NEW PROJECT: Parallels International Literature Festival
ARI Literature Foundation is launching a new initiative: Parallels International Literature Festival, with its inaugural edition in November 2026.
The festival will feature both literary and professional components, bringing together writers, publishers and literary festival organizers from over ten countries one of which will be featured as the “guest of honor”, a “country in parallel” and this year, the festival will host Scotland in this capacity. The festival’s theme, “My Heart’s in the Highlands,” draws inspiration from the poetry of the Scottish poet Robert Burns and its resonance in the works of William Saroyan.
Why “Parallels”?
“Parallels” International Literature Festival hosts writers, poets, translators, publishers and representatives of literary organizations and festivals from across the globe to uncover the unexpected and often invisible parallels between cultures, literatures and languages. Rather than presenting each literary tradition as an isolated cultural phenomenon, the festival seeks to foster dialogue by highlighting our similarities.
Program
As part of the festival, participants from Georgia, Turkey, Poland, Egypt, Spain, the US and the UK will visit Armenia. The festival will feature a special guest: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and writer Peter Balakian.
Օn November 19 at 19:00 the official opening ceremony of the festival will take place at Armenian State Philharmonia (2 Abovyan street).
On November 20, visits are planned to Yerevan State University, the American University of Armenia, and V. Bryusov State Linguistic University.
On November 21, the main program, featuring both Scottish and Armenian writers, will take place throughout the day, followed by the festival’s closing ceremony at 19:00, which will include readings of works by all the participants.
On November 22, the festival will visit Gyumri.
In collaboration with Ameriabank, a literary competition will be held for young writers aged 18–24, with winners to be selected across three different categories.
In addition to the main program, a series of meetings and book presentations will take place as part of the festival, beginning on November 17.
To learn more about the program and the competition follow the festival’s website and social media pages –Facebook and Instagram.
