Lillian Avedian
WATERTOWN, Mass.—The Armenian Weekly is delighted to announce the appointment of staff writer Lillian Avedian as the newspaper’s new assistant editor.
Avedian joined the Weekly three years ago as a summer intern and quickly became an integral part of the team. As the 2020 Artsakh War broke out in September, Avedian began her position as staff writer, assisting the editorial team in pivoting from the paper’s traditional weekly format to a daily report of events as they unfolded during the war.
After the war’s devastating conclusion, Avedian’s weekly front page news reporting on the events in Armenia and Artsakh, as well as the South Caucasus and the geopolitics of the region, have become required reading for Armenian Weekly subscribers and supporters. Avedian has also authored incisive investigative reports, stories about the global diaspora communities, and opinion pieces tackling culture and identity.
“It has been an honor to work for the Armenian Weekly for the last three years, and I am grateful to continue serving this historic publication in a new capacity as assistant editor,” Avedian says. “The Weekly is unique in our modern media landscape. It is a publication in which Armenians can trust that their experiences and opinions will be reflected. From stories with global implications to local community features, the Weekly will always spotlight the Armenian perspective, led by journalistic integrity and a personal understanding of the nuanced issues facing our community. This perspective is multiple, as the global Armenian community is rich and diverse in geography, language, identity, religion and political affiliation. It is my wish that Armenians of all identities feel represented by the Weekly.”
Avedian came to the attention of the editorial team as one of two winners of an essay contest held by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) in 2019. She read her award-winning essay to resounding applause at NAASR’s gala celebration of its 65th anniversary and inauguration of its new Vartan Gregorian building on November 2, 2019.
Avedian graduated in May this year from New York University with master’s degrees in journalism and Near Eastern studies. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in peace and conflict studies and Armenian studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Avedian’s writing has been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Democracy in Exile and Girls on Key.