Aida Zilelian

Aida Zilelian is a first-generation American-Armenian writer, educator and public speaker. She is the author of novels THE LEGACY OF LOST THINGS (winner of the Tololyan Prize), ALL THE WAYS WE LIED, and poetry chapbook DISSONANCE, winner of the Swan Scythe contest in 2025. Aida has been teaching English, AP Psychology and public speaking/storytelling in NYC classrooms for over twenty years. Aida's workshops are open to writers ranging in all abilities—novice to experienced and avid writers, for fiction and nonfiction. Her workshops focus on topics such as identity, culture, family as well as otherness and marginalized voices.