Event Videos — Event Video

Featured Speakers: Peter Balakian Diana Arterian Date:  Sunday February 8, 2026 1:00 PM Eastern | 10:00 AM Pacific   About:  Join us for the launch of Literary Lights 2026 featuring Peter Balakian, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of New York Trilogy, in conversation with writer, critic, editor and translator, Diana Arterian.  In an inventive, elliptical language, New York Trilogy explores one man’s journey from the late 1960s to the twenty-first century, as he moves through a series of experiences centered in New York City and the surrounding New Jersey Palisades. Throughout this long poem in three parts, the protagonist’s life is impacted by historical events including the Armenian Genocide,...

Featured Speaker: Dr. Pietro A Shakarian Date: Sunday, November 16th Join Pietro A. Shakarian for a book talk on Anastas Mikoyan, a key figure in Soviet politics, from the Lenin to Brezhnev eras. Sponsored by:NAASR / Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Lecture Series on Contemporary Armenian Issues and the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS)  

Featured Speaker: Nicole Haroutunian Olivia Katrandjian Date: October 19, 2025 Virtual event The October edition of Literary Lights 2025 featured Nicole Haroutunian, author of Choose This Now, in conversation with writer, journalist and IALA founder Olivia Katrandjian. Inseparable friends Val-and-Tal are used to making their decisions together. But what happens when their choices become their own? CHOOSE THIS NOW, a novel-in-stories, illuminates the small moments that shape their lives across nearly twenty years. On Val’s 21st birthday—which falls on Halloween—a sudden act of violence interrupts a longed-for kiss. This unfinished moment haunts Val year after year until she materializes in...