The Zapel International Forum will bring together women writers

“More women in the world read, but more men are read”

February 4 is the birthday of Zapel Yesayan, a famous Armenian writer, prose writer, translator, publicist, literary critic, national and public figure. On the occasion of the day, the launch of the “Zapel” International Forum of Women Writers was announced in Yerevan. The forum is named after Zapel Yesayan, who has always raised the issues of women’s equality in the 20^th century.

Last year, the initiators of the forum, Newmag Publishing House, and the ARI Literature Foundation planned to hold a festival with the same title, but the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus forced the decision to be reconsidered.

The executive director of the foundation Arevik Ashkharoyan stated during a press conference at “Armenpress” press club that they are happy to turn the festival into a forum, instead of an event to be held once a year, a platform is created, the audience of which will be bigger.

On the international stage, women writers will present their stories about the challenges, failures, disappointments, and difficulties they face on the way to becoming successful. The program of the forum will include speeches and lectures, interviews, panel discussions, and other events.

The main and primary goal of the project is to make Armenian women writers more visible, as well as to introduce foreign women writers and their works to the Armenian reader, to create a dialogue between Armenian and foreign women writers. The organizers hope that sooner or later Armenia will be able to hold the “Zapel” festival, hosting many writers.

Gohar Manukyan, the head of literary programs of “Newmag” publishing house, presented the Zabel.am website, which was launched a few days ago. According to her, announcements, meetings, articles, videos, photos, events of the literary world, news, interviews will be published on the website. The “Authors” section will present Armenian, Diaspora Armenian, and foreign writers cooperating with the forum, their already published and unpublished works. At the same time, the organizers of the forum note that the reader hardly knows modern Armenian women writers…

The forum has already declared February the month of Armenian women writers, March  – the month of German writers, and April  – the month of Russian writers. The initiators are ready to cooperate with various foundations and organizations to expand the list of women writers and their works presented on the platform.

According to her, during the interviews with German women writers, it became clear that the problems of women writers are almost the same, in such a developed European country as Germany, women are neglected, they have a problem to be published, to become more audible.

Gohar Manukyan conveyed the concern voiced during the interview of the French woman writer, more women in the world read, but more men are read.

Full text in Armenian