ABOUT AIDA.
Aida Zilelian is a writer, educator and storyteller from Queens, NY. Her writing explores and challenges the depths of domestic love and relationships, the pull of culture, and the connections between characters that transcend time and circumstance.
Her first novel The Legacy of Lost Things (2015, Bleeding Heart Publications) was the recipient of the 2014 Tololyan Literary Award. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, NPR’s Takeaway, Poets & Writers, Kirkus Reviews, among other reading series and print outlets. Her short story collection These Hills Were Meant for You was shortlisted for 2018 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. Her short story “The Piano” won first prize in the Lighthouse Weekly contest. All the Ways We Lied (Turner Publishing/Keylight Books), her most recent novel, is slated for release in January 2024.
Aida was the curator of Boundless Tales, one of the first and longest-running reading series in Queens, NY. She is on the Board of Directors of Newtown Literary, a Queens-based literary journal that supports emerging writers. Aida is also an advisory board member of the International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA), an organization that helps Armenian writers in all stages of their careers. Aida has served as a mentor for IALA’s annual mentorship summer program for the last two years and served as a judge for IALA’s first Creative Writing Grant.
As an educator, Aida has been teaching in NYC public high schools for twenty years and facilitates creative writing workshops through various organizations.
She has been performing at storytelling events (NYC’s Finest Storytelling, QED, Awkward Teenage Years and others) and will be featured on the RISK! Radio Hour Podcast in the spring.
For more information or to schedule an event you can contact her here: aida [@] aidazilelian.com
A recent copy of Aida’s CV can be found here.
ABOUT AIDA.
Aida Zilelian is a writer, educator and storyteller from Queens, NY. Her writing explores and challenges the depths of domestic love and relationships, the pull of culture, and the connections between characters that transcend time and circumstance.
Her first novel The Legacy of Lost Things (2015, Bleeding Heart Publications) was the recipient of the 2014 Tololyan Literary Award. She has been featured in the Huffington Post, NPR’s Takeaway, Poets & Writers, Kirkus Reviews, among other reading series and print outlets. Her short story collection These Hills Were Meant for You was shortlisted for 2018 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. Her short story “The Piano” won first prize in the Lighthouse Weekly contest. All the Ways We Lied (Turner Publishing/Keylight Books), her most recent novel, is slated for release in January 2024.
Aida was the curator of Boundless Tales, one of the first and longest-running reading series in Queens, NY. She is on the Board of Directors of Newtown Literary, a Queens-based literary journal that supports emerging writers. Aida is also an advisory board member of the International Armenian Literary Alliance (IALA), an organization that helps Armenian writers in all stages of their careers. Aida has served as a mentor for IALA’s annual mentorship summer program for the last two years and served as a judge for IALA’s first Creative Writing Grant.
As an educator, Aida has been teaching in NYC public high schools for twenty years and facilitates creative writing workshops through various organizations.
She has been performing at storytelling events (NYC’s Finest Storytelling, QED, Awkward Teenage Years and others) and will be featured on the RISK! Radio Hour Podcast in the spring.
For more information or to schedule an event you can contact her here: aida [@] aidazilelian.com
A recent copy of Aida’s CV can be found here.