Author Agop Hacikyan Dies

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MONTREAL — Canadian-Armenian writer Agop J. Hacikyan died on July 3, 2015. He was 83.

His epic novel, A Summer Without Dawn, was lauded widely by both the Armenian and international press.

Hacikyan, the author of some two-dozen books — including the monumental three-volume Heritage of Armenian Literature, stressed the importance of the novel as a tool to teach about historical events, especially those that might otherwise escape wide notice.

At a tribute in his honor organized at the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America in New York in 2010, he said, “It is essential to produce genocide fiction, as long as we don’t fictionalize genocide.”

When writing the international bestseller A Summer Without Dawn — a historical novel set between 1915 and the early 1920s — Hacikyan strove to write a powerful yet captivating story that would keep readers in suspense. The novel, which moves from Anatolia and the Middle East to Europe and America, was first published in Quebec, where it made the bestseller lists. German and Spanish translations soon followed; a Turkish translation followed. Since its original publication in French in 1991, it has been translated into eight languages.

He is survived by his wife, Brigitte; his brother, Mike; his children, Talleen (Diego), Stephen (Lori) and Patrick; his three grandchildren Pablo, Alexia and Sasha, extended family and friends.

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He was emeritus professor of literary studies, academic, writer, historian, and dean of studies at the Royal Military College of Saint-Jean.

He wrote more than 30 books on literature and linguistics, and seven novels.

Funeral service was at Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Cathedral, Outremont, Quebec, Wednesday, July 8.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Hay Doun or Fonds Jason for young people with cancer can be made in his memory.

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