{"id":74845,"date":"2026-05-12T00:23:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/?p=74845"},"modified":"2026-05-12T00:23:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T04:23:40","slug":"may-28-author-aram-mrjoian-at-the-oak-park-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/2026\/05\/12\/may-28-author-aram-mrjoian-at-the-oak-park-library\/","title":{"rendered":"May 28: Author Aram Mrjoian at the Oak Park Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nJoin us Thursday, May 28 at 6:00pm<\/strong>. at the Oak Park Public LIbrary for a presentation by author Aram Mrjoian<\/strong> winner of the Michigan Notable Book Award for 2026 for his novel Waterline. Book Beat will have an early release of new paperback copies of Waterline to sell at the event. <\/p>\n

A sweeping family epic, Waterline: A Novel,<\/strong> shares one family’s history surviving the Armenian Genocide and their perseverance decades later. Written by Michigan native, Aram Mrjoian, and selected as one of Michigan Notable Books for 2026. Mrjoian is a creative writing professor at the University of Michigan. Books will be available for purchase. This program is made possible by the Library of Michigan, the Library of Michigan Foundation, and Michigan Humanities.<\/p>\n

RSVP and save a space at: https:\/\/forms.gle\/1rct4QfQEQYpxMNd6<\/a>
\n
\nNAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY ESQUIRE<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Mrjoian’s debut deftly brings an array of characters to light, illustrating the depth of heartbreak and love in a family struck by misfortune.”
\n– Washington Post<\/p>\n

“A joyful, heartwarming drama with an intricately woven structure that is effortlessly pleasurable to read.”
\n– Esquire<\/p>\n

“A gripping journey through time, Mrjoian brings readers deep into the heart of the Armenian Genocide and its ripples across generations. . . . Waterline is a must-read\u2014intense, moving, and unforgettable.\u201d
\n\u2014Morgan Talty, national bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez <\/em>and Fire Exit<\/em><\/p>\n

“A moving portrait of grief and the shadows of silence.\u201d
\n\u2014Vanessa Chan, bestselling author of The Storm We Made<\/em><\/p>\n

In this deeply moving debut, a close-knit Armenian American family grapples with the aftermath of losing one of their own.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Outside Detroit on the island of Gross Ile, the Kurkjians receive news that Mari, the eldest of their youngest generation, has swum into the depths of Lake Michigan with no intent of returning to shore\u2014the consequences of which drag out a deeply rooted pain passed down from generations before.<\/p>\n

More than a century earlier, Gregor, the great-grandfather and patriarch of the Kurkjian family, survived the Armenian Genocide after fighting for his freedom atop Musa Dagh. Decades later and miles away, Gregor\u2019s epic mythos is inherited by his family as they navigate living in its shadow. As the Kurkjians now struggle with their new, devastating loss, secrets and shortcomings rise to the surface, forcing each relative to decide where their own story fits in the narrative of their family\u2019s fraught history.<\/p>\n

For fans of Tommy Orange\u2019s There, There<\/em>, Thao Thai\u2019s Banyan Moon<\/em>, and Jeffrey Eugenides\u2019 epic Middlesex<\/em>, Waterline <\/em>explores the complex beauty of diaspora, the weight of inherited trauma, and the echoes of the Genocide on contemporary Armenian life. This is a searing portrait of a family afloat in grief and the perseverance needed to rise above.<\/p>\n

Aram Mrjoian <\/a><\/strong>is a writer, editor, critic, and educator. He teaches creative writing at the University of Michigan, where he serves as the managing editor of Michigan Quarterly Review, and on the MFA faculty at the Rainier Writing Workshop. He is the previous editor-in-chief of The Rumpus <\/em>and a 2022 Creative Armenia-AGBU Fellow. His debut novel, Waterline<\/em>, is out now with HarperVia (June 2025).<\/p>\n

Aram has taught composition, literature, and creative writing courses at the University of Michigan, Pacific Lutheran University, and Florida State University, where he earned his PhD in creative writing. Aram has also served as a mentor or faculty member at organizations such as the Adroit Journal, 826, Hugo House, StoryStudio, and Open Books Chicago<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aram Mrjoianwinner of the Michigan Notable Book Award for 2026 for his novel Waterline will be at the Oak PArk Library .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":74851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[814,659,65],"tags":[969],"class_list":["post-74845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-signings-lectures","category-detroit-writer","category-world-lit","tag-aram-mrjoian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebookbeat.com\/backroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}