Mary Terzian
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Mary Terzian was born in Cairo, Egypt, to immigrant Armenian parents from Turkey. She learned English in a local High School run by Irish nuns. At twenty-four Terzian accepted an assignment with the United Nations in Alexandria, and eventually in Congo and Togo. She also lived in Lebanon before immigrating to the United States. She attended courses in Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York, but for private reasons was forced to abandon her dreams and move to California. She acquired a B.Sc. from Caifornia State University, Los Angeles. She was an Internal Auditor in an Aerospace research company until her retirement.
Writing was always a dream and a natural inclination for Terzian. She contributed to Armenian papers while still in the Middle East. Her articles in English have been published in American and other English-language newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online. She edited three newsletters at her company, was the recipient of numerous awards from Toastmasters and the California Writers’ Clubs, and was twice the winner of The Armenian Allied Arts Association’s annual competition in English literature. In 2001, she won a PEN USA West Rosenthal Scholarship to pursue writing.
Terzian’s book, “The Immigrants’ Daughter,” is a compendium of memoirs from her Egyptian diary, sprinkled with pith and humor. It has so far won Best Books 2006 and National Indie Excellence 2007 Book awards, both in the Multicultural Non-fiction category. It has been reviewed in the Midwest Book Review, Story Circle Reviews and Reader Views. It has garnered five-star commendations by readers on Amazon.com. “The Immigrants’ Daughter” is available online, in e-book format from Booklocker.com, in bookstores through Ingram, and at her website, www.maryterzian.com.
Terzian is a retiree now living in Southern California.