Gomidas Institute

01/09/2026

“THE 300: British Armenians during the First World War and the Refashioning of Armenian Identity”

A public lecture and discussion marking the release of the new publication Britain’s Armenians at War 1914–1919 (Gomidas Institute, 2026).

This will be the first of several public events organised by the Gomidas Institute during the 2026–27 academic year, bringing new research in modern Armenian studies to a wider public.

Join us for the first event — and stay with us throughout the year.

09/02/2026

Zabel Yessayan and Yervan Odian Focus of Fascinating Presentation by Dr Nanor Kebranian (University of Vienna)

London, 06.02.2026. Report by Nora Vosbigian

The London Armenian community had the privilege of hosting a foremost expert on Ottoman Armenian literature, Nanor Kebranian (University of Vienna), who delivered a talk entitled “Empire, Exile and Literature: Zabel Yessayan and Yervant Odian.” The event was held on 5 February 2026 and organised by the Gomidas Institute (London) and the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice (Acton, London). The presentation took place at CAIA’s Monte Melkonian Hall.

Dr Kebranian’s illustrated presentation began with an outline of the privileged backgrounds of Zabel Yessayan and Yervant Odian, emphasising their education and exposure to European culture. While Odian fled the Ottoman Empire in 1896, fearing arrest, Yessayan had left a year earlier to study at the Sorbonne in Paris. Both returned to Constantinople following the Ottoman Constitutional Revolution of 1908. Their life in Europe was formative in their development as writers.

However, Yessayan and Odian differed markedly as authors. Odian was a well-liked satirist known for his wry humour, while Yessayan’s work was more serious in tone and literary content. Both were enormously popular and socially—and politically—subversive. Their work challenged the rigid norms of both Ottoman and Armenian society.

Although both writers experienced exile, their displacement should be carefully contextualised. They were not fish out of water. While they left their native shores, they were not entirely alienated from their roots while in Europe (or, in Odian’s case, in Egypt as well). Both authors spoke French, were familiar with European society, and maintained contact with other Ottoman Armenians while in exile, alongside other writers, artists, intellectuals, merchants, students, revolutionaries, and so forth. In many respects, they remained within an Ottoman-Armenian milieu, even while residing in the heartlands of Europe.

However, Odian, in particular, endured material hardship during his exile as he struggled to make a living, yet he managed to survive. His Twelve Years Away from Constantinople reflects this experience through his life, encounters, and observations over a twelve-year period. His experiences are of immense historical interest.

Dr Kebranian’s presentation was well received by the audience and was followed by a serious question-and-answer session. The Gomidas Institute thanked the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice for co-sponsoring the event. Copies of Dr Kebranian’s publications were available for purchase afterwards.

04/02/2026

Karen Harutyunyan, Vicken Cheterian, Ashot Voskanyan,
Mkrtich Karapetyan, Hayk Hovhannisyan, "DEFEAT: DOCUMENTING THE KARABAGH WAR OF 2020," transl. A. Sarafian, London: Gomidas Institute, 2026. 156 pp, colour maps, UK£20.00/US$25.00.
Order directly from the Gomidas Institute for a 25% discount (valid for orders within the UK, USA, Canada and Australia). To order: [email protected]
* This book is part of "Diasporan Perspectives: The Gulbenkian Initiative on Armenian Issues."

28/01/2026

https://www.media-diversity.org/beyond-the-darkness-bridging-generations/

As the world remembers the victims of the Holocaust, a new book sharing the experiences of an Armenian in the …

14/01/2026

Joan George (1922-2025)
We are saddened to note the passing of Joan George at the age of 103. She was a remarkable woman, remembered for her dry British sense of humour and her deep commitment to Armenian causes. She was a major benefactor to the Gomidas Institute.
Born in Southport, Lancashire, she grew up in Didsbury, Manchester. Her mother was Marie-Nevarte Manoukian, and her father was Roger Chorlton.
We were fortunate to have worked closely with her and to have published two important works on the history of British Armenians that she authored: "Merchants in Exile: The Armenians in Manchester, England, 1835–1935" (London: Gomidas Institute, 2002) and "Merchants to Magnates: Intrigue and Survival: Armenians in London, 1900–2000" (London: Gomidas Institute, 2009).
We remember and celebrate her life through our thoughts and our work.

09/01/2026

Forthcoming
BEYOND THE DARKNESS: CRIMES FROM ANOTHER ERA
Mihran Mavian, BEYOND THE DARKNESS: CRIMES FROM ANOTHER ERA, with English translation by Mike Jempson from Alice Mavian’s French translation of the original Armenian.
London: Gomidas Institute, 2026,
xx + 166 pp, maps, illustrations
ISBN 978-1-909382-90-9, paperback,
Price: UK£20.00 / US$26.00

09/01/2026

SHADES OF LONDON SMOG IN YEREVAN?

In recent weeks and months, air pollution in Yerevan has emerged as a major issue of public concern in Armenia. In this context, it is worth recounting the significant role of environmentalism in Armenian history, as explored by historian Pietro Shakarian in his study "Haze Over Ararat", published by GI's Armenian Forum On-Line in 2013.

Submissions

27/12/2025

LONDON CALLING...
EMPIRE, EXILE, AND LITERATURE: ZABEL YESSAYAN AND YERVANT ODIAN IN THE LATE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

We will shortly announce a public event in London, co-sponsored by the Gomidas Institute and CAIA Hayashen. Our guest will be Dr. Nanor Kebranian, a distinguished scholar whose recent work has made significant contributions to Armenian Studies.

Dr. Kebranian is the author of two groundbreaking books. One centers on a curated collection of articles by Zabel Yessayan, published both in Armenian and in English translation. The other is her critical edition and study of Yervant Odian’s "Twelve Years Away from Constantinople."

Both works are highly readable and deeply poignant, offering valuable insight into the fragmented world of the late Ottoman Empire. While Yessayan’s writings engage broad social, political, and ethical themes that cut across communal divisions, Odian’s work sheds light on the little-known inner world of Armenian exiles in Egypt, London, and Paris in the aftermath of the Hamidian massacres of 1895. All of these works are introduced with probing analyses by the author.

Further details about the event will be announced shortly.

All three titles were published by Gomidas Institute (London). The Gomidas Institute is an independent academic organisation dedicated to modern Armenian Studies and research. It is also the most prolific publisher of Armenian-related books in the diaspora.

For more information, please write to [email protected]
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* Yervant Odian, "Twelve Years Away from Constantinople, 1896-1908," translated from Armenian and introduced by Nanor Kebranian London: Gomidas Institute, 2025, xx + 274 pp., ISBN 978-1-909382-81-7, pb., UK£25.00 / US$30.00

* Nanor Kebranian, "Zabel Yessayan on the Threshold: Key Texts on Armenians and Turks as Ottoman Subjects," translated from Armenian by Nanor Kebranian, London : Gomidas Institute, 2023, 144 pp., illust, ISBN 978-1-909382-75-6, pb., UK£20.00 / US$24.00

* Զապէլ Եսայեան՝ "Սեմին Վրայ - Բանալի Գրութիւններ Օսմանահպատակ Հայ եւ Թուրք Կեանքէ," խմբ. եւ ներած. Նանոր Գպրանեան, Լոնտոն : Կոմիտաս Հիմնարկ, 2025, 230 էջ., նկարներ, ISBN 978-1-909382-88-6, թկ., ՄԹ£20.00 / ԱՄՆ$24.00

08/12/2025

Press Release: Nora Vosbigian, Gomidas Institute (London)

Founded in 2012, the Amed International Film Festival in Diyarbakir champions independent cinema, especially Kurdish filmmakers resisting mainstream industry power dynamics in Turkey and abroad. Shaped by the women’s liberation paradigm, it celebrates social diversity, ecological awareness, and creative defiance.
Amed’s spirit of cultural transformation helped the festival quickly become a landmark for Kurdish cinema, uniting dispersed initiatives and amplifying Kurdish filmmakers worldwide.
After an eight-year hiatus due to political barriers, the festival returns with renewed momentum under the Middle Eastern Cinema Academy, supported by the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality. More than an event, it is a city-wide expression of freedom, solidarity, and artistic exchange.
This year’s festival includes an award-winning Armenian production, which will be the Turkish premiere of Aurora’s Sunrise (Barz Media, 2022), based on Aurora Mardiganian’s incredible biography, startıng with the destruction of Armenians in Çemişgezek (Ottoman Turkey) in 1915 to her escape and stardom in Hollywood in 1919 and beyond.

Aurora's Sunrıse will be screened on 12 December 2025. For more information please contact [email protected]