Awakening - Translating and Publishing of Zartonk (Զարթօնք)

Awakening: the first 3-Volume English language translation of Malkhas’s classic 1933 Armenian novel, Zartonk (Զարթօնք).
Sardarabad bookstore and Sosé and Allen’s Legacy Foundation are excited to present the first English-language translation of Malkhas’s classic four-part work, Zartonk (Awakening), an Armenian novel published in Boston, Massachusetts in 1933. Translated by Simon Beugekian, Awakening is a project over three years in the making. With your help, we hope to bring it to its finish line.
Awakening (presented in 3 Volumes) tells the story of young Armenians who come of age during a period in Armenian history known as ‘zartonk.’ Meaning awakening in Armenian, ‘zartonk’ refers to the rise of collective consciousness among Armenians living across three empires: Russian, Ottoman, Persian. Through the entangled lives of its characters, Awakening recounts stories of activism and heroism, love and camaraderie that emerge out of years of servitude, oppression, and ignorance. The story develops over a fifteen year period (1903-1918) and offers glimpses into the Armenian revolutionary movement, the 1915 genocide, and the establishment of the first independent Armenian Republic.
Following its initial publication in 1933, Zartonk was reproduced in serial form and reprinted in various diaspora communities. Over the course of its many publication runs, Zartonk became a household staple and an emblematic piece of popular literature for generations of Armenians growing up in diasporic communities. The novel’s action-filled, page-turner quality, its central romantic love story, and its vivid descriptions of Armenian life in the villages of the Ottoman Empire or central cities of the Caucasus have inspired diaspora Armenians searching for their own history.
With this translation, we hope to make the story accessible to a global audience and inspire a new generation of Awakening.
Our Team
Editorial Director: Dr. Talar Chahinian teaches in the Department of Comparative World Literature at California State University, Long Beach. She is also the assistant editor of the Armenian Review.
Translator: Simon Beugekian is a translator now living in Los Angeles. He began his career in translation while working for the Boston-based Armenian Weekly. His most recent translation project, Karnig Panian’s memoir Goodbye, Antoura, will be published by Stanford University Press in 2015.
Creative Director: Sako Shahinian is an LA based designer who is currently the creative director of TICLA. He also is involved with many passion projects.
Editor: Dr. Carole Viers-Andronico lives and works in Paris, where she directs the academic programs at the University of California's Paris Study Center and teaches courses in language, literature, and film. She is also a literary translator.
Publishing: Varouj Ourfalian is the Director of Sales and Programming at Sardarabad bookstore in Glendale, California. Founded by the Armenian Youth Federation in 1984, Sardarabad offers a wide collection of books that explore topics related to Armenians.
Project Coordinator: Vaché Thomassian is the Director of Sosé & Allen's Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to continuing the works and vision of his sister and brother-in-law in Armenia and the Diaspora.

[@MintyRaz]

Can't wait to read it!