Aida Zilelian is a New York writer and English teacher. She has been published in several anthologies and over twenty-five literary journals including Per Contra, Red Fez, Wilderness House Literary Review, Theurgy and others. She has read her work at various reading series’ in Queens and Manhattan including Sunday Salon, Phoenix Reading Series, Gartal, Rez Reading Series, Oh, Bernice!, and First Tuesdays. She is the curator of Boundless Tales, a reading series in Queens, NY. In 2011 her first novel THE HOLLOWING MOON was one of the four semi-finalists of the Anderbo Novel Contest. The Legacy of Lost Things is her first published novel and was the recipient of the 2014 Tololyan Literary Award. She is currently working on her third novel.What the critics are saying about
The Legacy of Lost Things:
“A lyrical description of a family’s search for their daughter and their humanity.” – Kirkus Reviews
“The Legacy of Lost Things is a beautifully written and artfully constructed novel that explores the intimate lives of several generations of an Armenian immigrant family in America. Aida Zilelian has the superior novelist’s combination of equanimity and empathy. In deceptively simple prose, she takes you right to the heart of the matter.”
– Aram Sayoran, internationally known poet, novelist, biographer, memoirist, playwright and the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts poetry awards
“The Legacy of Lost Things is a page-turning puzzle, a gripping study of a family of lost souls, burdened by patterns beyond their control, borne of tradition and decisions made in the blindness of youth. With unblinking bravery, Aida Zilelian has composed a complex, exquisitely-crafted story about the reality of violence and the possibility of redemption.”
– Nancy Agabian, Author, Me as her Again: True Stories of an Armenian Daughter
Curriculum Vitae
Aida Zilelian
Email: AidaZ1973@hotmail.com
Website: www.aidazilelian.com
Education
M.A., Creative Writing, Queens College, Queens, NY, 1998
B.A. Psychology, minor in English and Philosophy, Queens College, Queens, NY 1995
Publishing History
Literary Journals
Fiction
“With Great Affection, Sophie” – Pen Pusher – April 2008
“Encore” – Visions Literary Journal – Fall 2008
“Is This Desire?” – Slushpile Magazine – Spring 2008
“The Will of Sacrifice” – The Writer’s Block – Summer 2009
“The Festering” – Suss: Another Literary Journal – October 2009
– Sucker Literary Magazine – February 2012
“He’s the One for Her” – Ararat Magazine – July 2010
“Almost There” – Halfway Down the Stairs – March 2010
“Red Riding Hood” – Memewar – December 2010
“To Be Home Again” – Assisi Journal – March 2011
“The Darkness of North” – Waccamaw Journal – Spring 2011
“The Weight of Emptiness” – Halfway Up the Stairs – December 2011
“The Good Girl” – Ararat Magazine – July 2011
“A Passing Season” – Niche Magazine – September 2012
“For the Good of the Whole” – Theurgy Literary (UK) – January 2013
“A Different Street” – Exterminating Angel – April 2013
“Wind and Glass Behind Us” – Bleeding Heart Press – Fall 2013 (upcoming)
“Afterlife” – Per Contra – Fall 2014
Non-fiction
“What I Can Tell” – SNR Review – Fall 2009
Panik: Life Anthology About Life Altering Experiences (Anthology)
“The Cold War” – Wilderness House Literary Review – Fall 2009
“In My Innocence” – The Fertile Source – July 2010
“Liar, Liar” – Lowestoft Chronicles – Fall 2010
“Toni with an ‘i’” – Red Fez Journal – February 2012
“1998” – Free Range Nonfiction – April 2013
Anthologies
“Liar, Liar” – Lowestoft Chronicles 2011 Anthology
“In My Innocence” – paniK: Candid Stories of Life Altering Experiences Surrounding Pregnancy
“Wind and Glass Behind Us” – Transfusion – Bleeding Heart Publications
“The Art of Trying” – Anthology of Immigrant Experiences (upcoming)
Works in Progress/Bodies of Work
The Girl Who Cried Tuscany
Creative non-fiction – A collection of short stories about living in American as a
first-generation Armenian.
This body of work is currently being revised. Some of the short stories have appeared in the journals listed above.
The Hollowing Moon
Fiction – A novel about two young teenage girls who escape their small town and travel across the Midwest.
This body of work was one of the four semi-finalists of the Anderbo Novel Contest. THE HOLLOWING MOON was also chosen as one of the first round of semi-finalists of the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
The Legacy of Lost Things
Fiction – A prequel to The Hollowing Moon, delving into the lives and history of an Armenian family immigrating to American and adjusting to the new life of a modern country
Readings, Presentations, Editorial
Newtown Literary (Editorial Board Member)
A Queens-based literary journal promoting new and emerging writers whose writing evokes the community of the borough of Queens. Reading and reviewing submissions, editing, partaking in decision-making aspects of a literary journal.
Boundless Tales Reading Series
Curator. Launched in September 2011, Boundless Tales Reading Series is one of the only reading series in the borough of Queens. The goal of this series is to provide a venue for writers who are passionate about their writing, and who would like to share their work in a public forum.
Sunday Salon – October 2007
Ear Inn Reading – Summer 2008
Gartal Reading Series – 12 November, 2008
Hamazkayeen: Literary Gems -12, April 2012
Phoenix Reading Series – 30 October, 2012, Summer 2012
Art & Slush: Soho – 30 October, 2012
Phoenix Reading Series – 30 October, 2012
Hamazkayeen: Literary Gems -22 February, 2013
Nature of the Muse – 4 April, 2013
REZ Reading Series – 2, May 2013; 19, September 2013
Oh, Bernice! 14 June, 2013
With Special Guest! 8, October 2013 (upcoming)
Town Hall with Queens Council of the Arts, 18, October 2013
First Tuesdays, March 2014
Oh, Bernice! February 2015
NYU “Outside” Reading Series, March 2015
NWU is the sole provider of IFJ Press Passes to freelance journalists in the U.S.