Aram Mrjoian

Aram Mrjoian is the editor-in-chief of The Rumpus and a 2022 Creative Armenia-AGBU Fellow. His debut novel, Waterline, is forthcoming with Harper Via in 2025. Aram has previously worked as an editor at the Chicago Review of Books, the Southeast Review, and TriQuarterly. He is the editor of the anthology We Are All Armenian: Voices from the Diaspora published by the University of Texas Press (March 2023). His writing has appeared in The Guardian, Runner’s World, Literary Hub, Catapult, West Branch, Electric Literature, Gulf Coast, Boulevard, Joyland, Longreads, and many other publications.

Mentor. Workshops and classes in nonfiction and fiction.

Statement: My primary goal as an educator is to help students develop artistic agency and encourage creative sustainability. Rather than fall back on craft axioms around what makes good writing, my teaching emphasizes individual decision-making, creative exploration, and radical revision, with the hope that you will develop enduring strategies for maintaining your writing practice long after completing the program. Being a writer takes time, patience, and practice, there’s no universal formula for finding your voice and improving your craft. As you progress, my focus remains on process and revision, with the understanding that eventually you’ll likely have to negotiate your work’s intentions more directly with readers, editors, and critics. No matter your artistic and professional goals, I want you to feel a sense of authority over your work. My reading selections and recommendations will often mirror this philosophy—I enjoy readings that showcase an author’s risks and challenge or subvert commercial expectations.

As a workshop leader and mentor, I center collaborative conversations in which you can explain your reasoning and make a case for how you have put together a specific piece of writing. From there, I enjoy asking questions and discussing benefits and opportunities for revision, always maintaining the acknowledgment that your vision for your work takes priority (that’s not to say I won’t challenge you on it). Together, we will develop systems for navigating your personal aspirations, creative setbacks, and future writing goals.