Literary Lights to feature Naira Kuzmich’s “Fearcatcher”

The fourth installment of Literary Lights 2026 will feature Naira Kuzmich’s posthumous debut novel, “Fearcatcher.” Vedran Husić, author and Kuzmich’s former partner, will be joined by writers and editors Aram Mrjoian and Chelsey Kimberly Shannon. The virtual event, co-sponsored by the University of New Orleans Press, will take place June 14, 2026, at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1 p.m. Eastern time and 9 p.m. Armenia time. Register here.

In a remote Soviet Armenian village, baby Ruzan is found abandoned and taken in by the local fearcatcher — a woman both revered and feared. Raised in this mystical trade, Ruzan longs to escape the village’s insularity and the destiny her mother insists she can’t outrun. When she moves to Yerevan on the brink of revolution, she finally begins building a life of her own. But danger pulls her back, forcing her to face who she is and who she might become. “Fearcatcher” is a lush, intimate novel that blends folklore and fate into a spellbinding coming-of-age story.