Join the International Armenian Literary Alliance for the second installment of Literary Lights 2026, featuring Rebecca Rose Mooradian, author of the highly anticipated picture book Rose by the Sea, in conversation with fellow writer, Astrid Kamalyan. The virtual event will take place on April 11, 2026, at 10:00 AM Pacific | 1:00 PM Eastern | 9:00 PM Armenia time.
Based on the true story of the author’s great-grandmother, this “affectingly gentle” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) picture book about surviving the Armenian Genocide sparkles with hope and heart even amid unspeakable tragedy. Illustrated by Myo Yim, the book is perfect for readers of The Proudest Blue and Yuyi Morales’s Dreamers.
Rose is what my parents call me:
Dzovinar, their rose by the sea.
Dzovinar (“zill-ven-ar”) lives with her family in Armenia, where the hillside is dotted with sheep and the apricot trees bloom every spring. She loves her home—but one day, soldiers storm her village, and she returns to an empty house.
Their parents gone, Dzovinar and her sister are forced to flee. Afraid and alone, they journey across the desert, then over the ocean: first to France and then to America, where they hope a new future will bloom. Changed but not lost, Dzovinar takes root in a new land…forever a rose by the sea.
Rebecca Rose Mooradian lives in a woodland garden in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee. Her works have appeared in New Millennium Writings, Sing Out! online, and Hamilton Stone Review, among others. When she’s not inn-keeping, chasing her kiddos, or gardening, she’s writing words and music about how much she loves the world. She is represented by Courtney Donovan at Writers House.
Astrid Kamalyan comes from a big, happy family and is the oldest of five. She spent most of her childhood in Armenia. As a child, she wished she could one day paint the beautiful mountains of Artsakh. Now she paints with words and writes for the most important people in the world—kids. Astrid holds an MBA degree from the American University of Armenia. She loves globetrotting with her husband and two sons. Astrid currently shares her time between Chicago and Yerevan, Armenia.
Literary Lights 2026 is IALA's fourth annual reading series showcasing new works of literature by Armenian authors, cohosted with the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research and the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center. Each event—held online or in-person—will feature a writer reading from their work, followed by a discussion with an interviewer and audience members. Read along with the series by purchasing Rose by the Sea and more titles at our Bookshop.org storefront.