PRELACY LITERARY PRIZES PRESENTED FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN YEREVAN
On Wednesday, July 16, Dr. Vartan Matiossian, Executive Director of the Eastern Prelacy, participated in the award ceremony held at the Writers’ Union of Armenia in Yerevan. The awards in three literary categories were established in 2023 by His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan, Prelate, to commemoratethe 30th anniversary of the Nerses the Great Charitable and Social Organization and are co-sponsored by the Writers’ Union of Armenia.
Dr. Matiossian, who is also a member of the Writers’ Union, visited Yerevan from July 13 to 17 on behalf of Archbishop Anoushavan. He presented the poetry award and was joined by Edvard Militonian, president of the Writers’ Union, who presented the prose award, and Tigran Galstyan, Executive Director of the Nerses the Great Organization, who presented the award for children’s and young adult literature.
A jury of seven recognized literary scholars and critics chose the best works from a pool of entrants. The winners in the prose category were Ashot Hovsepyan (first prize), Nerses Kharatyan (second prize), and Nelly Nazaryan (third prize), with Zhanna Hakobyan as runner-up. The poetry category had Norayr Grigoryan as winner, followed by Hakob Harutyunyan (second prize), and the third prize was shared by Samvel Kosyan and Alisa Baghdasaryan. Finally, in the category of children and young adult literature, the winner was Shant Mkrtchyan; the second prize went to Gagik Khachatryan, the third to Alvard Hovsepyan, and Satenik Ghazaryan received an honorable mention.
As one of the prize-winners noted, in the last years various prizes and awards given in the past have been discontinued and the prize established by the Eastern Prelacy constitutes an important show of recognition for Armenian writers, who continue the labor of creation despite the lack of opportunities and encouragement. Militonyan congratulated the winners and expressed the profound gratitude of the organization to Archbishop Anoushavan for spearheading the contest, which has entered its third year. The prize is not just important for its support of the writers, but also for submitting their new work to the consideration of the public.
Lilit Galstyan, translator and member of the National Assembly of Armenia, spoke about the genesis of the project. She highlighted the importance of the prize, whose main subjects are homeland, land, and faith. Ms. Galstyan presented the book “For the Perpetuity of the Armenian People,” a collection containing the works that had been recognized during the 2024 competition and published by the Nerses the Great Organization with the sponsorship of the Eastern Prelacy.
Dr. Matiossian conveyed the greetings of Archbishop Anoushavan and congratulated the winners expressing his joy for this prize that is becoming a tradition fostering literary creation, as well as for the satisfaction hat the Diaspora is on the side of Armenian writers. “We all continue to do our work,” he said, “and the writer not only continues sitting before his desk to create, but this time there is the opportunity to appreciate and to encourage his work.”