Saturday, April 11, 2026

Armenian Genocide Graphic Novel Author to Discuss Debut at Vroman’s Saturday

Bay Area illustrator’s critically acclaimed book arrives in Pasadena 13 days before the city’s April 24 remembrance observance

Author and illustrator Nadine Takvorian will discuss and sign her debut graphic novel “Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide” at Vroman’s Bookstore on Saturday, April 11, at 3 p.m.

The event occurs during April 2026, which the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has proclaimed Armenian History Month for the 10th consecutive year, according to a press release from Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office. Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day falls on April 24, marking the 111th anniversary. The 344-page book, published March 10 by Levine Querido, has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Foreword Magazine, according to the author’s website.

Takvorian will appear in conversation with Julie Fiveash, a Los Angeles-based Diné cartoonist and former Librarian for American Indigenous Studies at Harvard University, according to the Vroman’s event listing. Fiveash’s own debut graphic novel, “The Froggy Library,” publishes three days after the event through the same publisher, according to Amazon listings.

The book follows a first-generation Armenian-American teenager in 2001, weaving contemporary American life with flashbacks to the 1915 genocide, according to Kirkus Reviews. It is categorized for readers ages 12 to 18.

Takvorian, who lives in the Bay Area, is a first-generation Armenian-American whose family is “Bolsahye” — from Istanbul, Turkey — according to her publisher biography.

“Growing up I was always searching for books and comics that reflected my experience as an Armenian,” Takvorian said in an interview with The Comics Journal published April 8. “I wanted to see and celebrate my culture in the pages I read and immersed myself in, but there just wasn’t much to be found.”

In a March interview with KQED, Takvorian said, “This is important for all of us to learn about, because it’s our collective humanity.”

Pasadena has documented ties to the Armenian-American community. The city was the first in Southern California to embrace Armenian immigrants before and after the genocide, according to organizers of the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, which was unveiled in 2015 at Memorial Park, according to the Armenian National Committee of America. Southern California is home to some 200,000 Armenian Americans, the largest such population in the country, according to ABC7.

The book is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, according to the author’s website. Levine Querido, founded in 2019, was named Best Children’s Book Publisher of the Year in North America at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, according to a company press release.

The event is free at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd. Purchase of the book is appreciated. Information: (626) 449-5320.

“We are adding our voices to the small and growing collection of Armenian representation in literature,” Takvorian said in The Comics Journal interview.