Society Cooperation Officer at EU Delegation to Armenia, representatives of the Creative Europe Desk in Armenia, Gohar Mamikonyan, Head of the Youth Department at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Armenia, Anna Chulyan, Director of the National Library of Armenia, Nerses Hayrapetyan, Adviser to the Director of the National Library of Armenia, and Arevik Ashkharoyan, co-organizer of the event and the head of ARI Literary and Talent Agency.
As the EUPL's official partner in the country we are glad that the conversation around books and European values continues to bring together people during this difficult times for all of us.
