In Armenia, Yerevan BookFest took place this month for the seventh year, bringing together readers, writers, publishers, literary critics and experts. During the first week of September, various literary events occurred over three days, ranging from book presentations to discussions, debates and stand-ups.
In a conversation with Weekly, head of the festival Ani Ghazaryan said that their expectations were not only met but also exceeded. “We expected up to 15,000 visitors, but there were 20,000. Over 10,000 books were sold in three days. Thirty events took place, with 200 writers and 45 publishing houses participating. Years ago, it was a dream to have a book festival. Now, our whole goal is to make it permanent,” she said. Another important goal is to expand the festival’s scale. “We already have arrangements for next year. We want to make it more international,” she added.
This year, a new feature at the festival on pitching brought together novice writers and experienced, well-established specialists in the field. “The pitching was completely new. We still don’t have results or comments from the participants, but I can say that this was one of the most anticipated events and must be continued,” Ghazaryan said.
The editor-in-chief of the Granish literary open community, literary expert Hasmik Hakobyan, also expressed a positive opinion about the festival’s content. “The festival is progressing year by year in terms of its scale, content and organization. It has a very positive effect on the literary and publishing process in Armenia. It helps establish a connection between readers, writers and publishing houses,” she said. Hakobyan noted her desire for contemporary Armenian writers to be more represented at the festival.
A contest was held at the festival in various literary categories. According to Hakobyan, the winners can be surprising, but it is part of a larger process, especially since the selection is made based on anonymity — the jury does not know the authors’ names, and only their works are evaluated. “Unexpected victories are frequent, but I think it’s normal, and it inspires confidence to turn to other people in the future. I’m happy when younger winners emerge and unknown names become recognized,” she said.
Ghazaryan added that her expectations for the “entry by book” initiative, where participants donate a book to libraries in border communities, were not met. “I think it takes time for a culture of giving books to form among us. We will try to develop a different, more successful approach for next year,” she said.
Monopolies of the literary mind?
In many areas of Armenia, you almost always hear the same names. Literature is not exempt from this principle. In media and social networks, several names of writers and publishing houses have circulated for years, seemingly dictating the literary course in our country.
When asked how the participating publishing houses were selected, Ghazaryan replied, “We invite all Armenian publishing houses who want to participate. In fact, 99 percent want to participate. The organizational staff filters the publishing houses that have published up to five books, and the council dealing with the festival discusses and makes the final selection. Participation in the festival is free for publishers.”
This approach, while seemingly objective, carries certain risks. Privileged publishing houses emerge that, thanks to their substantial resources, create a literary monopoly and dictate trends in Armenia. Other publishing houses that offer alternatives, thus fostering literary diversity, may be excluded from this process.
Where are the women?
Regarding the selection of book presentations at the festival, Ghazaryan stated, “We receive many requests for presentations. Everyone wants to be represented and present their book within the festival framework. Our creative team carefully discusses and selects truly anticipated events.”
A book presentation featuring four contemporary Armenian writers took place during the festival, and it was notable that all four writers were men. The head of the festival commented briefly on this issue: “We didn’t do anything on purpose,” she said, emphasizing that most of the invited guests from abroad were women. “On the contrary, I can say that the majority of our invited guests from abroad were women. Maybe this will leave a sexist impression too? We do not discriminate. We didn’t even pay attention to that fact.”
Socio-cultural norms and choices made by inertia appear more problematic than if they were made intentionally. This approach reflects a collective mindset in which actions performed at the state or global level without self-criticism are accepted as natural.
Granish, primarily a state-funded organization, presented two books at the festival. When asked about the selection process, the editor-in-chief said, “We usually nominate the books. The book by writer Karen Antashyan, for instance, was a winning work from previous years, and the festival wanted to present the author’s winning book. I suggested Gemafin Gasparyan in this case too, because I think it is more moral to introduce our modern writers rather than any translation of a foreign author. Presentations typically feature newly-published books. There is nothing special about the choice. It is more due to the freshness and novelty of the book.”
Gasparyan, the former Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs from 2019-2020, published a poetry collection reflecting on the experiences of a citizen and soldier during and after the 2020 war in Artsakh.
However, the fact that publishers release specific book editions to coincide with the festival suggests that the book presentations at the festival are, indeed, guided by special trends. For example, on the first day of the festival, during the presentation of Gasparyan’s book, Hakobyan said that while working on the book, she suggested that the writer publish the book before the beginning of autumn, which would coincide with BookFest.
According to Hakobyan, the absence of presentations by modern Armenian women writers at the festival is “pure coincidence.” “It is probably due to the lack of female writers. However, there can be periods when only works by female writers are published. Yet there are fewer women writers. Additionally, very few publishing houses in Armenia work with contemporary Armenian writers. During the entire festival, only Granish and Antares presented works by modern Armenian writers. But I didn’t specifically think about or notice that no contemporary Armenian female writers were represented,” Hakobyan said.
The literary expert attributes women’s passivity in literature to entrenched socio-cultural norms and the Armenian mentality. “Women may devote less time to writing, because they often juggle main jobs, unpaid household work and family responsibilities. I’ve observed this for over 20 years. Both women and men enter literature equally, but more women tend to leave the field. This is mainly due to our cultural and social characteristics. I know a few cases where husbands support their wives’ literary careers, but many women shoulder the household responsibilities to allow their husbands to pursue literature. Still, I don’t think there’s a significant lack of women writers in modern Armenian literature,” said Hakobyan.
When asked if Granish plans any special initiative to encourage contemporary Armenian women writers, Hakobyan responded, “I wouldn’t want to create artificial divisions. I don’t want to give women awards or extra opportunities just to achieve gender equality. However, when compiling an anthology, we strive to maintain gender balance. If we look at our website, it appears proportional in gender representation, possibly with more women writers than men. I don’t think we have an encouragement problem.”
Interestingly, there is not a single woman’s name in the Granish Honorary Board.
Sexism and censorship
This year, one of the festival’s innovations was the literary stand-up, which did not receive a very positive reaction from the audience. Of the four performers (who were all men), the initial presentations were somewhat literary, while most were overtly sexist. Regarding this, Ghazaryan said, “We definitely did not censor or know the content of the stand-up, because we live in the 21st century. We all have the right to express our opinions freely. There is no work that will please everyone, especially something as new as stand-up in our reality. We had an agreement that the performers would reference literature in their presentations, which was completely justified. I disagree with the opinion that there was sexist humor. I think the performers did a lot of work and prepared interesting content.”
One could write extensively about how dangerous it is to propagate sexist messages through humor, but it becomes tiresome to repeat this. People should take responsibility and engage in self-reflection before making public speeches, even in a comedic context. Ultimately, censorship and ethical regulations should be distinct. Freedom of speech does not equate with permissiveness and insults.
A festival only for the privileged?
“The city reads”: it seems there could not be a more fitting slogan for the festival. The reality is that only Yerevan reads. Many criticize the fact that nearly all literary and cultural events in Armenia occur in Yerevan, leading to disproportionate development. Regarding this issue, Ghazaryan stated, “Next year, the festival will not be limited to Yerevan. We will meet again in Yerevan on the first weekend of September 2025, but before that, the festival will tour the regions of Armenia.”
As surprising as it may seem, bookstores primarily operate in Yerevan, with very few concentrated in regional centers, where the offerings are often non-diverse and mainstream. Rural readers face limited choices among mainstream books and outdated Soviet-era editions in public libraries.
Hakobyan believes the main reason for this is the lack of demand for books in regional communities. “We don’t have a bookstore culture because there is no buyer. People don’t purchase books in regions. If there were demand, there would be supply. I don’t believe holding the festival in any region would be successful due to low attendance. Moreover, public libraries in our regions are in poor condition, and their collections haven’t been updated for years, leaving readers unable to follow the literary rhythm,” she said.
Conclusion
The Yerevan BookFest, now in its seventh year, is beginning to lay solid foundations and a distinct culture (or, more accurately, a subculture) focused on the privileged segment of society. With its advantages and disadvantages, the festival brings a new literary spirit each autumn, but currently, it leans toward being a profit-oriented event, primarily concerned with the number of books sold in three days and the genres and writers that will receive attention. This festival serves as a mirror reflecting our public mainstream thought and processes. The nature of future festivals will largely depend on the ability to engage in responsibility, self-criticism and reflection at both individual and societal levels.
Yelena Sargsyan
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