Join us in celebration of Human Rights Day with Georgia Kanary Fountoulakis who will read and discuss of her first novel Armela. Georgia invites all Columbia and Barnard alumni and family and friends to enjoy an evening of sociability and literature. We are proud to present an author event of a current board member and Columbia alumni. Human Rights Day is observed annually around the world on 10 December. It commemorates the anniversary of one of the world's most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

About Armela: The novel takes place from 1992-1993 in Bosnia. Armela, a 19-year-old Bosnian Serb, has been married just over a year when the Bosniaks attack Srebrenica. Her husband Armin disappears underground. In the dead of night, his friends take her to live with his Bosniak aunt. Armela adopts a new identity as Jasmina Akel. At a dinner party, Armin’s aunt introduces her to a high-ranking Bosniak official, who hires her to work as his assistant. Her husband’s friends urge her to use this position to access details of forthcoming Bosniak attacks. She endangers her safety—and her marriage vows—to help her husband’s cause. As the atrocities of Bosniaks intensify, so does her relationship with the Bosniak official, building to a climax that risks her double life and the lives of those she loves.

Times: 6:00PM Central, 7:00PM Eastern, 4:00PM Pacific. For those in Europe the time is 12:00AM in London on December 11.

Location: Zoom Video Conference

Cost: Free

The Book: Purchase Armela on Amazon 

Author Page: Learn more about Georgia and her works.

About Georgia Kanary Fountoulakis

I earned an MIA from Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, a BA from its School of General Studies, and a DM from Colorado Technical University in Global Leadership.I have been involved with the Columbia University Club of Chicago since moving to the Chicago area in 2016. I serve on the Board of Directors and am our club's liaison with Ivy+. I enjoy writing historical fiction and on May 24, 2024, published my first novella, Kyril and Zoe. On July 20,2024, I published my first short story, Themis and Adlee. On October 1, 2024, in honor of Human Rights Day, I published two novellas, How Many Years? and The Ottoman’s Assistant. On December 7, 2024, I published my third novella, Love in Jasenovac. This year on July 11 in honor of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica,  I published my first novel Armela.

Photo Credit: Promotional Material, Georgia Kanary Fountoulakis, Public Domain